Earpieces let high school catchers receive in-game coaching

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 6:26 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

In a stressful moment behind the plate, when the other team was trying to rally, Franklin Regional catcher Ryan Catello started hearing voices in his helmet.

Well, at least one.

The calming voice said, “Hey, it’s got to be strikes on this guy,” while reminding him the bottom of the batting order was coming up, and that the pitcher on the mound was extra confident in a certain pitch.

He isn’t alone.

High school catchers throughout the WPIAL and across the state are hearing similar voices this spring thanks to one-way communication devices that are approved for the first time. Many catchers are wearing an earpiece that connects wirelessly to a microphone in the dugout, letting coaches call pitches without the old school hand signals or complicated codes.

The first few games with the new devices can be an adjustment for both coach and catcher, but Catello said he has grown fond of the voice in his helmet, which is that of Franklin Regional coach Bobby Saddler.

“Typically, I like to do everything on my own,” said Catello, a junior. “I’m very independent, so I like to call pitches. But there are some points in the game where I can get nervous and want the coaches’ opinions. So it’s nice to hear his opinion in my ear. I don’t have to say anything. He just knows what to say.”

The devices became an option after the National Federation of State High School Associations approved them last June, a rule change later adopted by the PIAA. Not every WPIAL team has added the new technology, but coaches who have say they like it.

“It allows me to let R.C. know what I’m seeing,” Saddler said. “Also, it allows him to go communicate with the pitcher if we’d ever need that, without me taking a mound visit. It’s really important as far as that’s concerned.”

In fact, coaches say a quicker game is one of the best benefits of the new systems. That’s because the time wasted between pitches is now minimized.

No longer are catchers staring into the dugout for signs or checking their wristband to decipher codes.

“I love it,” said Pine-Richland catcher Sam Heckert, who listens to pitching coach Anthony Romano. “It makes the game faster. The past few years we used a wristband, and that just takes a while to get the pitch in. Now that he’s able to communicate to me directly, he can talk me through the game.”

Valley coach Jim Basilone said he was surprised when his team finished a game in less than 90 minutes, maybe for the first time in his long career.

Sure, it helped that senior Wesley Schrock pitched a no-hitter that day. But Basilone said he has found talking directly to the catcher lets his pitchers work faster.

“I like to keep the game rolling,” he said. “As soon as he pitches the ball — let’s say it’s a strike, and the batter doesn’t connect with it — I’m giving him the next pitch right away.”

Besides relaying the type of pitch — say, a fastball — Basilone said he’s also able to convey pitch location easier. A former assistant at the college level, he has coached baseball for more than 40 years but isn’t afraid of change.

“You have to keep up with the times,” Basilone said. “And if you don’t, you’re going to fall behind.”

Not all teams are using the same style of device because they’re manufactured and sold by different companies. They vary in technology and price, which can range from a few hundred dollars up to $2,000.

Riverview coach Bill Gras works for a company that sells two-way radio technology, so he was immediately interested. Once he heard that the PIAA had approved the devices, he started looking into options to buy.

With help from the boosters, Riverview purchased a Porta Phone system with a price tag around $445. It operates on Bluetooth connectivity, whereas some others use radio signals.

“You don’t always get what you pay for, but I know the industry and did my research,” Gras said. “I feel that for the price I was paying, this was the best. I’m very happy with it.”

Gras liked that the Bluetooth system switches frequencies automatically, securing it from eavesdroppers. But he has run into some hiccups with the devices not pairing right away.

Riverview’s system came with a headset microphone worn by the pitching coach and two earpieces that resemble hearing aids. Riverview catcher Miles Duncan wears only one earpiece along with a control pack that attaches to his catching gear.

“It frees my pitching coach up a little bit,” Gras said. “He doesn’t have to make sure he’s in view of the catcher to give him the signals. He can watch the pitcher from different angles.”

Basilone said after the school bought the team a new pitching machine, he decided to pay for Valley’s communication device himself. He opted for a system with a price tag closer to $2,000.

The CoachComm system has a handheld radio similar to a walkie talkie he uses in the dugout. Basilone said he got some early practice using a communication system in the summer during the Freeport International Baseball Invitational.

“It saves you a lot of trips to the mound,” Basilone said. “You can tell your catcher to call timeout and have your pitcher make an adjustment. It only takes about 10 seconds, and we’re ready to roll again.”

Unlike speakers in the helmets of NFL quarterbacks, the earpieces don’t turn off during play. That can be good and bad, depending on the situation and how a coach measures his words.

If a runner is stealing a base or a wild pitch bounces away, the coach with the microphone could be tempted to lend his catcher another set of eyes. There’s also the real worry of being a distraction. Catchers can become a captive audience to dugout conversations if a coach fails to mute his mic.

“The first time we used it, it was a challenge because there’s a lot happening,” Saddler said. “I’m in his ear and he’s trying to call the pitches, so I have to be aware of overstepping.”

His catcher, Catello, liked the idea of the earpiece but wasn’t a fan immediately.

“The first game, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would,” Catello said. “The first couple of innings were interesting. But I started getting used to it.”

At Pine-Richland, they introduced the earpieces during winter workouts to let the catchers get a feel for them. As the coach with the microphone, Romano said he tries to limit his input to relevant plays and pitch calls.

“I try not to talk to the guys while we’re playing,” Romano said. “I don’t want to be overbearing. But when your catcher makes a nice throw or does something good, you can always tell him, ‘Nice play,’ in his ear.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.