Statcast is a high-speed, high-accuracy, automated tool developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities in Major League Baseball (MLB). [1]
Statcast was introduced to all thirty MLB stadiums in 2015, a year now considered the beginning of the Statcast era especially by media outlets that extensively cover baseball. The Statcast brand is also licensed to ESPN, which uses it to brand alternate statistical simulcasts of the network's games on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Each MLB organization now has an analytics team, using Statcast data to gain a competitive advantage. Clubs are unwilling to disclose exactly how they are using the data, engaging in an "arms race" of data analysis. [2]
Player accounts suggest Statcast data has replaced traditional metrics. For example, on the first day of spring training, Tampa Bay Rays hitters are told they will be measured by batted-ball exit velocity, not batting average. Also, Kris Bryant credits his improved performance in 2016 with changes he made in the off-season to adjust the launch angle of his hits. [2]
Statcast data can be used to prevent injuries by tracking physical performance metrics through the course of the season. Data can also be extended to team performance metrics. For example, analysts can chart a defensive team's ability to throw runners out at home from various points on the field, accounting for relay throw efficiency and speed. A third base coach armed with this information should have a heightened degree of situational awareness, which ultimately affects their decision to hold a runner at third or send them home. This should reduce the number of runners needlessly cut down at home; but one must also take into account the fact that this information may lead to overly cautious decisions during situations when the reward outweighs the risks. [2]
MLBAM also has a team of analysts that peruse the data and figure out what it means. This provides an additional resource for teams, resulting in queries from front office executives and even players. [2]
Broadcasters use Statcast to showcase player talents. The Statistics page on MLB.com now lists Statcast superlatives alongside the traditional hitting, pitching, and fielding metrics. [2] [3]
The PITCHf/x system, first used in the 2006 MLB postseason, is a camera-based system that can measure the trajectory, speed, spin, break, and location of a pitched ball. This provides objective data that can be used in combination with statistical outcomes to better predict the effectiveness of a pitcher or batter. [4]
Statcast was first unveiled at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. It won the Alpha Award for best Analytics Innovation/Technology at the 2015 conference. [5] The system saw limited use during the 2014 MLB season, as it was tested in three stadiums. [6] It was installed in all 30 Major League ballparks beginning with the 2015 season. [7] [8] This technology integrates doppler radar and high definition video to measure the speed, acceleration, and other aspects for every player on the field. [9] [10]
In the 2016 season, MLB Network aired "MLB Plus" companion broadcasts for its MLB Network Showcase games, which feature advanced analytics and usage of Statcast data. [11]
For the 2017 season, the TrackMan component of Statcast replaced the previous PITCHf/x system for official measurements of pitch speed. As official pitch speed readings are now based on maximum velocity (typically from the release of the pitch), rather than the speed measured 55 feet from home plate, there have been notable discrepancies in pitch speed reports between those reported in 2016 and 2017, with some pitches registering slightly higher speeds than with the previous system. [12] [13]
In 2017, Statcast won a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award. [14] [15]
These are the relevant terms and definitions for Statcast output data. [16]
Pitching
Hitting
Baserunning
Fielding
The Statcast system uses two cameras to replicate the binocular vision of the human eye. Together, the cameras provide depth perception to easily distinguish between bodies on the field. The radar system measures the data, such as the speed and route of the players on the field. By combining the camera and radar data, dozens of physical metrics relating to every aspect of the game (pitching, hitting, baserunning, and fielding) can be obtained. [7]
For a typical Major League baseball game, Statcast generates roughly seven terabytes of data. As the intent of the system is to emphasize player superlatives, impress fans and provide player evaluation abilities to teams, much of the data in a typical game is not useful outside averaging purposes. Computers parse through the data to extract the most interesting plays. [7]
As Major League Baseball Advanced Media CEO Bob Bowman explains "We’ve been in the tech business for 13, 14 years. Job 1 is to get what’s in front of us out clearly, quickly, and accurately. That’s a big task, and it’s not going to happen overnight. What’s the 2.0 version of this? We don’t necessarily have a clear view of what 2.0 looks like. We’ve come to believe that while the unexpected can come back to haunt you, the unplanned isn’t bad. We’ll put stuff out, see what people like, then figure out what we want 2.0 to look like." [7]
Statcast uses Google Cloud as its cloud data and analytics partner, switching from original partner Amazon Web Services in 2020. [17] [18] [19] Hawk-Eye Innovations provides the high-speed cameras for Statcast in MLB stadiums. [20]
Nomar Mazara hit a 505-foot (154 m) home run with the Texas Rangers to set the record for the longest distance measured by Statcast in the major leagues. Leandro Cedeño hit a home run measured at 527 feet (161 m) in the minor leagues. [21] Giancarlo Stanton recorded the hardest hit batted ball, with a ground ball with a recorded 123.9-mile-per-hour (199.4 km/h) exit velocity, [22] and the then longest distance for a home run, at 504 feet (154 m), measured by Statcast. [23] On August 9, 2018, in a game against the Texas Rangers, Stanton hit a home run with an exit velocity of 121.7 miles per hour (195.9 km/h), the fastest exit velocity for a home run measured by Statcast, surpassing the previous record of 121.1 miles per hour (194.9 km/h) held by Aaron Judge. [24] Aaron Hicks registered the fastest throw recorded by Statcast, at 105.5 miles per hour (169.8 km/h). [25]
Aroldis Chapman set the record for fastest pitch recorded by Statcast at 105.1 miles per hour (169.1 km/h) in July 2016, tying his own record from 2010 for the fastest recorded pitch in MLB history. [26] Through August 2015, Chapman had registered the 101 fastest pitches thrown in MLB, leading Statcast to introduce a filter to remove Chapman from custom leaderboards. [27] In 2018, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks tied Chapman's record (105.1 mph) with a sinker against Odúbel Herrera of the Philadelphia Phillies. [28]
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 of the MLB's Official Rules.
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate.
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field, with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
A bunt is a batting technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. Official Baseball Rules define a bunt as follows: "A BUNT is a batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield." To bunt, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of home plate and intentionally taps the ball into play. A properly executed bunt will create weak contact with the ball and/or strategically direct it, forcing the infielders to make a difficult defensive play to record an out.
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket.
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit and have thrown fastballs at speeds of 95–105 miles per hour (153–169 km/h) (officially) and up to 108.1 miles per hour (174.0 km/h) (unofficially). Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of home plate where batters cannot easily reach it.
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch fly balls and ground balls then to return them to the infield for the out or before the runner advances, if there are any runners on the bases. As an outfielder, they normally play behind the six players located in the field. By convention, each of the nine defensive positions in baseball is numbered. The outfield positions are 7, 8 and 9. These numbers are shorthand designations useful in baseball scorekeeping and are not necessarily the same as the squad numbers worn on player uniforms.
In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a half-inning, the batting team's turn expires.
Throughout the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game has continued to evolve. The rules of baseball can vary slightly from league to league, with there being dozens of leagues worldwide. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning. One example of differing rules in professional leagues is the use of a pitch clock, which in Major League Baseball (MLB) is in place to speed up the pace of the game by forcing pitchers to pitch in a 15–20 second window, while in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) no such rule exists.
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers to less organized venues for activities like sandlot ball.
Baseball and cricket are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games. Both have fields that are 400 feet (120 m) or more in diameter between their furthest endpoints, offensive players who can hit a thrown/"bowled" ball out of the field and run between safe areas to score runs (points) at the risk of being gotten out, and have a major game format lasting about 3 hours.
In baseball, interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, or spectators. Each type of interference is covered differently by the rules.
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to drive runners home or to advance runners along the bases for others to drive home, but the techniques and strategies they use to do so vary. Hitting uses a motion that is virtually unique to baseball and its fellow bat-and-ball sports, one that is rarely used in other sports. Hitting is unique because it involves rotating in the horizontal plane of movement, unlike most sports movements which occur in the vertical plane.
Bat-and-ball games are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe areas in the field to score runs (points). The defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to force them off the field when they are not in safe zones, and thus prevent them from further scoring. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are cricket and baseball, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
The TrackMan is a radar system that uses Doppler technology to track and record 3D characteristics of a sports ball in motion.
Pop time, also known as POP, is a baseball statistic that measures the time it takes for a catcher to make a throw from home plate to second base during a stolen base attempt. The measure combines catcher's footwork, exchange time, and arm strength.
In baseball statistics, exit velocity (EV) is the estimated speed at which a batted ball is travelling as it is coming off the player's bat. Batters generally aim for a higher exit velocity in order to give opposing fielders less time to react and attempt a defensive play; however, many batters are still able to accrue hits without a high exit velocity. A pitcher will attempt to limit the exit velocity on the opposing batter's contact in order to allow the fielders or themself a better chance at making an out.