BASEBALL GETS MORE DATA. Major league baseball is introducing Statcast, a new stat provider that uses a series of high-resolution optical cameras along with radar equipment to precisely track the location and movements of the ball and every player on the field at any given time. This article by Paul Casella on the MLB Network site extols what the new equipment will be able to do.
*It will show the velocity, launch angle and vector of the ball as it comes off the bat.
*It will show the route efficiency and top speed of an outfielder chasing a fly ball.
*It will measure the distance from a pitcher’s release point to the front edge of the pitching rubber. (If a pitcher gets more extension—releases a pitch farther from the front of the rubber—the pitch will seem faster to the hitter.)
*It will calculate the spin rate on a pitch, which affects the curve on a breaking pitch.