Tom Verducci > INSIDE BASEBALL How a Danish Tech Company Is
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Trackman charts rpms, spin rate on pitchers like David Robertson - Tom Verducci - SI.co ... Page 1 of 3 GET THE UCONN CHAMPIONSHIP FREE | SUBSCRIBE TO SI | GIVE THE GIFT OF SI EXTRA MUSTARD FANNATION PHOTOS SWIMSUIT FANTASY SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE SI KIDS HIGH SCHOOL TWACKLE NFL COLLEGE FOOTBALL MLB NBA COLLEGE BB GOLF NHL RACING SOCCER MMA & BOXING TENNIS MORE VIDEO Behind The Mic Commentators discuss the hottest topics in sports Posted: Tuesday April 12, 2011 11:48AM ; Updated: Tuesday April 12, 2011 2:05PM Tom Verducci > INSIDE BASEBALL More Columns Email Tom Verducci Story Highlights How a Danish tech company is Trackman uses data from a 3D Doppler radar ball flight measurement It tracks the speed of the pitch and its distance from release point to home plate revolutionizing pitching data It also tracks the spin on curveballs; Detroit's Justin Verlander has the highest RPM PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE Why does David Robertson's fastball appear to have mysterious "hop" to it? Why is Justin Verlander's curveball so hard to hit? And why are even the most accurate radar guns fooling scouts and they don't even know it? The answers are provided by a Danish technology company that may change the way teams scout and evaluate pitchers. Trackman, a company established in 2003, is taking some old-school observational theory out of baseball and replacing it with hard data derived from 3D Doppler radar ball flight measurement. The company already has established a foothold in professional golf and is bringing its tracking technology to baseball, where More MLB Sportvision's Pitch-F/x system, another ball tracking Latest MLB News technology, has been used widely for years. Hamilton breaks arm, to miss six-to-eight weeks Last year Trackman installed its ball flight measuring O-for-three: Bonds jurors do not reach verdict systems in a handful of major league and minor league Nats' Zimmerman on DL with strained ab muscle The extension David Robertson gets on his parks. The data provided a trove of information that pitches helps his 93-mph fastball seem even Baseball returns to earthquake-ravaged Japan makes the radar gun, a staple of baseball since the early faster to a hitter. Dodgers win amid increased security 1970s, seem as obsolete as the typewriter. US Presswire Sign up for MLB.TV Sponsored Links The radar gun, for instance, measures only the speed of MLB Truth & Rumors SHOCKING: Apple iPad for $24.87 a pitch at a given point. But when it comes to fastballs, TODAY ONLY: Auction site to give away 1,000 iPads Utley not close to running, or jogging the battle between the pitcher and hitter is decided by for $24.87! Quick hook: Angels send would-be closer to time, not by speed: How long does a fastball take to Become Six Sigma Certified minors reach the plate once it leaves the pitcher's hand? Villanova Six Sigma Certification 100% Online Program The unthinkable in Chicago: Empty seats (lots - Get Info. of them) Buy a link here This does not involve one simple math formula because there is a huge variable to consider. While the distance More from SI.com between the pitching rubber and the plate is uniform (60 Latest News feet, six inches), the distance the ball actually travels can Handing out regular-season grades for every NBA vary by a foot or more based on where the pitcher team releases the ball. UConn's Walker entering NBA draft Trackman measures not just the speed of the pitch, but also the key variable: the distance between the Bonds jury deliberates 3rd day without a verdict pitcher's release point and the plate. With those measurements, Trackman defines not only the time Video component of a fastball -- "flight time," if you will -- but also defines in irrefutable data why scouts might describe a pitcher as "sneaky fast" or throwing a ball with "hop." Take, for instance, Robertson, the 5-foot-11 set-up reliever for the Yankees with that "lively" fastball. Robertson does not have exceptional size or velocity, but he ranks fourth among all active pitchers with at least 100 innings in strikeout rate (11.7 per nine innings, better than every pitcher except Carlos Marmol, What's the best NBA Suzuki homers in Jonathan Broxton and Francisco Rodriguez, all of whom are well-paid closers.) fit for Kemba Walker? 10th to lift A's over White Sox Why is Robertson so difficult to hit? According to Trackman's measurements taken in one American League park last season, Robertson, with his exceptionally long stride and reach, released his fastball seven feet SI Writers from in front of the pitching rubber -- the largest average extension Trackman measured in that park. The Jonathan Wilson: Ancelotti reverts to 4-3-2-1 average MLB fastball extension was five feet, 10 inches. formation against United to no avail Ann Killion: Giants, Dodgers remind fans that baseball is just a game http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/04/12/fastballs.trackman/index. ... 4/12/2011 Trackman charts rpms, spin rate on pitchers like David Robertson - Tom Verducci - SI.co ... Page 2 of 3 Imagine if Robertson moves the pitching rubber 14 inches closer to home plate every time he pitches. Peter King: NFL teams hung up on Clayborn's That's the kind of advantage he gains over the average pitcher by releasing his fastball with so much strength issues; mail extension. The radar gun (and Trackman) clocks Robertson's fastball at an average of 93 mph. But because SI Photos Robertson shortens the distance between his release point and home plate, his "effective velocity" is 95 mph. It looks like 93 but gets on a hitter like 95 -- thus the illusion of "hop." When it comes to "stealing" distance -- and distance equals time for a pitcher - here are the top 10 pitchers from one AL park last year, ranked by fastball extension in feet and inches: Pitcher, Team Extension MPH FT* Effective MPH Leading Off: Sports Figures Dave Robertson, Yankees 7-0 93 .403 95 Pictures of the With Their Own Week Statues Sergio Santos, White Sox 6-10 96 .386 98 Jared Weaver, Angels 6-10 91 .411 93 SI Vault Jeff Niemann, Rays 6-10 93 .401 95 Featured Stories Mark Hendrickson, Orioles 6-10 88 .422 90 WOLFF : Carmelo leads Syracuse to title (4.14.03) Jamey Wright, Mariners 6-9 91 .410 93 BLANDA : How I became a NFL star (7.19.71) Felix Hernandez, Mariners 6-8 94 .399 95 SMITH : Durocher, Mays have Giants rolling (8.16.54) David Purcey, Blue Jays 6-8 93 .404 94 Covers Gavin Floyd, White Sox 6-8 92 .407 93 Tommy Hunter, Rangers 6-7 91 .409 93 Average MLB 5-10 92 .416 92 * = Flight Time What about breaking balls? Trackman can measure the spin rate of all pitches in revolutions per minute. Pitchers such as Sandy Koufax and Pedro Martinez could throw wicked breaking balls because they had long fingers that could generate tremendous spin, though no could quite quantify it. Spin rate is important for breaking balls because it not only correlates to movement but also to deception. 04.04.11 04.11.11 The seams on a baseball are the decoder ring for a hitter. A fastball spins so fast the hitter does not see the seams, only a solid sphere. But a breaking ball, which does not travel as fast, can offer a clue of its intentions with its spinning seams. The faster a breaking ball spins, the harder it is to see the seams, so the more it looks like a fastball for a greater period of time. "I didn't pick up the spin," is the common lament of a fooled hitter who mistimed a breaking ball. Acccording to Trackman data from one AL park last year, here are the pitchers with the fastest average curveball spin rate: Verlander's curveball spins 23 percent faster than an average major league curveball, an astonishing difference. Moreover, you begin to understand the quality of Hunter's stuff when you notice he is the only pitcher to show up among the top 10 for fastball extension and curveball spin rate. Pitcher, Team RPM Justin Verlander, Tigers 3,004 Gio Gonzalez, A's 2,965 Chad Durbin, Phillies 2,838 Alfredo Aceves, Yankees 2,795 Clay Buchholz, Red Sox 2,740 Tommy Hunter, Rangers 2,720 Josh Tomlin, Indians 2,693 Ivan Nova, Yankees 2,690 Kyle Davies, Royals 2,669 Brian Matusz, Orioles 2,637 MLB Average 2,450 What about sliders? Again, here are Trackman's fastest average spin rates from one AL park last year: The data is fun and interesting, but it's only valuable because of how it is used, not just how it is compiled. For instance, once you measure fastball extension, just how important is that information? Trackman has that answer, too. It divided all pitchers with at least 100 innings into two categories: pitchers with below the 5-foot-10 average fastball extension and those with above average extension. Then it looked at ERA and strikeout rates. What it found was a correlation between greater extension and a lower ERA and higher strikeout rate: ERA and Strikeout Rate on Fastballs Fastball Extension ERA SO/9 IP Less than 5-10 4.18 6.6 Greater than 5-10 3.95 7.3 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/04/12/fastballs.trackman/index. ... 4/12/2011 Trackman charts rpms, spin rate on pitchers like David Robertson - Tom Verducci - SI.co ..