Read Baseball Signals

Some baseball signs are obvious, such as an umpire's safe and out signs or the third base coach's arms waving wildly in a circle telling the base runner to make a run for home plate. Other signs are not as clear. Paul Dickson, author of "The Hidden Language of Baseball," estimates that in any given game, more than 1,000 signs are passed between players, coaches and even umpires. You can read some of these signs with focused effort and experience.

• Signs By the Catcher

  1. Signs made by catchers are limited in quantity and fairly easy to read. Typically, one finger signals a fastball, two means a curve, three signals a breaking ball and four wiggling fingers means an off-speed pitch. A sign made against the catcher's right thigh signals an inside pitch, with a sign on the left indicating a pitch on the outside of the plate. Reading the signs becomes more difficult when the catcher makes a sequence of signs with only one of the sequence meant as the real call.

• Signs for Hitters

  1. Deciphering signs from the manager to the third base coach and the coach to the batter is difficult because many gestures and sequences of gestures are involved. In some cases, each player on a team has his own set of signs so if he's traded, the new team won't learn the previous team's signs. That said, if you know what plays are likely to be called, such as a hit-and-run when a speedy runner is on first base or a bunt when a base runner needs to be moved on to second, you can look for certain signs and then verify your guess by seeing if the play occurs.

• Signs on the Field

  1. Knowing what plays may occur on the field allow you to read signs exchanged between fielders and from the pitcher to the catcher. When a runner is on base, the shortstop and second baseman signal about who will cover second base; an open mouth might mean the shortstop will cover and a closed mouth that the second baseman will cover. The players may also inform the pitcher of the plan with a pre-arranged signal, such as pointing, which, as in all signs, could mean its opposite meaning.

• Signs By the Pitcher

  1. Signs from the pitcher to the catcher may be straightforward, such as a shake of the head meaning the pitcher doesn't want to throw the pitch called for. Or, the pitcher may use the shake-off to confuse the batter, with the shake-off meaning he actually will throw the pitch. The tip-off, an unintentional sign, occurs when the pitcher signals the upcoming pitch without meaning to do; some commentators believe this happened during the 2001 World Series with Andy Pettitte holding his glove in different ways for different pitches.

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