CLEMSON – The 'third-grade calculator,' also known as a pitch signaling device, had the college baseball world abuzz during its opening weekend as pitchers and position players looked at their wrists and belt buckles in between pitches.
Gone are the days of a catcher calling his own pitches or the pitching coach using hand signals to call pitches from the dugout.
Just a few years ago, the NCAA allowed college catchers to wear earpieces to enable coaches to tell them what pitch to signal to the pitcher. Now, pitchers (and others) across the country are wearing small devices similar to a Fitbit or an exercise watch that tells them what pitch to throw.