Strikeout ProductionsStrikeout Productions
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Build 03In testing

Pitch Call

The coach taps a pitch and a spot on a phone. A moment later the pitcher's and catcher's watches buzz and show the call.

Two watches showing the call CURVE OUT on either side of an orange base unit with the Strikeout Productions logo
Both watches and the dugout base, showing the same call
The coach's call page: pitch buttons, a three-by-three location grid, and play buttons for pickoffs, pitchouts and mound visits
The coach's screen

How it works

Tap, send, buzz

The coach
Picks a pitch and where it should go (high and in, low and out, and so on), or a play like a pickoff or a mound visit, then taps send.
The base
Sits in the dugout and sends the call by radio. It runs its own Wi-Fi for the coach's phone and doesn't need internet or a cell signal.
The watches
Buzz twice for a pitch and three times for a play, and show the call big enough to read at a glance. The catcher and pitcher see the same words.
Locked
Calls are encrypted, so nobody in the stands can read them or send a fake one.

So far

Bench-tested, not game-tested

Overnight
A test sent a call every three minutes for eight hours. Both watches caught all 157 calls.
Battery
On that test the watches were on pace for about 16 hours on a charge.
Cases
The base case, with the logo, and the watch bumpers are 3D-printed.
Next
Taking it to a practice.

Why build it? The ready-made systems want a subscription and come loaded with features. I wanted the calls and nothing else.

The other builds

The scoreboardThe score, the count and who's batting, drawn on the stream and kept up to date from GameChanger.TallyCombines Starlink and cellular into one connection, so a stream rides out a dropped signal.