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Blue Jays Starter Chris Bassitt To Stop Calling his Throws

  • Edgar Chaput's Author profile. Edgar Chaput

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After a bad defeat to the lowly Oakland A’s last week, veteran Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt said publicly that he will cease calling his own throws. “Gibby” and David Bastl discuss the strategy.

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Chris Bassitt to Stop Calling His Pitches

A new rule set up by MLB allows throwers to decide the type of pitches they wanted to toss, like a fastball, a curve ball, or a slider. This is done through PitchCom, a wireless technology also introduced in the majors last season. Blue Jays ace Chris Bassitt, who is going through a rough patch in 2023, will stop deciding what he wants to throw.

He currently has a 7-5 record with a 4.32 ERA, much higher than any of his ERAs of the past five seasons.

What does John Gibbons think of the strategy?

“Well, he’s clearly a victim of the pitch clock, he’s a slow worker with his eight pitches. It can be tough as a catcher with a lot of (head) shaking going on.”

With the rules of the pitch clock, a pitcher cannot operate at their own pace, which carries a lot of weight for someone like Bassitt with his elaborate arsenal of throws.

Gibbons elaborates:

“So now he’s rushed and thinks he needs to call them (the pitch types) himself, which is not natural for him.”

Former Blue Jay Russell Martin’s View

The former Toronto head coach brings up a conversation he recently had with former pro and Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin. Martin spoke about how many pitchers don’t give fair assessments of themselves, thus adding more pressure. With a good catcher behind the plate, the psychological workload is easier to handle.

Gibbons continues:

“In reality, pitchers usually call their games anyway because he can shake to whatever you want. But I think it’s smart. You get Danny Jansen back there who’s one of the better catchers in the game.”