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.
As a softball player, I can totally relate with your post! So much of the sport relies on both verbal and non-verbal communication! When I played on my varsity team in high school, our coach had an elaborate way of signing to us. If we misunderstood her sign, it could totally mess up a play! For example, if she wanted someone to bunt, and we miss the sign, the person who is stealing will be outta luck. Loved how you related communications to baseball, great post!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that Communication is 90% body language, so the different signs in baseball are very important to know because those different signs can have multiple meanings. Communication in sports is like communicating in the classroom or in a job. If you do not communicate well, it could cost you a run or not being in the right place on the field to make a critical out.
DeleteI don't really know much about baseball, but I am interested at the signals of communications in the games between the teammates. This reminds me the hand signs that we created in the music team during the performance. Although it's a total different activity, I believe the concept are the same~
ReplyDeleteI am sure if you wanted you could write a twenty page paper on baseball communication simply based on this blog entry. I always found it interesting when coaches give intense hand-face-body signals. Like with any sport, probably even more so in baseball, communication plays a vital role in the effectiveness of the game.
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