Rockies stay connected on mound with coach calling pitches from dugout

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman turned his head toward the first-base dugout during the first inning on Thursday to watch pitching coach Alon Leichman flash either signs of the future or -- if you are a baseball traditionalist -- signals that civilization is speeding off the rails.

Leichman was the Marlins’ assistant pitching coach last year when he flashed signals during late-season games while working with pitching coach Daniel Moskos. When it happened in Denver, then-interim Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer -- not knowing he would get the full-time job, much less be working with Leichman -- was intrigued enough about it to have a discussion with Leichman before the next game.

So the idea is one of many the Rockies have discussed. On Thursday, it was unveiled in a Cactus League game. Rather than call for a young pitcher, Leichman was giving the signals for Tomoyuki Sugano, who had a lengthy and storied career in Japan before joining the Orioles last season.

“It didn’t feel uncomfortable or anything like that,” Sugano said in Japanese through interpreter Yuto Sakurai.

Besides, it worked just fine. Sugano threw strikes on 26 of his 34 pitches while logging three innings against the Giants.

“That’s what the team expects from me, and that’s a goal this year,” Sugano said.

Common practice in many college and high school programs, pitch calling from anyone but the pitcher and catcher has been considered either micromanagement or a lack of trust. And signals flashed -- or punched into PitchCom -- from catcher to pitcher has been standard operating procedure for more than 150 years.

But Leichman sees it as a logical extension of communication.

Pitchers have lauded Leichman, assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas and bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, who meet each pitcher with a data-informed analysis that identifies how their best pitches behave in the strike zone, plus suggestions of pitches that can be added. Pitchers have especially raved that the minds are thinking in concert. During games this spring, coaches greet pitchers between innings for discussion.

If the goal is to be on the same page, why end it when the pitcher takes the mound?

“Nothing really changes,” Leichman said. “Ultimately, he’s throwing whatever he wants. It’s just me suggesting to him -- ‘Here’s what I’m thinking here.’ He’s either saying, ‘Yay,’ or, ‘nay, I got this pitch.’

“There’s a lot of communication. It’s a way for me to talk to the pitcher while he’s on the mound.”

On Thursday, Goodman turned immediately for a signal and relayed it by pushing the buttons of PitchCom, Sugano came nowhere near a pitch timer violation. (Currently, rules permit only the pitcher and catcher to communicate on the system, although selected fielders have a receiver that allows them to hear the call.)

“One thing we have discussed is just making sure everything is done in a timely manner, so there’s plenty of time for the pitcher if he wants to change it,” said veteran lefty and Opening Day starter Kyle Freeland, who will dabble with dugout pitch-calling for the first time on Saturday against the Royals at Surprise, Ariz.

Thursday’s game was an exercise in freedom for the pitcher. Sugano mostly took the signal and threw. Righty reliever Jimmy Herget, for example, changed several times. Still, Herget sees practical value in in-game input from the dugout, especially for a reliever.

“A starter would have a meeting every single day before they start, but we relievers have a meeting at the start of every series,” Herget said. “Sometimes, we need a refresher. Alon has all the information for how to attack guys, and it’s a lot to remember for the catcher and the pitcher. It’s good to have those suggestions.”

Baseball tradition may not be able to stop the trend. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told ESPN that they are experimenting with the practice this spring. Like the Marlins, the Mets have dabbled with coaches calling the game in the Minor League system.

Anecdotally, the idea has floated around the Rockies in the past. At least one key front-office official predicted almost a decade and a half ago that pitch-calling by coaches was coming. The team experimented during at least one game caught by bat-first catcher Wilin Rosario.

Part of the philosophy is to relieve catchers of some burden. Goodman, though, wasn’t exactly weighed down by pitch calling last year -- his first as the Rockies’ regular catcher. Goodman was a demonstrably better hitter in the 98 games that he caught (.290/.323/.572 with 290 home runs) than in the 39 games he was designated hitter (.250/.325/.375).

Even if the calls come from the dugout, Goodman can’t simply turn off his brain.

“It’s less thinking, but at the same time, I have to be ready if the pitcher shakes to go to a different pitch,” Goodman said. “It takes a little off me, but I’m still in the game thinking about pitches I want to call.”

Ultimately, how the idea goes over with the players will come down to results.

“If that helps win the most games, I’m all for it,” Goodman said.