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Own the Zone Pick Proof Baseball Software Q: What is Pick Proof Baseball Software? 2807 Bald Eagle Avenue 
No Stealing Signs In This Numbers Game Top Baseball Innovations He explained that the genesis of the system took place in the Fall of 2004 when Head
Coach Boomer Walker and Pitching Coach David Carter of Southern Idaho devised an
ingenious plan that would scuttle any hope an opponent had for picking off signs. The coach would have a master sheet with multiple 3-digit numbers corresponding to
certain pitches (fastball, curve, change up, etc. or defensive calls.)
The coach in the dugout calling the pitches or defensive plays would yell out (or flash
with their hand) a certain 3 digit set of numbers as the catcher received the code.
Then the catcher would look at his quarterback wrist band and glance at the first tow
digits across the top of the grid and go down to than intersecting point with the third
digit. A code would be there to signify which pitch or defensive play to signal in to the
pitcher or infielders. At the time, the master chart and quarterback wrist band inserts were done
by hand with no way of regenerating the sings so different 3-digit numbers came up. As time has rolled on, different coaches across the nation have utilized their computer
skills in Microsoft Excel spread sheets to make up master sheets which synchronize Now a company called Own The Zone Sports has turned this system into something special that all coaches on all levels should seriously look at. The software, which only works on PC's that utilize Microsoft Excel, 256 MB Ram, and 512 MB available hard drive space, allows coaches to utilize 3 digit signs for pitching, defense and offensive plays. The beauty of this system is that it allows coaches to custom design their pitches, defensive and offensive plays. If you want to make a set of custom signs for every pitcher on your staff, you can easily do it. Even more impressive is that you can tell the program how you want home plate to be split up as the pitcher throws to 1-6 zones. You are also asked to tell the program the percentage of certain pitches or plays before it generates the master sheet and wrist band grids for all offensive and defensive players. If coaches use both offensive and defensive signs with this system, you don't need two wristbands. You simply laminate the offensive and defensive player cards back-to-back for the players to flip their cards over each half inning. The brains behind this operation are former Western Oregon University baseball players Liam Woodard and Bryce Gardinier."Bryce is a computer software guy for his day job. One day back in 2006, I wondered out loud if he could write a computer program that could do everything we wanted. He gave it a whirl and came up with the general concept. We worked with Dan Hubbs and David Esquer at University of California and the coaches at Oregon State University, among others. We slowly refined it to where it is today." Woodard said that the current product is the fourth version and is extremely refined. You can even change the colors on the charts and grids to match your school colors (or help separate the signs for your players). "The flexibility it provides is what coaches like. Everybody can customize it to fit their program. Not everybody calls a delayed steal the same (thing) or and early break to take second. As far as pitch calling, it gives you great flexibility as well. You can even customize it to a specific pitcher or pitchers. The cool thing about it is that you can take some ownership in it and make your own system with the software." It is impossible to steal the signs and easy for offensive or defensive players to get the play right. Missed sings are now a thing of the past. Can You Read The Signs? Joe Nossek was the best at stealing signs, it was his only job for years as a coach for the White Sox until he was replaced before this season. By design, there is no place for a manager to hide in visiting dugout at the White Sox's U.S. Cellular Field. So, several visiting managers, including Tom Kelly, formerly of the Twins, and Johnny Oates, formerly of the Orioles, would have their coaches build human fortresses around them so Nossek couldn't see the signs that were being relayed to the base coaches, the catcher, etc. More signs are sent today than at any time in baseball history, that's how intricate the game has become. Many pitchers are given a sign from the bench for a pitch-out, a pick-off throw and even a step-off. Third base coaches are relaying hundreds of signs a game, there's a technique to that, also. Brewers third base coach Rich Donnelly has practiced his signs in front of the mirror so not to be too obvious with his signals or his cadence. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, more than once, had his trainer, Barry Weinberg, flashed the sign because no one would be watching him. "When he took out the tongue depressor,'' Donnelly said, "it was a steal.'' Former Padres third base coach Tim Flannery once practiced his signs on his 13-year-old son, thinking "if he can get 'em, so can our players.'' Click here to read the rest of the rest of story Baseball's New Signs of the Times Matt Skundrick doesn't act like the typical third-base coach. Instead of alternating between touching his cap, chest, arms and legs, Skundrick spends most of his time coaching Salem, Ore., Post 9 either standing with his arms on his hips or shouting encouragement and instruction to his players. If he is caught rubbing his arm, it's because he has an itch -- not because he's telling Salem's players what to do. Instead, he does that with an occasional raise of his right hand, flashing a series of three numbers, always between zero and five. Skundrick is just the middleman, though, in Liam Woodard's game. Woodard, Salem's head coach, helped develop a system where instructions are passed by numbers rather than by signs. Before each play, Woodard passes a code on to Skundrick, who then passes the signal on to Salem's batters and runners. The runners then check game-specific wristbands to pick up the sign. "To me, it's a no-brainer to use it, because it's pick-proof and kids don't miss signs," Woodard said. "I don't know why everyone doesn't use it." However, Woodard is monetarily motivated in making that statement — he sells a version of the play-coding program. The play coding started as a basic spreadsheet file, but evolved into a full interactive program that can be tailored to specific teams and players."I can completely customize it, so (for example) if I have a guy who throws a split-finger (pitch), I can put in a split-finger sign," Woodard said. Woodard wanted a system of signaling plays that other teams couldn't steal. Such a system didn't exist in a form Woodard wanted, so he contacted Bryce Gardinier, a computer science guru who played baseball with Woodard at Western Oregon in 2001. Together, they developed the interactive system where coaches can change the numerical signs from game to game, a system Woodard calls "un-pickable." "(In the) Pac-10, picking signs is big business," Woodard said. "They have guys on staff, (and) that's all they do." However, stealing Salem's signs would require more than just a keen eye -- it might require actual theft. The codes change each game and players are given new sheets to put in their wristbands. The coach's sheet lists the possible offensive plays and defensive set-ups, and the wristbands players wear tell them what each three-digit code means. "In Oregon, we play the same teams, maybe twice a week, so it gets real easy to pick off signs," said Josh McCartney, the right fielder in Salem's 19-2 victory over East Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Added teammate Scott Rowland, "We haven't had a sign picked all year." Ben Shivers clarified his teammate's statement: "Some teams tried to pick us this year, and they quit trying after the first game." Woodard said the system has given Salem a mental edge, one that carried Post 9 to the Oregon state championship and brought them to Casper for the American Legion Northwest Regional tournament."For the most part, people who know what we're doing aren't going to try and pick our signs," Woodard said. Sign Of The Times? Coach Don Senestraro's Ashland baseball team is living up to preseason expectations as the Southern Sky Conference favorite, taking a 4-0 league and 11-2 overall record into today's doubleheader at Eagle Point. But what is truly unique about the Grizzlies is their method of communication on the field. Baseball purists are used to watching coaches make signals from the field or the dugout, often in mind-numbing fashion. A touch of the nose, then the belt, then the hat, over to the left ear and then the right ear, a sweeping motion across the chest and then down the right arm before finishing with a clap of the hands. Any one of those motions could mean something, or nothing. The right combination of motions leads to a certain play by the batter, while a minor alteration means another. The same goes for signaling pitches to the catcher, who then has to provide different signs to his pitcher. It's all meant to throw off opposing teams as to what you're trying to accomplish, but sometimes you can throw yourself off with missed signs. The Grizzlies, however, have had no such issues since Senestraro adopted a numbers method from Western Oregon University two years ago. "We haven't missed a sign in two years," says Senestraro. "Let me tell you, as a coach, that gets out a lot of the frustrations right there. It works really well for us." |