The Major League Baseball season has begun, and with the new year comes a set of sports technology storylines to follow over the summer months and into the Fall Classic.
Here are the top four headlines and technology angles SportTechie is following this season:
1. Statcast Upgraded
MLB’s tracking technology Statcast, which is on-display in all 30 league ballparks, received an upgrade for the 2017 season. It can now measure Hit Probability and Catch Probability ratings for batted balls this season, with the former being calculated when combining launch angle and exit velocity. Catch Probability is determined based on the distance a player needs to travel to snag a catch in addition to the time from the pitches release to where it lands.
According to the announcement earlier this year, the new metrics will be accessible on BaseballSavant.com and will be integrated into league-wide broadcasts. As a whole, Statcast measures, monitors and tracks nearly 30 different metrics.
The wildest part about @wilmyers’ cycle?
His homer is a hit only 39 percent of the time. #Statcast pic.twitter.com/EGqzYGybkg
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2017
2. MLB Dives Into Facebook Live Studio Shows
Throughout 2017 Spring Training, MLB.com launched regular studio shows streamed on Facebook Live to lead into some exhibition contests. Still, the live action didn’t stop there as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred delivered a press conference via the platform while Miami Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton was spotted filming a commercial shoot on Facebook Live.
Despite Major League Baseball Advanced Media’s current partnership with Twitter, MLB itself has continued to devote resources and creative expertise to Facebook. Who knows what that could mean for potential future partnerships with the social entity?
3. New Wearable Allowed
Weeks before the 2017 season, MLB approved the in-game use of wearable device WHOOP, which analyzes a players strain, recovery and sleep and offers a 24/7 round-the-clock monitoring. However, the technology integration during regular season games isn’t the first time wearables have been approved by the league office. Prior to last year, the Zephyr Bioharness, which measures heart and breathing rates, in addition to the Motus Baseball Sleeve for tracking elbow stress were both approved.
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As wearables become further embedded into MLB games, how will the league negotiate with the Major League Baseball Players Association to potentially mandate players to wear wearables in-game? Who will have access to the athletes’ data? They’re all questions that not only Major League Baseball but also other leagues are asking themselves as they delve deeper into incorporating hardware during games.
4. MLB On Twitter
Twitter is streaming live games on Fridays after forming a partnership with Major League Baseball Advanced Media last year to have weekly live streams of out-of-market games on the social platform. The free digital broadcast is available for logged-in and logged-out users. After its ground-breaking partnership with the NFL for the 2016 season, Twitter has gone all-in on live streaming both traditional and non-traditional sports, including broadcasting National Lacrosse League, National Hockey League and broadcasting esports competitions, among other events.