Last weekend, Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby made an interesting revelation by saying that he's experimenting with calling his own pitches this spring.

Utilizing his own PitchCom device, Kirby estimated that he called about 8-10 pitches last Sunday in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He'll pitch again this Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds (1:10 p.m. PT).

While I've wondered if Kirby calling his own pitches could cause issues, ESPN's Buster Olney is a fan of it. He recently said this on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast:

"It was probably the least surprising thing that I've read this spring. One of the things that jumped out to me just covering so many of the Mariners postseason games last year was after a game, George Kirby being asked about his tendency to nibble at the zone, and he flat out said, 'you know, I've had people say, don't do that, attack the zone more, but this is how I pitch.'

And I walked away from that saying, okay, this is someone, thinking to myself, 'this is someone who believes in himself.' And so I actually think the conviction, wanting the conviction behind the pitch you're going to throw in a given moment is a good thing.

And I think Cal will recognize with that. Look these guys, Cal and the pitchers, they collaborate before the games, they come up with a particular plan. Except in the case of like Yadier Molina and some rookie pitchers, you're not going to have many situations where the the catcher is going to feel like, 'hey, dude, you've got to throw what the, you know, match the finger that I put down.'

Jorge Posada of the Yankees did that sometimes in his career. He kind of took personal offense when he would be shaken off. Cal doesn't strike me as being that wed to his particular sign. I think given a choice, he wants the pitcher convicted in the pitch he throws."

The 28-year-old Kirby is coming off an up-and-down 2025 season that saw him go 10-8 with a 4.21 ERA. He struck out 137 batters in 126.0 innings, making 23 starts. He missed nearly the first two months with a right shoulder injury, but has been healthy this spring.

The Mariners open up the season on March 26 at home against the Cleveland Guardians and Kirby figures to start one of the first three games of the campaign.

Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!