Drayer: Why Mariners’ Kirby is testing out calling his own pitches

Seattle Mariners right-hander George Kirby has a new trick up his sleeve – or to be more exact, clipped to his belt.

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In Sunday’s Cactus League game in Maryvale against the Milwaukee Brewers, it wasn’t a new pitch Kirby was trying out, but rather a piece of equipment – a small box with buttons clipped to his belt at his right hip, a PitchCom transmitter that is usually in the hands of the catcher who calls the game.

While answering the first question posed to him in his post-outing media session, Kirby casually revealed what had otherwise been unknown beyond the field during his three innings of work where he surrendered one run on two hits, while striking out two and walking one.

“Felt great today. Tried to fill it up as good as I can, kind of use everything,” Kirby said. “And yeah, (catcher Andrew Knizner) called a good game. I got the thing on my belt now just so I can kind of call pitches when I want to. But yeah.”

Indeed.

The quick drop-in of the “thing” did not go unnoticed by the media group that was present. An immediate barrage of questions followed all at once that had Kirby – smile on his face at the chaos he had created – attempting to answer each quickly before, finally, the most important one led to some order: Does Cal know?

“He does,” Kirby answered, before explaining his rationale for becoming the only Mariners pitcher to use the PitchCom besides Logan Gilbert, who used it once in the final game of the 2024 season. “It’s just a way for me to have more conviction in some of my pitches, something that I really want to throw. Instead of shaking 20 times to get to one, you just press it and go from there.”

Kirby is not calling his entire game. Rather, he has a quick override if he has strong feelings about a pitch he would rather throw than what the catcher has called for.

“I’m going to let them do their thing, and then if there’s something that I want to throw, you know, I’m going to call it,” Kirby said.

Cal Raleigh’s name came up again when pitching coach Pete Woodworth was asked about Kirby and PitchCom and why now.

“Cal’s not here,” Woodworth deadpanned. “Cal’s not here and George wanted to have some fun.”

Woodworth was joking. Calling some of his own pitches is something Kirby had talked to Woodworth about in the offseason. He hit his pitching coach with the right word when explaining why he wanted to take part of his game into his own hands: Conviction. It’s a word Kirby and other pitchers use quite often, and often the belief is the best selection of a pitch in a given situation is the pitch the pitcher has the most conviction in throwing. Woodworth pointed out that getting to that conviction can be different for different pitchers.

“Cal’s elite at what he does and guys learn that very quickly,” Woodworth said. “They trust Cal and they’ve gotten to that point where they are fully convicted in whatever that guy says. So, you will hear a handful of them – Woo is like, I don’t want to think. You tell me what to do, I’m going to get convicted with it. But my least favorite conversation is, I didn’t really want to throw that pitch. So why didn’t you shake?”

That was something Kirby wanted to get away from.

“I think it’s a way for me to own my game a little better,” Kirby said. “I feel like there’s always a pitch or two where, like, I wish I didn’t throw that. And it’s kind of the worst thing to do, you know, mentally. So being convicted in the pitch, I think that’s the biggest thing for me. If I see a swing and I want to throw something, I know that’s going to be the best option in my mind.”

Kirby estimated he called eight to 10 of the 55 pitches he threw Sunday and admitted he did fumble with the device to get to the right pitch a couple of times. It will take getting adjusted to, but better in spring training than in games that count and are played with a pitch clock.

Kirby’s reasons for wanting to call some of his pitches were well thought out. He knows himself, he knows his game and perhaps most importantly in this situation, he’s invested heavily in the mental side of the his game and how it can impact his outcomes.

“I was just looking for a way to find more control out there,” Kirby said. “Having it just kind of locks me in more. I feel like I am more in control when I have it. Then I just kind of get more convicted and then it just kind of gives you more confidence.”

Control leads to conviction, which leads to confidence. How could a coach argue with that? In Kirby’s case, Woodworth wouldn’t.

“He’s not calling the whole game, but it gives him the empowerment to give his opinion when he wants to,” Woodworth said. “They’re all so talented. What makes them great and what makes them elite is between their ears and in their chest. It’s not more pitches, it’s not more practice. It’s they are extremely good at what they do. When they are convicted, when they are committed, when they are in a good mental spot, that’s when we see the best of the best.

“If this can help him get there more often, that’s what he will do.”

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