How a small Arizona electronics firm got to baseball’s biggest show
It may not carry the panache of artificial intelligence recruiting or biomechanical monitoring, but PitchCom’s impact on professional and amateur baseball players is far-reaching.
Picked as one of the best inventions of 2023, PitchCom is turning baseball players and fans alike into believers.
The device invented by a tiny company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is now in use in all 30 MLB parks, including the Arizona Diamondbacks. (Avnet is the D-backs sleeve patch partner.) More than 200 college baseball and softball teams use it. Other sports and even industry have shown interest.
What isPitchCom? It’s an electronic transmitter with receiver that sends signals from the catcher at home plate to the pitcher’s mound.
It effectively solves the signal-stealing controversies that have plagued baseball since Abner Doubleday, the man credited with inventing baseball in 1839. It also quickens the pace of play so fans are more engaged.
How the device made its way from the drawing board to MLB fields is a fascinating tale of persistence, know-how and simple luck.
Here’s how PitchCom inventors John Hankins and Craig Filicetti brought their idea from a brainstorm to the ballpark.
“I’m a retired patent attorney and electrical engineer who was following a new path as a mentalist entertainer on stage. And, I’ve been a long-time baseball fan,” said Hankins. “The day after the sign-stealing scandal with the Houston Astros broke in 2019, I came up with this idea to adapt some of the things we use on stage to baseball.
“My partner, Craig, makes electronic and sound equipment for magicians and other entertainers. I thought something similar could work for baseball. As a patent attorney, I’m used to doing a lot of brainstorming with electrical engineers. I did a mini-brainstorm session with myself and tried to figure out how to solve this issue of sign-stealing.”
At the time, Craig had not heard of the sign-stealing controversy and wasn’t at the time a baseball fan (he is now). Still, he adapted a concept used in entertainment to baseball, and John filed for their patent the next day.
A prototype was developed within a week. From design concept to prototype moved quickly, but getting the idea in front of MLB took more time, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But MLB adopted the device in 2022 and its use began to accelerate in the 2023 season. By the time the Diamondbacks made it to Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, the device was a must-have.
Here's how the device works: A catcher wears a transmitter with nine buttons. Each button corresponds to a selection signal. The selection signal sends a code to all of the receivers on the field which causes the receiver to play a selected audio track that is stored on the receiver. This receiver is worn inside a pitcher’s (and other fielder’s) cap. Once a button is pressed by the catcher, an RF signal at 915 MHz transmits an encrypted selection signal to the pitcher. The pitcher’s receiver will retrieve the selected audio track from memory and play it. The audio track might say, for example, “Four-seam fastball, low inside.”
PitchCom’s inventors went through a few iterations before landing on the current design.
PitchCom’s 3D-printed transmitter and receiver underwent vigorous testing before MLB adoption.
The original design used bone conduction, but that wasn’t loud enough for the pitcher to hear in on-field environments. So, Hankins and Filicetti consulted a Nashville sound engineer and switched to speakers. They aimed the sound via plastic tube toward the ear canal. It worked perfectly in tests and continues to work almost flawlessly in the 2024 season, Hankins says.
They learned that the initial material they used to 3D print the device didn’t hold up, so they went with a higher-density material and better glue. The device's strength was tested by an independent lab by placing it against a steel plate and firing 95 mph fastballs at it.
“We did that again and again until we got the design right,” he said.
Today, PitchCom devices are manufactured out of a small office in Scottsdale, where three or four workers assemble the devices full-time. Hankins or Filicetti handle the occasional technical support call.
To purists who think technology like PitchCom spoils the game, John has a reminder: “The sport has always evolved. They used to throw the ball from 50 feet, now it’s 60 feet. This technology solves the signal-stealing and improves fan enjoyment of the sport.”
John has advice for other sports technology inventors: “If you design the right solution from the get-go, you’ll get adopted quickly. Do your homework and know what your client or market needs and try to satisfy those needs.”