Baseball is all about great pitching and amazing hits of the ball. The coaches and players of the game devised a way to communicate with each other without letting the other team know what they were talking about. Enter the famous hand signals of the game which are utterly indecipherable by anyone who is not part of the team. The origin of the hand signals used is very interesting and the use of the signals forms an integral part of the game. These signals are essential for communication between different players on the team and the team's coach. While delivering vital information between them all, they are very entertaining to watch by fans of the sport.
Every baseball game played today has numerous hand signals made by different players and coaches. Coaches can be seen standing on the sidelines making exaggerating signals to the pitcher on the mound and many other players on the field. The catcher, crouching behind the batter, also makes hand signals that only the pitcher is meant to see and understand. The signals have been getting odder and odder over the years. "[Players] will scratch their shirts across the letters, take off their caps, run their hands through their hair, rub the back of their legs with their foot, and even rub their arms like crazy". What is very interesting to note here is that because of the number of teams all doing different hand signals, the style and variety of these signals has increased over the years to include it being viewed as ridiculous.
The origin story of the hand signals used in baseball is a very interesting one indeed. It seems the first deaf player to play major league baseball was the inspiration for the current hand signals used. "A careful examination of history shows that the hand signals in baseball were inspired by the first deaf superstar of major league baseball—William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy". The story of the first deaf superstar in the game is as fascinating as the hand signals he inspired.
The article which mentioned the above quote was taken from recounts how Hoy was a phenomenal baseball player and started using hand signals because he couldn't understand whether the delivery just pitched was a strike or a ball. He was known for his honesty and integrity and he taught his team mates sign language. He was widely loved by the fans of the game that used to cheer for him silently by waving their arms and caps around. He was a great man who inspired a tradition that continues to this day. But how did the signals get picked up so quickly by all those involved in the game?
It seems that hand signals are vitally important to the game of baseball. The fact is that in major league baseball everyone can speak the same language. Since almost all the players are American they can all understand English. It isn't like international football where a team from Serbia will play against a team from Africa. No one on the Serbian team can understand what the African coach is saying and vice versa. In baseball they needed something that opposing players couldn't understand. A statement makes it pretty clear what would happen if signals were spoken out loud. "Baseball players would be in a pretty pickle if all signals were verbal". The nature of the signals given on a playing field is as such that their secrecy has to be maintained. Without this secrecy the strategies of the coaches and players would be found out and the other team could take advantage of it.
These unintelligible hand signals are reminiscent of the numbers used to denote plays in American football. Just before a play is about to start and the ball is about to be hiked to the quarterback, he can be heard shouting random numbers to his team mates. He can be heard saying things like 2-24, 4-35. These numbers are supposed to indicate the play about to be executed and it is done like that so the other team doesn't know what the play is.
Hand signals are a fascinating part of any game they are used in. Even though they hold absolutely no meaning for fans or the opposing team, they are a vital part of the strategy and tactical analysis being done by the coaches and the players. Hand signals being so important will just increase in lunacy and also in how vital they are to the strategy of the game in years to come.
Tags: