The video breaks down the subtle and detailed communication between Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez and pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Even with no runners on base, Gary uses complex sign sequences and delayed glove positioning to avoid tipping pitches. It’s all about the paranoia in modern baseball—teams don’t want to risk anyone relaying signs, so they go to extra lengths with fake setups and gestures. Gary flicks his thumb up, which usually signals a high pitch, but they go low, just to mess with potential sign stealers. It might not always work, but they keep doing it because the threat of sign stealing is always there.
There’s also a focus on rhythm. After each pitch, Sánchez gets the ball back to Tanaka quickly to keep him in a groove. Even after taking a foul ball to the thigh, Gary waves off the umpire’s timeout to avoid breaking Tanaka’s mojo. There’s a lot of non-verbal reassurance, like glove claps and subtle nods, especially after close pitches. During one at-bat, Sánchez realizes a hitter spat on a good splitter, so he calls for a new sequence. Tanaka reads it from his hat, adjusts, and finishes the at-bat with a strikeout.
Against hitters like Altuve, the sequence changes happen often. After a few swings and takes, Sánchez signals for another adjustment, showing his fingers and pointing to his wristband. These mid-at-bat changes are all about staying one step ahead. Watching how this dynamic plays out across a few plate appearances highlights how much thought and strategy go into every pitch, even when nothing flashy is happening.