wrist bands

[Hillhouse]

First - when set up well it is not complicated. 3 numbers and done. Quick look on the band at the grid and off you go. When set up well, it is way faster than the old hand signs. 3 numbers and the player(s) on your team who needs to know, immediately knows. Takes about 1 minute to learn and you don't have to remember anything - not what body part means what or what number means what or when you change things, you don't have to remember what the changes are. And when you change teams - well you don't have to learn new signs or forget old ones.

And yes - it does make signs basically impossible to steal. But it also makes signs impossible to miss. The wristbands when set up well are easy to use and easy to make sure the signs are received and understood. And that means for all phases of the game you want to use them. Not just pitching, but fielding and hitting.

You ask why is it impossible to pick - well because on a wristband I have multiple numbers for every pitch or call I make and they were generated randomly. So in a game, I never need to repeat a number for a particular call. So when I go '321' and it is a fastball I never call '321' again that game. And if you DO bother to track that for future games - generate a new wristband and now '321' is something else. It is all a grid look up - so '321' is look across the top line for column '32' and then '1' down - whatever is in that box is your call.

I can also have different wristbands for different types of pitchers. Easy stuff.

If you go out to Nevermissasign.com and watch some videos there you can see how it all works.

-- Biggest mistake is making the grid too small to easily see. That is what you see sometimes when players are looking at their wristband - if you print it too small it can be hard to read.

I still just don't understand. Sorry. I still think it'd be a lot easier for someone to do their job and TEACH a catcher how to call a game. Then, with discussions before games, between innings, adjustments can be made. No way anyone on a bucket can know the intricacies of what the pitcher is comfortable throwing, if they have the right ball for the pitch being called, etc.

I guess I just have to see it in action, seeing the wrist bands, understanding the "code" before I can concede it's easier.

I still wish girls were taught from day 1 how to call their own game though, that would avoid the entire mess.

Bill

 

[Cornbread]

Using the wristband must be practiced consistently prior to use. Don’t just give them the grid before game and start calling numbers.

 

[mmeece]

I do agree with you on those points. A coach who doesn't understand pitch calling is far worse than most catchers would be. We have altered my DD wristband to be essentially the "coach" card so she can call her own pitches in high school ball.

 

[Doug Romrell]

What I get a kick out of are coaches that have their own personal favorite pitches and who don't really give a tinker's fart what the pitcher believes her arsenal to be.

Example, I know a pitcher (and her dad) from the upper midwest. Her coach doesn't seem to like change-ups, not with any pitcher. Go figure. That, right there, tells me a lot about him. Oh, by the way, the pitcher can throw great change-ups. LOL

My point is that the pitcher and catcher should have A LOT of say in what pitches are thrown, particularly if it isn't college ball we are talking about.

 

[riseball]

I still just don't understand. Sorry. I still think it'd be a lot easier for someone to do their job and TEACH a catcher how to call a game. Then, with discussions before games, between innings, adjustments can be made. No way anyone on a bucket can know the intricacies of what the pitcher is comfortable throwing, if they have the right ball for the pitch being called, etc.

I guess I just have to see it in action, seeing the wrist bands, understanding the "code" before I can concede it's easier.

I still wish girls were taught from day 1 how to call their own game though, that would avoid the entire mess.

Bill

Actually it is far from a mess and so easy even a child can master it in about 5 minutes. Although there is a lot of nostalgia surrounding a catcher calling the game, the reality is the game has evolved beyond the white ball, tube socks, and big hair. There are detailed stats with spray charts, video analysis, etc. There is much more going on before, during, and after a game that most folks cannot appreciate. Pitch calling and defense in general is much more complicated than back in the day and it is critical to have a 9 players on the same page. Apply the Hanson principle liberally and you will find that having the catcher call the game is not the path to success in womens fastpitch.

 

[grcsftbll]

Actually it is far from a mess and so easy even a child can master it in about 5 minutes. Although there is a lot of nostalgia surrounding a catcher calling the game, the reality is the game has evolved beyond the white ball, tube socks, and big hair. There are detailed stats with spray charts, video analysis, etc. There is much more going on before, during, and after a game that most folks cannot appreciate. Pitch calling and defense in general is much more complicated than back in the day and it is critical to have a 9 players on the same page. Apply the Hanson principle liberally and you will find that having the catcher call the game is not the path to success in womens fastpitch.

When DH is calling pitches he has pitch charts he keeps to track the previous at bats, what he called, how it worked. Even as an adult he would have a very hard time keeping up with that without having it in front of him. I don't see how a catcher involved in the game would be able to track all that, and it definitely does make a difference to have and use that information.

 

[nixxy311]

We use them though HC has let DD call pitches. She's getting better at it.
My only issue is when it takes them too long to find the right pitch and it slows down the game.

 

[Sparky Guy]

I guess I just have to see it in action, seeing the wrist bands, understanding the "code" before I can concede it's easier.

I still wish girls were taught from day 1 how to call their own game though, that would avoid the entire mess.

Bill

I never used wrist bands until last season. I found them much easier to use when needed. The biggest advantage is you do not have to be in a direct line of sight with the catcher. The pitcher and catcher both get the same signal. No confusion. Your signals can be as easy or intricate as you make them. I used a color grid with 3 digit number ranges. It all fit on one sheet and was big enough to be easily read. IE: Green 100-149 would be FB inside. Blue 350-399 FB inside. Red 100-149 Change. Red 200 - 249 Drop outside. White 001 - 049 Curveball. Each color would have the different pitches and a number code for them.

My DD played in an organization who had the pitchers and catchers call their games. She was lucky. She had the same catcher in travel, 3 years of HS and 3 years of college. They both learned the same things with regards to learning how to read hitters. My DD would tell me she often had her grip for the next pitch before the catcher would put the sign down and they'd be on the same page. I can't remember my DD ever shaking that catcher off.

I always try to let the kids learn how to call a game, especially in pool play. If it looked like they were struggling I could take over. What I'll do is have the pitchers and catchers who are not in the game sitting next to me and ask them what pitch they would call and why. If I was working a hitter on something I saw I would explain it to them. I would try and get them to think 2 pitches ahead. Some got it. Some didn't.

 

[MoparFin]

I used them mainly for offense. Liked them a lot. Way less missed signs. I used them a little on defense, but it was a combination of plays and pitches. I mainly had the catchers calling the game but every so often if I saw something or the catcher would ask I would call a pitch. It also depended on the pitcher too. I had one pitcher that had more pitches and could hit spots better, the others where mainly FB and CU and that was it.

 

[TexAg1998]

DD’s old team didn’t use them, signs got picked by the 3rd inning. When DD called the games (she’s a catcher and calls a good game because she plays mind games with hitters), it was better but a runner on 2 could scout signs and relay to everyone else in the dugout. Then when she would cycle signals, pitchers got confused because that’s what pitchers do.

Now on her new team they use wristbands and signs never get picked by opposing teams. When coach gives her the reigns and she calls her own, she still uses the wristband. So 321 is the same as 543, they can be called back to back and nobody figures it out. There are 150 pitch numbers on DD’s card and you’d have to be Rain Man to remember what any one of them is.


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