MLB to allow pitchers, catchers to use anti-sign-stealing technology during regular season, sources say

Pitchers and catchers will have the option of using newly tested signaling devices as they decide what pitches to throw to hitters in the upcoming regular season, industry sources tell ESPN.

This technology could help to advance Major League Baseball beyond the risk of the sign-stealing scandals that have plagued the sport in the last decade.

MLB is expected to give teams a go-ahead for players to deploy what is referred to within the industry as PitchCom. Using a pad with buttons on the wrist of the gloved hand, a catcher can signal pitches — pitch type, and location — with the suggested selection directly to the pitcher through a listening device.

Up to three teammates of the pitcher and catcher will also have access to the signals, aiding fielders in positioning.

Change in baseball is often slowed by tradition, but the first reviews of the PitchCom system this spring have been glowing, with players raving about how the electronic process of pitch-signaling has been seamless, helping with the flow of the pitchers' actions on the mound

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino and catcher Kyle Higashioka used PitchCom in a game this past Saturday.

«I think it was great,» Severino told reporters. «I was a little doubtful at the beginning, but when we started using it, it was really good — with a man on second, too. I would definitely like to use it in my first start [of the regular season].… You know what pitch you're going to throw right away.»

Pitchers and catchers will continue to have the option of using the traditional method of signaling — catchers flashing fingers of their throwing hand in coded sequences to suggest a pitch selection to the pitcher.

But it seems inevitable that PitchCom will see broad use within the