Detroit Tigers Weekly and Sports Technology

Love this Detroit Tigers Weekly video titled ‘Technology in the Game’ where you can link to below. Maybe you have a question about what sports technology actually is, or perhaps you already have a good idea but want to learn more, either way, you will want to watch this brilliant Fox SportsNet Detroit video that discusses what their team and MLB are doing with the newest tech.

http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/pages/video?PID=8yl2J_cugSBZHQi0TPVxn33s2J_hlfNz

I have had a 15-year career with Sports Technology beginning with the Seattle Seahawks back in 1996 which is about 75-years in tech time. It is amazing to watch how new gear, machines and Solutions are advancing in development at exponential rates.

The newest sports technology trend discussed by Tigers Weekly is the team’s ability to use computers and software Solutions to watch real-time video of a baseball player’s sports performance, such as a swing or a pitch, frame-by-frame, during a live game in order to truly impact muscle memory. This type of real-time analysis technology used for in-game adjustments is exactly the kind of sports tech my former employer Dartfish has been a pioneer with developing. Video Operations Coordinator Jeremy Kelch discusses for Tigers Weekly how the team accomplishes this during games played at Tiger stadium.

Listen to Tigers GM Dave Drombrowski after 34-years in the game discuss how MLB teams and players first used technology. Archaic stop watches, hand written game reports, and huge cell phones were just starting to be used as cutting-edge tech back in the early 1980’s.

It was only two-years ago that Drombrowski first used a text to consider making a player trade. Real-time box scores are a tool Drombrowski uses on a daily basis to keep up with the Tigers and other MLB team’s game outcomes, player performances and key injuries.

Today, the Tigers staff is using iPads and other tablets as a teaching tool that gives their coaches the ability to create game plans, and allows for players to study scouting reports or analyze and improve athletic performance.

Not only do the Tigers have video archived of their entire Major and Minor League player performances, they also have film of amateur high school, college and International player prospects they are considering drafting or trading for. This gives the Tigers an improved ability to more thoroughly analyze prospects or trade scenarios while communicating as a staff in real-time.

Love how Tigers Weekly dives into how MLB is using or not using instant replay. MLB was the last Professional sports league to implement instant replay. In 2008, home run review using multiple angle video technology was installed in all MLB ballparks. Now MLB is looking into attaching a camera to the home plate umpires mask to help get the calls right. Dropped balls and foul ball reviews will be the next step in tech integration by MLB in perhaps two more years.

MLB is already using a tracking system to rate umpires calls on balls and strikes. HD video and a computerized strike zone help show that human inconsistencies are real. This technology is similar tech to the Hawkeye used in tennis to help get the call right. No one wants the human umpire entirely replaced but no one should want obvious bad calls not corrected either if technology can assist with getting it right. Improved human and technological balance is needed and resistance to this is futile, right FIFA. Just ask Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga who lost a perfect game last year on a blown safe or out call by umpire Jim Joyce.

Training the Tigers players has clearly advanced thanks to sports technology. Strength and Conditioning Coach Javier Gillet uses advanced machines and Solutions to create custom exercise plans for each player. Vertical leaps are tested and used as a basis for software programs that produce insightful data that is used for maximizing results and better training.

Power Strength and Power Speed are both important for improved play and can be critically analyzed via a spread sheet. Air compression machines are used to analyze the right and left side leg power of a player in order to see the differences and improve where neeeded. Players drill on rotational swing machines that can be analyzed and tracked. Sports technology is significant with treating injury and helping rehab and allows these injured players to get back explosiveness and lost range while improving agility.

Even Tigers fans win with sports technology. Go to Tigers.com and click on the Social Media Club House fan tab for lots of interact features and a newsletter. Team texts signups sent to your smartphone gives you scores, stats and injury updates.

I rate this Tigers Weekly sports tech video a 10 or A+. Hopefully, you have learned in this blog how important and diverse modern technology is for sports.

I will see ya when I see ya, Sports Techie.
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