The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees 3-2 in walk-off fashion on Wednesday night in the Subway Series. Max Scherzer was brilliant for the Mets, throwing seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.09.
The start also featured Scherzer using PitchCom for the first time.
PitchCom features a keypad that catchers can use to request pitches without using hand signals, and that transmits an audio signal to the pitcher’s hat. It was implemented as an option for the 2022 MLB season, as a way to lessen sign-stealing and speed up the game. The crackdown on sign-stealing became a focus after the Houston Astros’ notorious scandal in 2017.
Unsurprisingly, the old-school and ultra-competitive Scherzer isn’t a big fan of PitchCom after trying it.
While Scherzer admitted that PitchCom “works” and helps, he said that the system “should be illegal.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner added, “Stealing signs is part of the game.”
When asked if he’ll use PitchCom again, Scherzer said, “I don’t know. I’ll think about it. I might.”
The PitchCom technology has received mostly positive reviews from pitchers and catchers around the league. So, it’s likely sticking around. And if it’s legal and helps as Scherzer admits, he might as well use it, even if he doesn’t like what it’s doing for the game.