First, if the coaching staff is calling pitches, the implication is that the players have no control over this part of the game. The battery must comply with a sign from the dugout. Period. The Rockies \u2014 and every member of the clubhouse \u2014 are clear that\u2019s not the case here. Ultimately, the pitcher decides with the only consequence being the outcome of the at-bat.<\/p>\n
Second, one of the defining characteristics of Schaffer\u2019s career has been an emphasis on communication and collaboration<\/a>, and for the Rockies, the decision to suggest pitches from the dugout marks an additional area of improved organizational communication and player development. The coaching staff is sharing information to the battery, and they\u2019re all working together \u2014 having an in-game conversation, if you will.<\/p>\n In other words, it\u2019s a small-d \u201cdemocratic\u201d system with all involved having a say.<\/p>\n Last weekend, a number of pitchers, catchers, and members of the coaching staff discussed the new system.<\/p>\n Rockies pitching coach Alon Leichman first experienced this system while with the Miami Marlins. It has largely remain unchanged since he joined the Rockies.<\/p>\n Catcher Brett Sullivan<\/a> explained how it works.<\/p>\n It beings with a pre-game meeting: Catchers Sullivan and Hunter Goodman, the starting pitcher, the bullpen staff, and the pitching coaches have a discussion. They consider who they\u2019ll be facing and the pitches they like in a given situation.<\/p>\n During the game, Leichman, as Sullivan describes it, \u201cputs in his suggestion\u201d by flashing a sign to the catcher, which corresponds to a card he wears. Then the catcher makes a decision: Is this the right call in this situation? If he likes it, the catcher signals to the pitcher; if he has doubts, he \u201cgo[es] with what he thinks in that moment,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n That decision is based on a number of factors:<\/p>\n How the hitter has reacted to a pitch.If the hitter made an adjustment.What\u2019s working for the pitcher.<\/p>\n Ultimately, though, it\u2019s up to the pitcher.<\/p>\n \u201cThe final decision is the pitcher,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cHe\u2019s the guy on the mound, and he has to make that final call. If he\u2019s convicted in that pitch, then it\u2019s three minds coming together, saying, \u2018We all like this pitch.\u2019 Or he maybe is more comfortable with something else, and he goes with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Sullivan added, \u201cThe most important thing is what the pitcher wants.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rockies rely on constant communication in addition to using data to better prepare pitchers. First, there\u2019s that pre-game meeting. Then, according to Sullivan there\u2019s \u201clots of communication, before, after, during, in-between innings.\u201d Finally comes the debrief.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day, we\u2019ll go over it and talk about it and what we saw, maybe what we could use more, what we could go do instead,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason the Rockies wait to debrief.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like after the game is more just, \u2018Hey, we won. Everybody kind of is happy about it. Let\u2019s just go tomorrow.\u2019 Or \u2018We lost. Let\u2019s just wait till tomorrow, let everybody cool down, or whatever it is,\u2019\u201d said Goodman. \u201cSo usually we talk the next day more than we do after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the process, but what do those using it think?<\/p>\n The answers are overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n So far, Schaeffer is pleased with the results, saying, \u201cI think it\u2019s working very well.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained, \u201cThe biggest thing that people need to know when we\u2019re doing that, when the pitcher, catcher and Alon come off the field, the conversations about how we\u2019re going to attack hitters goes through the roof. So we\u2019re getting the right answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, this is a highly collaborative system that requires all involved to \u201cput away their ego,\u201d according to Schaeffer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s three people signing off on one pitch. If you\u2019ve got the right people, it works.\u201d<\/p>\n For Leichman, it\u2019s a way of moving the off-the-field conversations into the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI have some information in front of me. It\u2019s basically me suggesting a pitch when they have the ability to say \u2018Yes\u2019 or \u2018No,\u2019\u201d Leichman said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like me talking to the pitcher: \u2018Hey, I\u2019m thinking slider here. What do you think?\u2019 And if they agree, then, yeah, we\u2019re going slider. If they disagree, we\u2019re going with whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he added this: \u201cIt\u2019s basically a way for me to talk to the pitcher while he\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Goodman and Sullivan have praised the new system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve thrown the ball well. It\u2019s been a little less stress on me as well,\u201d Goodman said.<\/p>\n Plus, pitch suggesting takes into account that the catchers see things the coaching staff cannot.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just certain (things) throughout the course of a game, as being behind the plate, you can see a little bit different things to the game than you can from your dugout sometimes,\u201d Goodman said. \u201cSo certain situations, you maybe want to change something or go a different route.\u201d<\/p>\n The flexibility of the system allows for improvisation.<\/p>\n Finally, it reduces the cognitive load of one of the busiest players in the game.<\/p>\n As Brennan Bernadino points out, \u201cIt is very tough for a catcher to go over their at-bats and then know every pitcher, the starter, and then all the relievers and memorize exactly what that hitter\u2019s holes are to certain pitchers. So I think it\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Rockies pitchers have endorsed the system for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n Zach Agnos appreciates the flexibility of being able to adjust to a given situation.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, Alon can\u2019t tell really how your stuff is that day from the side,\u201d he said. \u201cSo that\u2019s where he relies on us. Where \u2018Hey, I\u2019m throwing my slider, and it\u2019s not that great today,\u2019 then we shake to something that\u2019s working better for us that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Plus, Agnos doesn\u2019t miss the mental work. \u201cI don\u2019t like to think a ton when I\u2019m up there. I just like getting the ball and going.\u201d Then he added, \u201cFor me, I love it. I think it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle Freeland agrees: \u201cIt\u2019s just kind of able to take something off our plate and our catcher\u2019s plate in a game that\u2019s turning very, very analytical.\u201d<\/p>\n Mar 27, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) is removed from the game by manager Warren Schaeffer (4) during the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Ryan Feltner, too, is a fan.<\/p>\n \u201cI love it. I\u2019ve always been into the data and the numbers and everything. And I think with nine guys in every lineup, it\u2019s a lot of information for the pitcher and catcher to remember. So logically, to me, it just makes a lot of sense if somebody has the information in front of them that they can relay (that) to the catcher to put us in the best position to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Bernadino highlighted that its very close to the existing pitch-calling system, saying, \u201cOnce again, it\u2019s just a suggestion, so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s any different than when the catcher is calling the pitches.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaden Hill highlighted two additional benefits of the Rockies system. First, it removes some of the pitcher\u2019s emotions from the equation; second, it\u2019s a tool for learning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been great for me personally,\u201d Hill said, \u201cjust because I think it allows us to take our mind off of the emotion part of it, and we make a more logical decision in the thinking process. And I believe that coming from [Alon], he\u2019s done the scouting report. He has more calm-minded thoughts than we do. And so I really like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he added, \u201cI think as we\u2019re going, it also teaches us to learn from what he\u2019s calling, and you begin to repeat it so many times that it becomes a natural instinct. So that way, you can kind of think along with his process.\u201d<\/p>\n And with that, for Hill, comes confidence. \u201cIf three people all were thinking the same thing, I think that\u2019s the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Since it was a group decision, Hill finds accepting the outcome easier.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us are all on the same page,\u201d he said, \u201cand I think that you can live with the results, whether good, bad or ugly. You can live with it. You can talk about it. We\u2019re all in agreement, and failure is going to happen, but you can accept it, move on, and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n In late March, Ben Lindbergh wrote \u201cKeep MLB front offices away from the playing field\u201d<\/a> in which he opposes what the Rockies are doing now. (Noteworthy is Alon Leichman\u2019s presence in the story\u2019s artwork.)<\/p>\n Lindbergh\u2019s argument is lengthy, but he writes that, for two primary reasons, pitch calling from the dugout is a terrible idea. The first is aesthetic (it looks bad), and the second is philosophical (the players become \u201cwind-up players pointed toward targets the front office sets\u201d). Later in his essay, Lindbergh writes this: \u201cEvery pitch call is consequential, which is why team decision-makers are so motivated to commandeer that duty.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Rockies (who are mentioned in Lindbergh\u2019s piece as, presumably, evidence to support his thesis), there is no \u201ccommandeering\u201d involved. Every coach, catcher, and pitcher endorsed the new system (and I asked all but two members of the pitching staff). The Rockies are engaged in a highly collaborative process with all stakeholders having a voice and the pitcher the final decision.<\/p>\n Maybe I\u2019ve just watched too much bad pitching as a Rockies fan because, Reader, you and I have surely done that. And maybe I\u2019m just energized by a team finally using information in a way that\u2019s collaborative and improves the results on the field.<\/p>\n But consider me a big fan of pitch suggesting.<\/p>\n This week on the internet<\/p>\n In case you\u2019ve forgotten, Coors Field has a host of new menu items<\/a>. Here are Ryan Spilborghs and Cory Sullivan checking out Glizzilla for themselves.<\/p>\n Has anyone tried a Glizzilla yet?<\/p>\n The Marlins call pitches from the dugout. Why the Yankees think it\u2019s \u2018terrible\u2019 | The Athletic ($)<\/a><\/p>\n Given today\u2019s topic, this seemed timely. I\u2019ve provided a gift link. (Too many people criticizing this system need to spend more time understanding how it works \u2014 or at least for the Rockies, who are mentioned.)<\/p>\n \u2018Not going to panic\u2019: Lorenzen discusses first starts with Rox | MLB.com<\/a><\/p>\n Thomas Harding spoke with Michael Lorenzen about his early-season adjustments.<\/p>\n Fewer adsCreate community posts<\/a>Comment on articles, community postsRec comments, community postsNew, improved notifications system!<\/p>\n![\"Mar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/imagn-28600571.jpg\"\/)
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