Almost every sport started using technology as soon as something valuable came to the market. This can be seen at the World Cup soccer in 2022, which employs tens of cameras that track many things happening on the field for viewers to see. MLB or baseball is doing the same thing even longer than other sports.
Every new technology somehow improves the game, even if it may sometimes be very annoying for fans. For example, it can distress everyone when you think you got the points, but everything changes to your disadvantage after the replay. On the other hand, you have the betting industry, where figuring out MLB picks has never been easier with so much data.
Some tech that is used isn’t very useful for people that are watching the sport. Instead, teams are the ones that are using them to their advantage. For example, everyone can now have a player start in a second, rep representingccess.
Stat Tracking
Statcast is a unique measurement software focused on player performance and other parameters valuable for every team. It usually measures how a certain player moves during the game, which involves important plays during the match. Like in other sports, these measurements can decide if someone will be on the first team or the bench.
Fans won’t always see who performs the best unless the difference is huge. When you are playing at the best possible level, it can be difficult to figure out who’s better between two players, which is why every team relies on Statcast.
Health Tracking
Besides tracking players’ performance, knowing their conditioning is very important. Tracking was introduced when many people from the industry noticed that people had heart and other conditions influencing their health.
Even if this technology has been available for a while, it’s still very valuable and constantly being enhanced. You can check their health even during the game on some occasions, depending on the team. MLB is open to any new technology, so the implementation won’t be a problem if we get even more modernized gadgets.
Swing Tracking
There isn’t a better experience in baseball than hitting a home run. To advance this skill, you will need all the data available, which is why swing tracking was introduced a while ago. This is probably the gadget that every team invests in as soon as an update becomes available because it changes how players swing.
Many had difficulties understanding how to swing the bat properly, and most did it naturally, but that might not be the most efficient way. Every coach has their way of teaching these basic skills, but when you are on the next level, you want to make it perfect. A swing tracker looks similar to a speed camera that can measure how fast you swing and the position of your arms.
Throw Tracking
Plenty of gadgets are used for throw tracking, and even some fans are bringing it on the field when they want to brag about their favorite player. One of the most popular gadgets professional teams use is Pitchf/x which Sportvision makes. Every stadium has this gadget or tool that records the pitch and provides feedback, including movement, speed, spin, and velocity. It can also provide a 3D visualization of arm positioning.
It’s been used for over a decade, so it’s quite an established gadget that brings a lot of value for each game played. It’s not made only for teams, the fans can also see how fast the ball is going, and the rest of the info can be found on some sports websites. The speeds are increasing each year, and the records are being broken, so this tool is useful.
