T-MOBILE | READ THE SIGNS

We “misinterpreted” baseball signs as covert signals being sent from coaches to fans to tell them...
that the MLB.tv offer from T-Mobile was coming back.


   

And we wrote a Reddit thread to teach everyone what baseball signs mean.



TL;DR: Team T-Mobile here. As the Official Wireless Partner of the MLB (and Unofficial Wireless Partner of MLB on Reddit), we know a thing or two about baseball. Here’s our breakdown of how to read baseball signs and how to get the most out of ALL 162 GAMES this season.

Even if you’ve watched thousands of baseball games, the odds are pretty good that you don’t know what baseball signs actually mean.(Unless you’re 11x All-Star, 3x NL MVP, 2x World Series Champion Albert Pujols) In which case, hi Albert. It’s an honor.)

That’s because the ins and outs of baseball signs are like an early 2000's pop song, they’re complicated.
As your friendly neighborhood wireless provider, we’re here to help.

First, we must establish what a “sign” is.

It’s a covert way of telling players on your team what to do, without the other team knowing. Sneak +100.

Who gives signs?

The manager, the third base coach, the catcher, the shortstop, the centerfielder. (It might be easier to tell you who doesn’t give signs.)

And what are some common situations that call for sign-giving, you ask?
- Anytime a batter is up to bat
- Anytime a runner is on base
- Whenever there are runners on first and third base
(it’s a specific situation that requires both offensive and defensive adjustments)
- Adjusting defensive alignment in general
- Pitch-calling

So basically everyone is giving them, all the time.

What does a sign look like? It can look like any number of things depending on who is giving the sign and when it is being given. Clears things right up, doesn’t it?

For simplicity’s sake, let’s focus on signs given by a manager or third base coach. They’ll typically go through a progression of movements, using their hands to touch different parts of their body in succession, to “speak” with the batter in the box and any runners on base.

Let’s break that down a little further.

A coach touches different areas on their body, knowing that certain touches are associated with different things.

For example (we made these up):

TOUCH HAT = Bunt
SWIPE DOWN RIGHT LEG = Steal


And so on…

Often, a coach will use an INDICATOR: a movement that immediately precedes the important sign to signal that the sign is ON.
The coach will “open” the sequence by touching the INDICATOR. Then, they’ll touch the important sign and “close” the sequence by returning to the INDICATOR. If the INDICATOR is not used to “open or close” the sequence, then even if the coach touches a specific sign, it is OFF.

For example:

INDICATOR = TOUCH RIGHT EAR

STEAL = SWIPE DOWN RIGHT LEG

Then the sequence…

Touch RIGHT EAR
Swipe DOWN RIGHT LEG

Touch RIGHT EAR

Means the sign is ON and the runner should steal.

If the RIGHT EAR wasn’t returned to, the runner should not steal.

Cool?
Good, because to complicate things even more, a coach might declare a HOT position, article of clothing, movement, or word, which overrides the INDICATOR even if it is given properly.

Meaning, any sign given is not ON unless the coach is in the HOT position.

For example:

If the HOT position is standing on the back line of the third base coach’s box, even if the coach gives the proper indicator and sign combination for steal but is not standing on the back line of the box, the runner should not steal.

Thankfully, it just gets more complex from here. What a relief!

Because that’s only the basics of coaches’ signs.

Calling pitches is a different ballgame, pun intended.

But that’s for another time. Right now, you’ve completed your introductory course in the basics of baseball signs!

Congratulations!
What are you going to do with all of this newfound knowledge?

Why not test it out on this example. What do you think he’s saying?:
If you guessed:

“Free MLB.TV for T-Mobile customers is coming soon.”

YOU’RE RIGHT. Free MLB.TV is coming 3/28-4/3. Follow this link to switch and sign up now.

Btw, our legal team told us we have to include this so without further ado, please enjoy the following disclaimer!

Limited-time offer; subject to change. Qualified plan req’d. Must access T-Mobile Tuesdays and sign up for MLB.TV between 3/28-4/3/2023. Blackout and other restrictions apply. ™/© 2023 MLB



https://www.reddit.com/user/tmobile/comments/11zvx0x/were_going_to_do_our_best_to_eli5_baseball_signs/