Questions for Baseball Guys on Board -Calling Pitches & Pitch Clock

[Goldendawg]

Went to my first game yesterday since implementation of pitch clock and have questions:

Know Foxhall signals in the pitch. Is it to the pitcher and catcher?

The pitcher then checks his wristband for the pitch called.

If the pitcher doesn't like the call, can he shake it off and identify the change to the catcher?

Are our pitchers allowed to shake off a pitch and make a change?

Is there time to make a change in the 20 seconds allocated if our coaches allow this on occasion?

Thanks for the info. Hail State!

[Lord McBuckethead]

Thinking back, I haven't seen a single pitcher question a pitch call yet this year. At least, until Sunday.
How would they even do it?
I still say the catcher should get the sign and then signal it to the pitcher. The time between pitches needs to adjusted maybe up 10 seconds.
The batter on the other hand, should be allowed to call time and look over at his coach between pitches to get the signals.

[SPDawgs]

I was not sure about the pitch clock at first but I am starting to really like it. We have seen what two or three times this year where we had a pitch clock violation. That being said I would like a five or seven second increase in the time off the pitch clock. If I were the catcher I would like it better for the pitches to come through me because I feel there is less room for a miscommunication. I have not seen a pitcher shake except Holcombe yesterday and if he does I would think the catcher would call the pitch because of time restraint.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Unless you have an ultra elite catcher, the days of college catchers calling their own game are over. I mean they are even a dying breed in the MLB as most catchers get pitches radio’d in to them nowadays.

[parabrave]

Every AA game I attend the Pitching Coach calls the pitch and the pitcher hardly ever calls him off. Since I sit next to the dugout you should see the about of scouting reports that they have in each player. Each player basically has a binder of info on him. 2 things I noticed last year/ The reduction of the shift in the minors just threw out about half that info and every team has a computer in the dugout which shows what the pitch was which just made every strikezone about as wide as a coke bottle. No more wide strikezones no more giving the outside/inside corners just bellybutton high FBs.

[Todd4State]

In general in college pitching coaches or head coaches who have a pitching background like Butch Thompson call the games.

That's where the pressure to win kind of takes over because most college coaches don't want to put their work future in the hands of 17-23 year olds who are still learning the game.

It has been like that since the 1970's at least and probably long before that.

Pitchers aren't allowed to shake off signs in most cases unless they have earned a lot of trust like a junior or a senior or they have a really advanced baseball IQ.