As someone who has studied the skills of run prevention for virtually a half century, I have found that effective and meaningful communication greatly reduces the opponent’s chances of exploiting your team’s defense. There are two general types of communication, one is direct/verbal, and the other is more indirect and flows better with our game—points, signs, pitch calling, etc.
We try to emphasize some fundamental “rules” when communicating on defense. It is important to note that our practices are laboratories for us to rehearse these techniques of exchanging information:
‘Where’
- Where is the ball?
- Where is the play (what base are we throwing to)?
- Where to align cuts/relays/backups?
‘Who’
- Who’s got the play on the ball?
- Who’s covering the base where the play is?
- Who is the cutoff man?
- Who is the backup?
‘What’
- What’s the game situation (inning, score, outs, etc.)?
- What’s the coverage on a bunt or double play ball?
- What’s the pitch (or pick) that’s been called?
- What (if any) is the action after the play (back pick, covering bases, etc.)?
‘When’
- When are we typically putting certain coverages on?
- When do we break for picks or bunt coverages?
- When should we cut/relay or redirect throws from the outfield?
- When do we cut-hold to prevent further ball movement?
It is important to understand that most of our communication system is executed both prior to the pitch and after the pitch as well, like a conversation with brief breaks for the pitch. One of our key team philosophies revolves around Not Getting Beat Before the Pitch. In other words, we are trying to “bat a thousand” and prevent any pre-pitch mistakes related to pitch selection (getting crossed up), picks, coverages, pitchouts, and alignment. Of course, there will be physical errors throughout the game, but we do our best to minimize what we consider are “mental” or “preparation” errors.
And keep in mind, we are always cognizant of the score, the batting order, the speed of the hitter and any base runners, and the inning. Once the ball is put into play, our players are required to be loud, decisive, redundant, and on time. They are reminded that they are not in a library!
This may seem overboard to some, but I had to learn the hard way. Teams in the Big West Conference such as Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State had great expertise in stealing pitches with both runners on first and second base, which is perfectly legal and not easy to do.
We found ourselves having to change our indicators several times during a game, which would cause occasional confusion between the catcher, the pitcher, and the middle infielders (who were also responsible for getting the pitches to our corner defenders) as well.
We used a fairly complex sign system with a runner at first for when they would establish their leads and peek in to see the catcher’s signs. If they saw any off-speed call, it was a green light to steal second base. So we had a set of multiple signs with a man on first as well, and we could also alter our pick system at first and second (a daylight pick at second is very effective in these situations).
Our catchers were responsible for putting on our bunt coverages and first and third defenses to our infield anytime we felt it was necessary to do so. We would change the “hot” sign every three innings to prevent the opposing coach or base runners from deciphering our intentions. Obviously, we had to practice these situations during the week in preparation for these types of opponents.
Pitch-calling was also something that you could not take for granted. Our pitching coach would relay the signs to our catchers to call pitches. It was not unusual for an opponent to have several players trying to pick those signs. So once again, back up systems were necessary to prevent this type of activity. Even if you have the ability for your catcher to use wearable tech to relay signs with a headset, I would still encourage you to have a backup plan!
I cannot stress enough that these techniques are reiterated by our coaches daily. Teaching our players how to make in-game adjustments pitch-to-pitch can be the difference between winning and losing. Our players work on communication in practice drills and in scrimmage-type situations. It is a foundational staple of our team defense. I hope that your team can benefit from some of these ideas.