The game of baseball requires more than bats and balls, gloves and uniforms. Communication is essential. Every pitch hinges on the ongoing conversation between the catcher and the pitcher about what to throw to the batter. Fastball? Slider? Curve?
For a very long time in the world of baseball, this conversation between catcher and pitcher has occurred in the clear. The catcher and pitcher are sixty feet apart, and the use of messaging technology is against the rules, so the catcher uses hand signals to indicate the suggested pitch. Traditionally, “one” (a flash of the index finder) communicated “fastball,” and “two” (“the deuce”) indicated a curveball. But with the myriad of pitches thrown today, signals are complex, including indications of pitch location.
The signaling of pitches led to another baseball tradition: opponents trying to steal those signs. When an opposing team successfully steals signs, it is not easy to detect. A team may lose a game, with their pitcher giving up ten runs, and simply conclude that their man on the mound just didn’t have his best “stuff” that day.
It is rare when a team is caught stealing signs, but this past week it may have happened. The Colorado Rockies were playing host to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday May 10th when the local TV crew spotted the Phillies’ bullpen coach, Mick Billmeyer, with a pair of binoculars. The Phillies claim that he was simply watching their own catcher when they were on the field. Were the signs stolen? Hard to tell. All we know for sure is that the Phillies won the game, 9-5.
As in baseball, communication is essential in business, and much of this communication still occurs in the clear. The key difference is that the use of technology to improve privacy and security in business is not only legal, it’s recommended.
For more on the most recent sign stealing episode, and one from baseball’s storied past.
David Cain
Vice President, Worldwide Channel Sales
Accellion, Inc.
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