Communication is key.

For baseball coaches and backstops, it could get a whole lot easier.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) announced last week that it had revised a rule, which will now permit “the use of a one-way communication device between a coach in the dugout and a team’s catcher for the purposes of calling pitches.”

Four Butler County baseball coaches — Butler’s Josh Forbes, Mars’ Jason Thompson, Seneca Valley’s Eric Semega, and North Catholic’s Andy Przybylek — offered their opinions on how it might change things on nearby diamonds in the springs to come.

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For Forbes, it’s all about efficiency.

“We plan on using that system,” Forbes said. “It just makes everything a lot easier. I just think we’ll be able to get in pitches quicker. We’ll be able to relay them to the catcher a lot quicker. ... It will be more fool-proof. We won’t be able to get our signs picked.

“I just think it could eliminate a lot of cross-ups. It would get everybody on the same page a little quicker.”

Thompson sees it speeding things up.

“The pace of play might pick up,” he said. “I think the time that we would probably see it the most (is with a) runner on second base, a new pitcher get brought into the game. Oftentimes, they’re underclassmen and they don’t have as much experience in the various call signs, how much that changes.

“You’ll see at times a couple timeouts called by the catcher just to make sure everybody is on the same page.”

Semega had the same sort of thought, saying that the new sort of communication could help with more than just relaying pitch choices.

“Even things like, ‘Hey, you need to go out and talk to him (the pitcher),’” Semega said. “Or just strategy in terms of, ‘This guy looks like he’s really aggressive outside, let’s work him in a bit.’

“Even though we have signs for that, it’s just a little bit more personal. ... I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how it can pan out this year.”

Uncharted Waters

A similar sort of technology — PitchCom — was approved for use in the Major Leagues starting in 2022. The devices are fairly new and, from what local prep coaches interviewed for this story said, a bit pricey.

“With the college level adapting it and looking just at different possibilities, I think PitchCom might be the only manufacturer of that equipment that I see,” Thompson said.

Thompson has talked to Planets pitching coach Andy Bednar about how the device works for his son, Mars graduate and Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar.

“You see guys have the PitchCom in different spots on their person,” Thompson said. “He said David, it’s like in his hat and it just talks to him like Siri’s voice and tells him what they want.”

Andy Bednar calls pitches for Mars, much like Semega for the Raiders. Calls for Butler go through the Golden Tornado’s coaches, as well. Of course, so many gestures are a process to learn.

“That’s something we allocate a lot of time for when we have time slotted for pitchers and catchers to work,” Thompson said. “Starting in January, they’ll start going over signs. We’ll go over pick plays. We’ll go over signals.

“That is something that is a very long process, just to try to work out all those kinks so it’s pretty seamless.”

See It Soon?

Factoring in the cost, is this something that teams will make use of soon?

“I think that is something, definitely, that I would like to utilize,” Semega said. “Any kind of communication you can have with players that is for the team betterment and you can use to your advantage, I think, is a great idea.”

Thompson isn’t opposed, either.

“It’s definitely something we’ll explore,” Thompson said. “I mean, we always want to find ways to have different competitive advantages. Things that we see that can be practical. We’re always willing to kind of change with the game.”

Of the four coaches interviewed, only North Catholic’s Andy Przybylek was the only one resistant to implementing an electronic communication device.

“For me, I really like the catcher calling his own pitches,” Przybylek said. “He has a better feel for the game, in my opinion. ... I think coaches a lot of times overthink the game. Let the players play the game, let the athletes perform. The catcher knows the hitters, especially in the high school environment.”

Przybylek said that if his team is to use any electronic communication, it would be more to suggest a plan of action to his catcher — such as setting a batter up away after he made contact with a fastball earlier in the count.

“Less is the best,” he added.