It tracks fielders for definitive defensive analysis
By Bjorn Carey Posted 02.12.2010 at 10:13 am 12 Comments

Keeping an Eye on the Ball Up to four cameras mounted on the light towers along each foul line send a live feed to a computer, where object-recognition software identifies each player and the ball and records their every movement as the play unfolds. Here, a sample data stream from a pop fly to left field. Graham Murdoch
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This could be the year that baseball-stat freaks finally crack the “Derek Jeter enigma.” A panel of coaches has awarded the New York Yankees’ shortstop four of the past six Gold Glove awards for fielding excellence. That drives statisticians nuts, because nearly every statistical model ranks Jeter’s defense below average.

But evaluating fielding is baseball’s hardest math. There are just too many unknowns in a play. How much ground did Jeter cover? How fast was the ball moving? In essence: How unlikely was it that he’d catch the ball?

This off-season, the broadcast-tech company Sportvision will install a new player-tracking camera system into ballparks that could finally help produce accurate defensive statistics.

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Tags

Technology, baseball, cameras, february 2010, headlines, performance stats
Sportvision’s FieldFX camera system records the action while object-recognition software identifies each fielder and runner, as well as the ball. After a play, the system spits out data for every movement: the trajectory of the ball, how far the fielder ran, and so on. “After an amazing catch by an outfielder, we can compare his speed and route to the ball with our database and show the TV audience that this player performed so well that 80 percent of the league couldn’t have made that catch,” says Ryan Zander, Sportvision’s manager of baseball products. That information, he says, will allow a much more quantitative measure of exactly what is an error.

The tech could transform how teams scout players and dole out contracts, and it will provide more in-depth analysis during broadcasts this summer. But it’s the stat junkies who are really salivating for the data. “We can pick out systematically who’s good and bad, but there’s still guesswork with our models,” says Wharton School statistician Shane Jensen, who writes models for fielding stats. “We’ll certainly be able to settle who’s the best shortstop.”

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12 Comments

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jmbinfo
02/12/10 at 11:08 am

I'm a fan of technology in sports. This is a good thing for baseball!

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powq33
02/12/10 at 11:51 am

The last thing baseball needs is more stats.

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spencer101
02/12/10 at 12:43 pm

Why would more stats be the last thing baseball needs? This is great for baseball and can go a long way toward determining the effectiveness of fielders. Can't see anything wrong with that. Bravo!

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powq33
02/12/10 at 5:16 pm

So you really enjoy hearing things such as:

Joe Schmoe has a .250 batting average while batting against left handed pitching, in the rain, in may, in the early afternoon, all the while eating a subway footlong before the game and wearing a pink arm band exactly 3 inches from his elbow on his right arm.

Do we really need anything more than a few basic stats?

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JE
02/12/10 at 6:06 pm

"Joe Schmoe has a .250 batting average while batting against left handed pitching, in the rain, in may, in the early afternoon, all the while eating a subway footlong before the game and wearing a pink arm band exactly 3 inches from his elbow on his right arm."

Powq33, you are joking, right? If not, wake up: you are describing useless trivia, not advanced statistical analysis. You can learn more about newer offensive, defensive, pitching, and baserunning measurements by spending some time sifting through FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Rob Neyer's SweetSpot page on ESPN.com, and BeyondTheBoxScore.com, among others.

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dontbother
02/16/10 at 5:04 pm

I'm with pow, I get so sick of hearing about useless 'trivia' that is based on STATS that I could throw up. Yes, rbi's and OBP and fielding percentages are necessary to evaluate players but how they did this april opposed to last april when the temperature was below average vs. how they did in may when the wind was blowing out as opposed to in is just annoying. It's all coming from the same place.

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Airp0w
02/16/10 at 5:17 pm

Yeah Powq33, everybody knows that the colour of the armband doesn't matter, DUH.

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02PanicRoom
02/18/10 at 5:54 pm

"I'm with pow, I get so sick of hearing about useless 'trivia' that is based on STATS that I could throw up. Yes, rbi's and OBP and fielding percentages are necessary to evaluate players but how they did this april opposed to last april when the temperature was below average vs. how they did in may when the wind was blowing out as opposed to in is just annoying. It's all coming from the same place."

Except that pow has it completely wrong. This isn't about useless trivia stats, this is about stats that actually tell you things. Ever heard about UZR? EqA? Those stats are actually useful.

Also, bit of trivia: RBI's are pretty much useless when evaluating a player, because they require another player to be on base. You could have a guy who's a great hitter who doesn't get RBI's because he either hits leadoff or doesn't have good hitters around him.

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Deepthinker1
06/29/10 at 10:39 am

This Is so amazing what is next a robot that will assist the player at the side of his eye while he hits the ball? :)
Koozies

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jakenenger
07/24/10 at 2:02 pm

This kind of technology can sometimes take some of the fun out of the sport. It's kind of fun not to know for certain if it was in or out. But then again, I read a bit of a rant on www.profitnessrowingmachines.com where a rowing championship was lost over them not seeing who actually came first or something along those lines. I guess it's easy for me to say because I'm not that big on sports anyway, it's just a bit of fun if you ask me.

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Paley2010
08/11/10 at 10:55 pm

I'm with pow, I get so sick of hearing about useless 'trivia' that is based on STATS that I could throw up. Yes, rbi's and OBP and fielding percentages are necessary to evaluate players but how they did this april opposed to last april when the temperature was below average vs. how they did in may when the wind was blowing out as opposed to in is just annoying. It's all coming from the same place....

Paley
http://burnwiigames.org/

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soxpitcher
09/23/10 at 5:24 am

This is not unlike the camera that has been used on the tennis circuit. It is a positive tool as it will eliminate wrong calls and increase accuracy.

www.pitching.com


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