Post by sharksrog on Sept 25, 2013 9:42:10 GMT -5
Another factor that ties in with the statistics crowd is the laser capability now being used by 17 of the major league teams.
A scout can tell us that a draft prospect or a major leaguer or anyone in between has a quick bat, but the new laser technology allows major league teams to see just HOW fast that bat is.
We have seen how video has helped coaching, and I suspect we'll soon be seeing a similar effect from this laser technology.
Can you imagine a batting coach telling his hitter, "Your load has gotten longer by 14/thousandth's of a second? Let's see what we can do with your hands."
I wonder if Brandon Belt would have agreed to change more quickly if his issues could have been better quantified? Probably not, but at least the coach could tell a hitter just how things like load, bad speed and angle through the zone have changed or could be improved. The 14/thousandths of a second is simply a number thrown out here.
Is it any more impactful for a coach to be able to tell a player that if he levels his swing by just 10 degrees, his bat will stay in the zone 14/thousandth's of a second longer than to tell the player his bat will stay in the zone longer if he levels his swing? Will it make any difference if the coach can then follow up by saying, "The changes you have made have increased your bat's time the zone by 6/thousandths of a second. Shall we look at what might double that improvement?"
I suspect that one day fairly soon, we'll begin to find out.
Incidentally, they have already determined that given the equipment involved, the impact when a player barrels into the catcher at home plate is the highest of any typical play in sports.
The measurements possible now will aid in creating over the next few years football helmets that provide far more protection against concussion. I would presume some of those improvements could extend to catchers' masks as well. And perhaps to other pieces of catchers' equipment as well.
We've seen incredible technological improvements in our lifetimes. That technology is increasingly being applied to various elements of sports.
A scout can tell us that a draft prospect or a major leaguer or anyone in between has a quick bat, but the new laser technology allows major league teams to see just HOW fast that bat is.
We have seen how video has helped coaching, and I suspect we'll soon be seeing a similar effect from this laser technology.
Can you imagine a batting coach telling his hitter, "Your load has gotten longer by 14/thousandth's of a second? Let's see what we can do with your hands."
I wonder if Brandon Belt would have agreed to change more quickly if his issues could have been better quantified? Probably not, but at least the coach could tell a hitter just how things like load, bad speed and angle through the zone have changed or could be improved. The 14/thousandths of a second is simply a number thrown out here.
Is it any more impactful for a coach to be able to tell a player that if he levels his swing by just 10 degrees, his bat will stay in the zone 14/thousandth's of a second longer than to tell the player his bat will stay in the zone longer if he levels his swing? Will it make any difference if the coach can then follow up by saying, "The changes you have made have increased your bat's time the zone by 6/thousandths of a second. Shall we look at what might double that improvement?"
I suspect that one day fairly soon, we'll begin to find out.
Incidentally, they have already determined that given the equipment involved, the impact when a player barrels into the catcher at home plate is the highest of any typical play in sports.
The measurements possible now will aid in creating over the next few years football helmets that provide far more protection against concussion. I would presume some of those improvements could extend to catchers' masks as well. And perhaps to other pieces of catchers' equipment as well.
We've seen incredible technological improvements in our lifetimes. That technology is increasingly being applied to various elements of sports.