Future of Sports Technology: MLB

The Future of Technology in Sports: MLB

Technology is moving forward in giant leaps. MLB is one organization that has taken the one toe in the water aspect towards technology. I get that baseball is rich in history, the nation’s pastime and has a legacy that spans generations. Some of the appeal of baseball is its simplicity, in you can pick up a game almost anywhere in some shape or form but can also be as complex as a world class chess match. It’s time for baseball to embrace its version of “Big Blue” by adding some enhancements to keep its place in history as one of the all time beloved sports. Below are some ideas I have for MLB to step into the future of technology.

RFID Baseballs with stitch tracking technology (STT)-

It’s time to take the guessing out of the radar gun. Someone needs to figure out how to do this. I have two theories mind you I am no scientist or engineer but looking at it as a problem that needs to be solved. What if the baseball was reconstructed, each one having two new identifiers that would vastly improve broadcasts, in game and online experiences as well?  Using and RFID chip in each ball along with a new thread (STT) that would be made of a substance that could be used to track speed.  So what we would have is a baseball that can be tracked using the chip, and receiver. Flight paths of the ball, where the ball landed, distance and speed could all be measured accurately. Cost of baseballs goes up; yes but now using this type of technology one could easily know if a ball was fair or foul, distance of a HR, speed of a pitch. The scouting implications are limitless as well, no more local guns at stadiums boosting mph for the sake of sensationalism. One added bonus is the increase in value to all pre-chip baseballs as well as the first one used at each park, first HR, first 100 MPH pitch it’s like hitting reboot without losing history.

RFID Players Equipment-

 Like the baseball this would have endless uses moving forward. Now we use stop watches to measure base path speed, we guess at fielding speed and we have pretty much no clue at bat speed. What if sneakers, bats, gloves all had sensors in them. Measuring the fastest man on the base path in game with a graphic of his home to first speed, 1^st to 2^nd, 2^nd to 3^rd and 3^rd to home would be a nice added addition. For all those non hustlers who like to trot to first, it would show up embarrassing them to no end. We can tell if a player is dogging it. It’s a performance measurement tool with added value to the fan. Measuring bat speed, the fun of the broadcast with new stats to play with, x players bat speed is y while x pitchers pitch speed is y who will win.  Being able to see the angle of the bat, the plane a player takes would all help in instructional video as well as real life coaching.  You may be asking why the glove? Well the more we measure the more we know. Who has the fastest tag, reaction time to hit; tracking a player from non ready to ready would all help in coaching.

Interactive Broadcast-

With Google TV, Apple TV, and all the other options out there. It’s time MLB stepped up and put together a package that allows the fan to grab their own stats by hot linking objects in the broadcast. Click on the stadium you get the attendance, click on the sky you get the weather and temperature, click on a player you get options to view stats over last 10, 20 and 30 games, vs. said pitcher, career hr’s in that stadium, the amount of information is endless. Even more so, how about the ability to program your fantasy sports teams into the broadcast so that you can track your players in that game instead of checking the computer every second while you try and watch the game. MLB needs viewers, attendance, etc. This one way to increase in game experience and appeal to the fan at home as well.

Bud Selig hope you read this or at least someone in your front office does. Baseball needs the technology of the future.