How easy to steal pitch signs in college baseball?

ESPN loves to show Maneri every game giving his bunt/run signals I've seen him make the same call 100 times this post season

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If you are on second base and relaying signs back into the dugout, you absolutely could figure them out.


That is obviously pretty frowned upon though

Most schools use signs that change every pitch along with a location sign. So unless you are on second base for a long arse time it's very difficult.

It's very hard to do. If you try and they see you then I hope you like the taste of ball. You're getting one in the ear hole next at bat.

Some of these pussy young dudes probably wouldn't even throw at a guy. Making fun of them on Snapchat seems far more likely

Dear sweet baby Jesus, this has become a long post. Sorry in advance, but this is my manifesto on stealing pitches in college. Hope y'all enjoy.



In college, my main job (along with catching bull pens) was to steal signs. It is a lot easier than you think. You basically start with a list of typical signal styles and you work down the list. This is an abbreviated list:

-First Sign (First thing he touches is the pitch. It is never this in college baseball.)
-Second Sign (Second thing he touches is the pitch. It is hardly ever this in college baseball.)
-Last Sign (Last thing he touches is the pitch. Almost as rare to see in college as second sign.)
-Indicator (Coach has an indicator, typically the hat or an ear. Once he touches that spot, the following touch is the pitch.)
-First Sign is Indicator (Same as indicator, but the indicator changes every pitch. The first thing he touches is the indicator, first time he comes back to it the next sign is the pitch.)
-Second Sign is Indicator (See above.)
-Touches (A rolling count. Everything he touches moves up a number. Sometimes swipes can count as two. Imagine 9 touches: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1 = Fastball)
-Hot Spot (The number of touches to this particular body part is the pitch.)
-Drums (By far the coolest way of calling pitches. It is very confusing to steal, but not impossible. Basically imagine three bongos in front of the pitching coach. Once he hits all the bongos, however many times he hits the next bongo is the pitch. There are countless variations on this style.)
-Wristband (Discussed at the bottom.)
-Fake Numbers (You can do this a couple of different ways. First number is the pitch, second is the location. Add/Subtract the first and last numbers. The key to fake numbers is have a wristband that you look down at before giving the signs.)




Essentially, it is a process of trial and error. I'll walk through first sign because it's easy.

Pitching coach touches his bill first on the first pitch of the game. The pitcher throws a fastball. On the second pitch, the pitching coach touches his bill. The pitcher throws a curveball. Awesome- first sign is eliminated. You go through that process until you've eliminated all of the styles. If you get to the end and you haven't figured it out, you think through it and see if it is something new. If not, start over.


Once you get the signs, the dugout can't be obvious because they will change sets (most colleges have 2-3 sets they can use at any time). Everyone in the dugout keeps giving out attaboys like normal. There is one designated player who is telling the batter what is coming. It is as simple as first name is fastball, last name is offspeed. In college, we had nicknames used solely for sign stealing. One guy's was Long Beach. Long mean fastball, Beach was offspeed. No one called him Long Beach unless we had the signs stolen. Then someone in the dugout would say "here we go Long" and he would gear up for the fastball.


There are a couple of other ways to steal signs than from the pitching coach to the catcher:

-Runner on first or second and the catcher isn't smart enough to put down more than one number.
-First base coach because the catcher can't close his legs.

If it is the baserunner that is stealing the catcher's signs, he can give them to the batter a couple of different ways. He can hold his hands open or closed (one being fastball, the other being offspeed). He can change how he gets his lead, bringing his feet together than apart, or crossing his feet over. He can hold his hands on his hip or knees. This can be obvious, so you have to be really discrete.



While I'm here and not working: Tendencies are more difficult to pick up the higher you get in baseball. However, knowing a curve is coming because the pitcher's index finger goes up is fair game. This is what they were talking about Reynolds doing last night. It seems odd, but anything you consistently do on curveballs, but not on fastballs, good teams will notice. Whether it is come set higher, turning the ball on certain pitches, etc. You can also steal these as the runner on second if you can see into the glove.







Now to answer your question about the wristband. The wristband is by far the best way to call pitches, IMO. It is almost unstealable. If you do it right, you'd have to watch multiple games just to get all of the signals on one card. In high school, no one can do that. In college, you have 4-5 cards that you rotate, so no one catches on. These can change every game, every series, or every inning. Once you see someone using numbers and you rule out fake numbers, you pretty much give up.


I hope this all makes sense.

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It's very hard to do. If you try and they see you then I hope you like the taste of ball. You're getting one in the ear hole next at bat.

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this is so ridiculous

pitchers who bean players who steal signs should be suspended for a large chunk of the season with inclined penalties if it occurs in the future

THAT is how you strategically work out the problem

For me personally as a hitter, I didn't want to be told what pitch was coming on the chance whoever told me was wrong. I'm okay if I mess myself up or get fooled, but if my teammate or even my coach crossed me up I'd be pissed!