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In the world, as in sports, technology’s birth kills something else. Just like cashiers are on the decline thanks to do-it-yourself checkout stands, baseball’s instant replay largely crushed the manager ejection. It’s easier to be enraged at a fallible umpire than a cold-hearted monitor.

The next Major League Baseball hallmark to fall victim to a more advanced world: the entertaining, game-within-a-game interplay among a hitter, baserunner, catcher and pitcher when the runner is on second base. The league informed teams Tuesday that a device that transmits pitch signals from catchers to pitchers will be OK’d for use this season, which should speed up games, eliminate a questionably cheating gray area that clubs have exploited and relax the nerves of pitchers and catchers, whose paranoia has been obvious and occasionally fascinating. 

You’ve seen it happen countless times, even if the catcher jogging out to talk to the pitcher has meant it’s time to check on the nachos in the oven: When a runner reaches second base, the catcher and pitcher frequently have a short chat to ensure they’re on the same page with their sign language. Because a runner is on second — and has an angle from which he can see the catcher’s fingers and communicate to the hitter — the signage is tweaked.