Statcast

Tuesday during an MLB network broadcast of Cardinals vs Nationals this is supposed to be revealed in full implementation. According to the hype we will now know every little detail of a play. How fast the pitch was, rotation speed of the pitch, how fast it came off the bat, how quickly the fielder reacted, top speed reached by fielders and runners, how quickly they reached that speed, etc.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/118536416/statcast-ready-for-its-2015-debut

By midseason there should no longer be a debate of whether Trout, Hamilton, Gordon, or someone is the fastest player. Several similar debates will also be settled.

Part of the fun of any sport is the debates on who is faster, etc. On a statcast demo Angel Pagan was clocked at 22.2 mph on a triple. The video pointed out Bolt reaches just shy of 28 mph. We will by season's end likely have all kinds of data and tables available. Top 10 speeds reached by base stealers, etc. But if this ends debate about who is faster, etc, will the reduce your enjoyment.

Looking beyond this year I can see the data produced being used to produce a whole new set of defensive stats that go beyond the current standard stats and even the current saber stats.

As I understand the system uses data captured by high speed cameras and radar fed in to software that produces the numbers. I see the makings of a movie where the constant bombardment of low level radar causes ballplayers and fans to mutate. Probably nothing to be concerned about. But what if in 20 years someone produces data that fans with high attendance have a 10% higher cancer rate or ballplayers have a 20% higher cancer rate than the general population?

So how about you? How excited do this make you? Can't wait to see the data? Or too much data?

I'm afraid it's the kind of data that may be misinterpreted by many, including most of the dip-shit announcers

No mutations, but you will be hold a hot dog in the air and cook it at your seat.

I think too much data and measurements will lead to numbers that don't actually talk to winning games or playing well.

I can see some of this getting in player's heads. Some hitters over swing sometimes trying to be a HR hitter. I remember Musial once saying after a good HR season thinking in the offseason how many could I hit if I tried? Then went out and had one of his worst HR seasons. Said he learned from that not to try and let it happen or not happen.

I could see some of the top hitters looking at each other's stats on how fast the ball comes off their bats and trying to swing just a little harder to pass the guy ahead of them.