The Impact of Technology on Major League Baseball

There probably isn’t an area of our lives that hasn’t been impacted by technology over the years. Whether it’s a simple change like introducing an electronic version of your diary for jotting down important dates and appointments, or even more specialist developments like telehealth equipment that allows doctors to monitor your vital signs whilst you’re sitting at home instead of in a hospital. Amazing technological advances have been made.

What has the impact of technology on the sport we love and the ways they work? Well, we’re going to take a quick look at a few ways in which technology has changed the world of Major League Baseball (MLB), and whether the changes have been seen as positive, or whether fans and players would rather somehow change things back to the good ol’ days.

More access than ever before

When Baseball was first around, there were two ways to catch the live action. It was possible to either watch in the stands or tune into local radio. If you missed it, you’d have to read all about it in the papers. You can now watch the broadcast on TV or on your computer. You can now access it from anywhere.

Then you’ve got all sorts of news and blogs that will offer live text coverage on games, or at least write about previews of games and roundup the highlights. There is so much content out there that we’re truly spoiled for choice.

Online betting is now possible. And what’s more, you’re not just limited to placing bets, you can sometimes watch content on there, track live stats, and even now, cash out your bet halfway through the event to make some profit in case you’re worried the result you bet on is likely to change.

To improve and strategize

It isn’t just all about the outside of the game, allowing fans more access than ever before with numerous ways to watch the game, technology has also helped on the field too. Sportvision has created a technology called PITCHF/x that helps players pitch better and teams strategize more effectively.

This technology tracks the pitch of a pitcher. This technology analyses the pitch and collects information based on speed, direction, or other characteristics. The data is sent to the coaching staff. This can help identify which pitchers are struggling and where to improve. They can also see which pitches are most effective against particular opposition players. This allows teams to adjust their game as they progress through the innings, improving their chances of winning.

Similar technologies are available for batters. These technologies analyze each swing to help batters adjust their approach to make certain connections with specific balls. SwingTracker is a system that monitors and analyzes your swings. It connects to your bat to transmit data to an app. 

Monitoring player fitness and health

Without players, we wouldn’t have the game. So it’s important to protect them at all costs. The biotracking technology is an example of how technology can improve this process. Rather than focusing on performance, which this can monitor as well, it more focuses on the player’s vital signs, like their heart rate and oxygen levels. If a player is at high risk for cardiac arrest, the coach would know and be able alert medical personnel to help them.

They can look very much like FitBit devices. WHOOP is the largest provider of this technology. They specialize in the monitoring of professional athletes rather than providing a device for the everyday Joe to track their exercise. This can help keep track of a player’s health, and help coaching staff look at ways to adapt training to meet specific needs of players who may be facing certain health issues, whether that be a mild illness or an injury.

Conclusion

So as you can see, technology has had a massive impact on MLB. It’s not only managed to help develop ways to protect players and monitor their health, but also to help them improve their game. It allows teams to plan. From a fan perspective, they have more access to the games than ever. So whether they’re out and about and want to watch the game on the go, or just like to catch up with highlights if they miss something, it’s now easier than ever thanks to the advances we’ve seen in technology and baseball.

The article The Impact of Technology in Major League Baseball was originally published by Entrepreneurship Life.

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