Today
we played Santa Clara University and many situations came up that
depended on certain communication. In baseball their is lots of
verbal and non-verbal communication that takes place on the field
that a normal fan would never be able to pick up on. As I was
pondering what to blog about I realized that the game I love,
baseball, depends more on communication than most sports I have
played. We have a complexed sign system to communicate a simple steal
or even where to hit the ball. We also have communication coming from
the dugout calling out what pitch the opposing pitcher is throwing.
Every play, every pitch communication is going on. Whether it is from
a coach, teammate, or umpire. For example, if my coach wants our
pitcher to throw a curveball. He gives a complicated non verbal sign
to our catcher using a tap system. Our tap system is based on the
number of times our pitching coach taps a certain body part. That
number is then counted and relayed to our pitcher. It is much more
complicated but it is tough to write it all. I hope you get my point.
Even on a simple fly ball, lots of communication occurs. For example,
if there is a fly ball to left-center field; the infielders all point
to the ball and yell to the outfielders, in-in-in or back-back-back.
The outfielders then communicate who will catch the ball. Once
someone yells “ball” the others yell “take” for reassurance.
Baseball is full of communication and these are just a few examples
of simple verbal and non-verbal communication.
