ABOUT US
For years, Game Signs Signal Enhancement Stickers™ watched major league games on television and cringed at the sight of catchers using makeshift items so pitchers could distinguish their intricate in-game hand signals.
Some catchers applied athletic tape between their outer knuckles. Others spray-painted or nail-polished their fingertips or chalked their hands in the dirt while squatting behind the batter's box. We even noticed that former New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada dabbed his nails with White-Out.
There had to be an easier, more uniform way for catchers to push their message across. Athletic tape, after all, constricted a catcher's ability to throw. And painting nails ruined cuticles and took forever to remove after the game.
We hatched an idea together to remedy the problem.
Getting Started
After about the third or fourth year, we decided to get our butts in gear and make a move on it.
We introduced a new product called Game Signs, colorful Signal Stickers™ catchers could painlessly apply to their nails and discard instantly after the game. Now the product is sweeping across major league baseball this season.
We knew that it served a purpose, we knew it had a place in this game. What we didn't know was how quickly big league catchers would accept the product.
During spring training Game Signs made sure to gain access to all 30 major league clubhouses. We spent a month in Arizona and three weeks in Florida to reach every team. We communicated with each club's equipment manager to set up showings.
Once they realized we had something that was quite innovative, they understood what it was right off the bat. Their curiosity was what allowed us into the clubhouse. Once they saw our approach, they took us seriously.
Where We Are Now
Now, Game Signs is a product just as important to some ballplayers as sunflower seeds or chewing gum.
Game Signs have been worn by Buster Posey and Hector Sanchez (San Francisco), Kurt Suzuki (Oakland), John Buck (Miami), Russell Martin (New York Yankees), Josh Thole (New York Mets), Mike Napoli (Texas), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Boston) and Jonathan Lucroy (Milwaukee), among others.
Lucroy was among the crop of big league catchers who took to Game Signs immediately.
In past seasons, he applied lines of White-Out along his fingers and even spray-painted his fingernails with white field paint in college.
"Some guys use tape," Lucroy said. "They wrap their fingers in tape, but I can't do that. I don't like to throw tape on my fingers. I used spray paint before on my fingers. And then I was like, 'You know what? That's too much work.' It takes forever to get it off. So, those Catcher Signal Stickers™ just kind of showed up in my locker one day, and I started using them."
In the locked cabinet above his locker, Lucroy maintains a stack of white stickers and specially made neon green stickers.
Proven Success
As for whether the stickers actually serve a purpose other than looking cool? Lucroy, says absolutely.
"The last thing you want is to give up a run in a big situation or something like that by a crossed-up pitch," Lucroy said. "I'm doing everything I can to avoid that kind of situation."
Brewers closer John Axford said the stickers can be helpful, particularly when the shadows creep across Miller Park in Milwaukee during day games, making it difficult to discern regular signals from the catcher.
"It could be completely dark, and you only might be able to get a certain flash," Axford said. "(Catchers) don't want to go 'one' when there's somebody on second. You have to go through different signs, and you have to be able to see the difference between a 'four' and a 'three' or a 'two.' If you miss it, then either the catcher is going to wear one, or he's going to miss it, and the umpire is going to wear one. You never really want things like that to happen, so if it helps, then it's definitely useful, that's for sure."
No, it’s not nailing polish. Game Signs is a nationwide provider of bright Catcher Signal Enhancement Stickers™ for baseball and softball catchers. Game Signs specially designed stickers are used to ensure that pitchers can accurately see the signs from the catchers.
Over 50 Major League Baseball catchers have used Game Signs this year. The brightly colored signal enhancers are specially designed, durable, reflective stickers that are applied to the fingernails of the catcher’s signaling hand. Game Signs are available at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dunham’s Sports, and Hibbett Sports, among other top national sports retailers.
Current Boston Red Sox catcher says, “Our entire staff loves the way my signs light up from behind the plate. These things (Game Signs) are easy, and they work great!”
Throughout the history of the game, catcher’s have tried a number of different makeshift methods to highlight their signs to the pitcher and make them more visible, namely; athletic tape, white out, white paint, white nail polish, and chalk.
Game Signs are highly visible during both day and night games and are easily applied and removed. Made with a smooth, non-porous surface that is easily wiped clean, a heavy-duty adhesive that keeps them in place under the harshest game conditions, and there are no solvents to use or residue to chip off.