Miller: Twins Install Technology at Spring Training

[Seth Stohs]

http://www.startribune.com/twins-install-high-speed-cameras-at-spring-training-to-capture-instant-analytics/505811372/

 

Phil Miller wrote about the new technology being used in big-league camp this spring. They have installed Rapsodo machines and Edgerton cameras. The idea is to learn as much as they can about their pitchers,, to see the release points and so much data. It can be to improve form, find flaws, add spin or other things. 

 

 

The Twins are one of several teams to invest thousands of dollars in new technology to document players’ every move — on the mound, at the plate and in the field. The Edgertronic cameras, now installed behind two bullpen mounds, provide high-resolution video taken at 500 frames or more per second, slowing down motion that is impossible to see with a naked eye, right down to the fingertips as a pitch is released. Rapsodo radar devices, such as the Trackman systems that provide data for MLB’s Statcast reports in major league parks, measure the velocity, spin rate and movement angle of every pitch, providing instant data for analysis.

 

[Doomtints]

Sounds like a fun toy, but other teams are able to get pitchers going without it.

 

Let's hope they don't overthink this and make pitchers adjust to things that ruin their ability to get people out or cause injury.

[Squirrel]

Sounds like a fun toy, but other teams are able to get pitchers going without it.

 

Let's hope they don't overthink this and make pitchers adjust to things that ruin their ability to get people out or cause injury.

Did you even read the article or the bit Set quoted? The Twins are not the only team to be doing this.

 

“The Twins are one of several teams to invest thousands of dollars in new technology to document players’ every move — on the mound, at the plate and in the field.”

 

I agree you don’t want technology to be the only thing you are reliant on, but I don’t think that’s the case, or ever will b the case. They are just trying to use ALL the tools available to them.

[Doomtints]

Yes, I did read that.

 

I'd be more interested in knowing which teams rather than "several."

[Number3]

Like Yogi Berra said, "90% of baseball is half mental". Do these machines have brain scans?

In any case, Kyle Gibson will never be Bob Gibson but if a flaw can be detected that helps Kyle get people out I am all for it.

[Squirrel]

Yes, I did read that.

 

I'd be more interested in knowing which teams rather than "several."

Google is your friend, my friend. In a very broad search, I read this ... I only had time for quick and easy, so only clicked on one article, and didn’t have time to check the source, but I’m sure you could find more details if you took 10 or 15 minutes more than I did. But from this article it sounds like more than half the MLB teams use it to some degree.

https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/mlb-pitchers-have-a-new-ace-up-their-sleeves-radar-pitch-tracking/85893

 

And there are other technologies that have been used by other teams before Rapsodo, too.

[jkcarew]

I think you act aggressively on the technology to capture the data...and conservatively with how you use the data. There's a lot to be learned with how to do the most good (and the least bad) with the data. But the first step is to acquire it. So, good.

[jctwins]

Semi-related, you'd think the broadcast companies or MLB could upgrade the shutter speed of the camera they shoot the game with, which could get rid of that blurry baseball in the replay of close plays at the base.

[yarnivek1972]

Based on Rapsodo’s website it looks like fewer than 1/3 of the league are clients at this time (or at least have their own rep).

 

Good to see that the Twins are ahead of the curve finally.

[nicksaviking]

 

Sounds like a fun toy, but other teams are able to get pitchers going without it.

 

Let's hope they don't overthink this and make pitchers adjust to things that ruin their ability to get people out or cause injury.

 

Yeah, why mess with a good thing? Wouldn't want to screw up two things the Twins have been so great at. 

[Squirrel]

 

Based on Rapsodo’s website it looks like fewer than 1/3 of the league are clients at this time (or at least have their own rep).

Good to see that the Twins are ahead of the curve finally.

The article I posted said that 17 teams had signed up, and 3 were in negotiations, as of last April. But how this is being used could vary; or if it's actually in use yet, too; or if it's only being used for one or a few players, rather than the whole team.

[Doomtints]

 

Yeah, why mess with a good thing? Wouldn't want to screw up two things the Twins have been so great at. 

 

That's the point. You don't hand off the jackhammer to the person who doesn't know what he's doing.

[luckylager]

 

Let's hope they don't overthink this and make pitchers adjust to things that ruin their ability to get people out or cause injury.

 

Then again there's the even better possibility that they make pitchers adjust to things that improve their ability to get people out and/or reduce injury.

[nicksaviking]

 

That's the point. You don't hand off the jackhammer to the person who doesn't know what he's doing.

 

I thought the point was that the jackhammer isn't going to do any damage if the concrete hasn't been maintained for 15 years.

 

Also, who is the incompetent jackhammerer in your analogy?

[Craig Arko]

So, indoor plumbing?

[caninatl04]

Thousands of dollars? Wow, THOUSANDS???

 

I hope ownership can find the money. But there goes any chance of signing Machado or Harper.

[bird]

 

Based on Rapsodo’s website it looks like fewer than 1/3 of the league are clients at this time (or at least have their own rep).

Good to see that the Twins are ahead of the curve finally.

 

 

I believe Rapsodo was still in beta the testing stage in 2015, so I think you're right to say they're "early adopters", but something tell me its use will be widespread shortly.

[Parker Hageman]

The Twins acquired one Rapsodo device in 2017 after signing Craig Breslow, who used it during the offseason to try to improve his pitches. I was told it was purely coincidentally but the clubhouse guys said Breslow was very vocal about using that info. That spring the Twins set up on one of the backfields and the way Jack Goin described it to me at that time was that they were "testing" it. From my recollection, it sounded more uncertain of the tool's use.

 

Last season it was installed pretty much in every bullpen in their minor league system. Now it's paired with the Edgertronic camera and they have the Rapsodo 2.0 device in the big league pen. 

 

Almost every team has both devices now. The critical part is being able to use the data, to be able to take that and feed it to players in a useful manner. The Tigers are one organization who were severely behind the analytics curve -- starting a department just a year ago, really -- but they have both machines and are using them now. Listen to Gardy here:

 

“We’re getting all kinds of machines, all kinds of pictures taken, all kinds of data flying all over the place,” Gardenhire said. “They’ve already talked about Victor Reyes being on it and showing that he’s landing on his toes swinging, falling on his toes way too much.

 

“He’s found better balance already, just by showing him already this year. He got on it and right away, the machine started spitting out the data that he was too much on his toes and he’s like, ‘Wow, it feels better,’ and he’s not falling over the plate.”

 

 

The teams that have the coaching infrastructure in place to communicate the necessary adjustments will be the beneficiaries of this product. Wes Johnson is a huge proponent of the technology and has used it in his college days. More importantly, players rave about his delivery. He's not spouting numbers. He's presenting the information in a way pitchers can relate. This could be a separator for the Twins.

[Doomtints]

 

Good to see that the Twins are ahead of the curve finally.

 

Eh. Target Field was the first to get Statcast installed and all it did was allow defenses to figure out how to beat Joe Mauer at the plate.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

http://www.startribune.com/twins-install-high-speed-cameras-at-spring-training-to-capture-instant-analytics/505811372/

 

Phil Miller wrote about the new technology being used in big-league camp this spring. They have installed Rapsodo machines and Edgerton cameras. The idea is to learn as much as they can about their pitchers,, to see the release points and so much data. It can be to improve form, find flaws, add spin or other things.

For those of us trying to brush up further:

 

Parker shared this BA article it does a good job of explaining the differences between Trackman (radar) Rapsodo (radar plus output) and Edgertronic (high speed camera), and how players and teams use them.

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/high-speed-cameras-spread-quickly-around-baseball/?amphtml&__twitter_impression=true

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Like Yogi Berra said, "90% of baseball is half mental". Do these machines have brain scans?

In any case, Kyle Gibson will never be Bob Gibson but if a flaw can be detected that helps Kyle get people out I am all for it.

from the BA article quote: The high-speed video goes beyond that. Telling a pitcher what a pitch’s effective spin rate is doesn’t mean nearly as much as letting him see the seams of the ball rotate on video and watching how the ball leaves his hand.

 

“If I’m Adam Ottavino, I trust the analytics department,” Boddy said, “but (Ottavino) doesn’t know what spin rate feels like. What Adam needs to know is, ‘When I throw it like this, you tell me it’s good, (but) what does it look like coming out of my hand?’ It bridges the gap between the data and feeling.”end quote

[Parker Hageman]

Here's a good shot from Trevor May's curveball that shows the level of detail the Edgertronic camera captures:

 

 

Now you can take these samples and pair them with the Rapsodo 2.0 data (the device that's halfway to home plate) and figure out if this grip and release are getting May the optimal spin or spin direction.

 

Just going off MLB's data (not Rapsodo), May's curveball actually profiles very closely to Houston's Collin McHugh's curveball (in terms of spin direction, break angle and break length). McHugh's curveball has a higher spin rate which may explain why he gets some many more swing-and-misses than May's curve (28% vs 13%) but minor tweaks to the grip/release can help gain a few more RPMs.