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Adoption of MLB tech by college programs will shape the next generation of baseball talent


In the early 1970s, Michigan State baseball coach Danny Litwhiler experienced an epiphany when he witnessed campus police using a device to clock speeding cars: Why not adapt it to track the velocity of a pitcher’s delivery to the plate? Litwhiler then reached out to JUGS Sports (a pitching machine manufacturer), sent a device he had purchased from the police department to the company and waited on the development of the first working prototype. Just like that, the radar gun was born.

It’s a fun origin story and an excellent example of the significant role technology has to play in sports. Within a decade of Litwhiler’s lightbulb moment, scouts across Major League Baseball were being equipped with radar guns, and soon every MLB stadium and telecast would display radar gun readings of each pitch thrown in every game. As the radar gun became ubiquitous in the pros, demand swelled at the amateur levels. Incentive to develop quality units at a more attainable price point led to advances in the tech, and suddenly everyone from college baseball programs to fathers of aspiring big leaguers could purchase their own radar guns.

But the influence of the radar gun, and technology in baseball in a general sense, actually runs far deeper. It has changed the way scouts evaluate prospects, how coaches train their players, and how players themselves approach their own development. Given the rapid progression of technological development and adaptation in the major leagues and the eagerness to identify cutting-edge advantages among amateurs, it’s fair to wonder how those forces may shape the next generation of baseball talent.

Baseball Tech’s Trickle-Down Effect

A circumspect, traditionalist sport, baseball has long had a tricky relationship with technology. But a new generation of leaders has arrived at the professional level, and their willingness to innovate and pursue any potential competitive advantages has unleashed a wave of technological development not previously seen in baseball.

The successful development of new tools in MLB can have a trickle-down effect, but rarely leaves a lasting impact on the masses without moving through a fairly prescribed process: affordability, accessibility and adoption. 

In the past, the tech available to the pros was prohibitively expensive for just about everyone else. But with the growth of ball tracking, bat tracking and now some motion-capture technology, that cost is dropping and access is increasing. College baseball programs and other amateurs in the sport now have the ability to start gathering and sharing information that is similar to what can be found in the major leagues.

The key to transforming information into insight, however, is understanding. In the past, baseball’s talent-evaluation process was highly subjective. Scouts were typically lifers who had simply watched a lot of baseball and maintained a Rolodex of players in their mind, answering certain questions based on nebulous observations and entrenched baseball conventions: How are the very best moving? How are the very best throwing? How are they hitting? What do they do that makes them successful and very good at what they do?

Today, the most effective organizations use both subjective and modern, objective forms of evaluation with advanced technology becoming gradually available to all. What’s most exciting is the potential that holds for baseball — and not only individual players and their development, but also for the overall quality and vibrancy of the sport.

Turning Tech’s Potential Into Results

For the moment, there is still a barrier to entry for even the most accessible motion-capture technology. The objective data these new devices collect can help users cut through the noise and focus their training and development regimens. Understanding that data, however, still requires a level of expertise — or advanced, learned interpretation — that can only be achieved through uncommon diligence and patience.

But haven’t those always been the requirements for maximizing talent potential in baseball? For the right players, these technologies can be a revelation. With the affordability and accessibility phases now complete, it’s up to the athletes to open their minds and acknowledge the enabling power of tech.

Consider when ball tracking was introduced compared to attitudes toward it today. While the best coaches understood and introduced concepts like spin rate, extension and pitch break, there was no definitive way to quantify these objective metrics. In the end, though, the payoff was enormous. In baseball, when you step onto the mound or into the box, being (and especially feeling) prepared are crucial to success. As a player, acquiring more information and developing a deeper vocabulary can only benefit that preparation.

And let’s not forget coaches. In the major leagues, if your job is to win baseball games or train ballplayers to their optimal peaks, understanding biomechanics and advanced technology are critical skills. Obtaining particular pieces of information and using them to piece together the puzzle that reveals a player’s best self is no longer a luxury or a niche advantage. MLB clubs today are actively looking to hire the coaches who understand this stuff more than ever. 

And biomechanics-based tech is already proliferating through the amateur ranks. An SEC coach that would otherwise land 10 players in the MLB Draft may now produce 13 draft picks through a commitment to using player tracking and other tech. The stakes may be even higher on the lower rungs of the ladder. With the benefit of advanced tech, a Division II coach might develop three draft picks instead of none. Suddenly, a coach’s recruiting story becomes a lot more compelling.

Not every college player will move on to the pros, of course. Most won’t. But accessible MLB-grade technology can empower open-minded, industrious amateurs to realize their highest potential — which should be the goal of any player or coach. We're very much in the early innings of biomechanics, both professionally and now in college, but the users who demonstrate a willingness to embrace its potential will ultimately have a leg up.

More importantly, the embrace of tech and objective data can translate to better players, better teams, a higher satisfaction rate and an elevated level of play across the board. There has never been a greater gap closed in baseball than that addressed by accurate, affordable motion-capture tech, and it can lead to richer, more fulfilling experiences for everyone involved.

Gary Russo is director of sales at Uplift Labs (www.uplift.ai), whose AI-powered technology uses smartphones to deliver real-time movement tracking and 3D motion capture analysis.