Baseball coaches who run an aggressive offense– squeeze, hit and run, and double steal– obviously have need of a sign system that will enable them to communicate with the players and adapt to changing situations and personnel quickly and efficiently.
A good sign system will include all or most of the following:
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“Indicators” that alert the players that a “live” sign may be on its way.
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“Wipe-offs” that negate every live sign that has been flashed to that point.
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“Activators” that tell the player to proceed with the designated play (a green light).
- “Decoys” – meaningless signs, at least in the context of the sequence in which they appear.
Perhaps the most common way of flashing a sign is through touching a particular part of the body or uniform, e.g., an ear or the bill of the cap. Coaches from youth to semi-pro ball often use a simple system in which the first letter of the object touched matches the first letter of the corresponding sign. For example, a touch of the hat will call for the “hit & run”, a touch of the belt for “bunt”, and a touch of the sleeve for “steal”.
Another popular sign system emphasizes the number of touches or taps rather than the location of the touch. For example, 1 tap will call for a take, 2 taps for a bunt, 3 taps for a hit & run, and 4 taps for a steal. The coach will flash an indicator to have the players start counting and another indicator to signal them to stop. The number of relevant taps in between specifies the play.
Still other methods of transmitting signs involve the coach’s position in the coach’s box (front, middle, or rear), the number of times he claps his hands, the number of fingers he holds up, whistling, and calling out colors, names, or numbers. Regardless of how the coach delivers the signs, his system must be easy to comprehend and remember.
Tips on Making Signs Easy to Recall Under Game Conditions:
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Use a single indicator immediately followed by the live sign. Even with a wipe-off included, a player must interpret a maximum of three signs per sequence.
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The first or second sign flashed is live (with no indicator). An activator and/or a wipe-off can be added to confuse the opponents.
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The last sign flashed is live (with no indicator). This is effective since players tend to look away once they’ve seen the live sign, but before the coach is finished flashing decoys. Some coaches “release” the players’ attention by concluding every sequence with a simple gesture, like clapping the hands.
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The only sign flashed twice in a set of signs is live.
- Designate either hand as the “hot” hand. The first sign flashed with that hand is live. Logical Patterns. If the signs consist of taps to specific locations on your body or uniform, arrange the locations in a logical order. For example, begin with a closed fist as the first sign in a set and ascend up the arm with taps to the wrist, elbow, shoulder, and chest. Another option is to divide the chest into quadrants and arrange the signs in a box pattern.
Memory Devices
When numbers represent the plays, it will be helpful to train the players to memorize the plays in sequential order. A mnemonic can turn the plays into a memorable phrase. For example, the players can remember Take, Bunt, Hit & run, Steal as “Thomas Baker High School!”. When you flash the number “3”, the players can run through the mnemonic phrase and notice that the third word is High, which means Hit & run”. You can use any kind of memory device that will help the players recall signs when the pressure is on and the game is on the line.
Groups of Two
In systems that incorporate multiple variations of the basic plays, you may split the live signs into two groups whenever possible, e.g., running plays (straight steal, delayed steal, early break) vs. bunting plays (straight bunt, slash, squeeze). Likewise, the body or uniform can be divided into two sections– left side/right side, upper body/lower body, skin/cloth, or school colors, e.g., blue/gray.
Signs consisting of numbers, as well as innings, automatically fall into two groups – odd vs. even. Systems based on “two’s” break down into bite-size pieces that will improve the players’ retention and provide a ready-made way to accomplish the other important goals of a flashing system– to catch the opposition off guard and prevent them from decoding the signs.
Following are Suggestions for Camouflaging Live Signs:
Change or Rotate Periodically. Change the indicator before every game, each time you face the same opponent, or during a game based on the inning or count.
The “Hot Spot” system uses a floating indicator which changes with every sequence of flashes. The first spot touched becomes the indicator for that sequence. You can flash the live sign anytime after returning to the hot spot.
The other option is to hold the indicator constant and rotate the live signs. When using the “first (second) sign” method, make the first sign live in odd innings and the second sign live in even innings. When using two distinct groups of signs or two halves of the body, alternate between the two. For example, in odd-numbered innings put the hitting/bunting signs on the left arm and running signs on the right arm. In even-numbered innings, simply switch sides.
The use of uniform colors can make a system difficult for the defense to crack, especially if you use home and away jerseys and change the signs according to the location of the colors on your body.
When using the “four quadrants of the chest” in your sign system, you may rotate the quadrants periodically. A mnemonic device can again help the players memorize the signs. In using the “Thomas Baker High School” mnemonic, for example, the player need only know which quadrant is the Take (Thomas) sign in any particular inning to figure out which quadrants represent Bunt, Hit & run, and Steal. READ MORE
