Runner obviously relays signs to hitter, a breakdown
What Happened
In a tense matchup between Wofford and Mercer in the second round of the Southern Conference championship, the score stands at 15-10 with Wofford in the lead. Wofford's runner on second base is intently watching the Mercer catcher's signs, clearly trying to relay information to the batter. This is a common practice in baseball, as runners often attempt to decode the catcher's signs and tip off the batter about the upcoming pitch. The runner on second, whose identity is not specified, leans in and scans the catcher's signs carefully. He appears to pick up on something, possibly the grip the pitcher is using, and flashes a signal to the batter, indicating that a changeup is coming. However, the pitch that follows is actually a fastball, not a changeup, and the batter is unable to capitalize on the information. The Mercer dugout quickly notices the Wofford runner's actions and alerts the pitcher, who then speaks with the catcher. They decide to change up their sign sequence, using body parts and numbers instead of just finger signs. The runner on second continues to stare intently at the pitcher's glove, trying to decipher the grip, and again signals a changeup to the batter. This time, the pitch is indeed a changeup, and the batter is able to foul it off. Throughout the sequence, the runner on second is extremely obvious and blatant in his attempts to relay the signs, leading the Mercer players and coaches to become frustrated. They recognize that the runner has figured out their sign sequence and is successfully tipping off the batter. Despite their efforts to change the signs, the runner continues to accurately predict the upcoming pitches. In the end, the sign-stealing attempt does not significantly impact the outcome of the game, as Mercer is able to get the final out. However, the incident highlights the ongoing battle between teams to gain any possible advantage, even if it means pushing the boundaries of gamesmanship.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentsaw this clip on the social media pages
and needed to take a deeper look at it
Wofford Mercer second round of the socon
socon championship it's 15 to 10
woffords up that guy hits a double he's
four for four on the day this breakdown
is brought to you by the John Boy media
store we had a lot of shirts we had a
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sellers these days anyway guys on second
he's looking in right so the runner on
second always is trying to look for
something seeing if he can relay intro
to the batter it's not illegal it's very
much part of the game if you can find a
tip that's considered a win so he's just
kind of staring he doesn't really have
anything is he looking at the pitcher is
he looking at the catcher the catcher is
giving a sequence of signs so like and
there's some code to it and he's clearly
like you know he's leaned in he's
looking trying to get this batter some
info and on this pitch he's gonna get
some Intel now he's looking in he's
looking and he sees something he says Oh
Hey Batter change up coming now that
grip there that Circle that's the grip
you would throw on a change up a circle
change so he's just telling him change
up is coming and just flashing it right
in his face and the batter's like cool
only problem is that was 88 miles per
hour I think that that's the pitcher's
fastball judging by all the other miles
per hour laced into right field
didn't work don't think he got the pitch
right what's he looking at to catcher
signs the pitcher's hands well I have my
answer of what I think he's looking at
they saw that the other team is like hey
go go talk to the pitcher I think he's
got something on you so they go talk to
the pitch and they're like hey he might
have our signs he just kind of gave a
signal but he got it wrong because that
was a fastball and he said it was going
to be a change up but let's just be on
the lookout for that so now 13 takes his
lead again the catcher puts down the
signs you gotta Lefty up
and no tell no tip no nothing that pitch
I believe that was a fastball outside
next pitch is coming and
nothing fouled back one and one count
all right oh oh and two count that's my
bad so now he's looking where is he
looking at the catcher at the pitcher
does he have something
no he doesn't he's gonna get picked off
attempted he didn't pick him off they
can't next pitch is coming catcher just
finished up giving his signs Runners
looking in anything nothing the pitch
88 miles per hour O2 fastball fouled
back guy was late on it
another O2 let's speed through this one
they have nothing he doesn't have
anything form and that was a change up
so it's not like he had every single
pitch and he's only done it once and he
got it wrong so and he did it so
blatantly and so obvious maybe it's head
games maybe he's trying to get in their
brain like making them think he has
something but he's got to be messing
with the batter too this pitch you can
see he's way closer to the back now
maybe that's because they tried to pick
him off or maybe because he's trying to
sneak a peek uh he does sneak a peek and
he's going to tell him again hey change
up is coming I think he's looking
straight into the pitcher's glove he's
back towards second and I think he just
sees his hands inside that glove in the
change up grip and this time he's right
that is a change up 80 miles per hour
it's a ball now the very next pitch he's
back he's close again to the pitcher and
he's looking he's staring looks at his
glove creeps back a little bit gives him
the sign again change up change up
change up one two change up and another
change up another Ball but now the
Dugout says hey dude he just did it
twice in a row and this time he was
right he actually had change up and
change up so the dugout's getting feisty
and they're like dude what's going on
they're like hey we're gonna change up
the signs he's figured out our sequence
so they go to body parts instead of
fingers and numbers uh but I don't think
that's what he's doing I think he's just
staring at the glove and when he can see
the change up grip he's letting him know
change him crap he's two for three on it
he's also missed some change UPS uh
didn't really matter they went to this
new sequence and see that was a change
up and he didn't get it and now he's but
he's got more of a lead now than he did
when he was kind of peeking anyway in
the end it didn't matter at all because
they get the last out but it is funny
how blatant he was relaying the signs
usually it's like hey if I if I lift my
right foot up or if I take two steps to
the right when he comes set or if I
very slight not if I give you the grip
and just wave it like this that's it so
maybe it wasn't planned at all like the
batter's like what dude and he just
happened to see it in the pitcher's
glove and was like I don't know how I
should tell him but changeups coming
change up change up change up didn't
work funny though this one was brought
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thanks appreciate you guys