Interesting New Batting Tool

There was an article on MLB.com a few days ago about the "I trac Vision Training System" and I thought I would point it out, though I doubt any of us will ever get to see one, let alone use one. I just thought it was very interesting, especially the debate in the article about its efficacy.

As Usual, I Have A Story

I believe that it can work for hitters whose eyes have the ability to handle the higher speeds. I remember growing up and scoffing when hitters would talk about seeing the rotation of the ball as the pitch came in, of seeing the stitches and everything. From riding in cars, everything would go by in a blur, so how can they see a 100 MPH fastball rotating?

Then one summer I lucked out into one of funnest classes I ever took in college: summer quarter baseball at Chabot College. I signed up thinking I would get to play baseball games but there weren't enough players for a game, heck, there wasn't even enough for the infield most times (little did I know, but had they played games, it would have been a hardball; I only had experience with tennis balls and softballs). So we did the next best thing: we hit against the pitching machine.

Man, what fun that was! With so few people and so many pitching machines, you and a buddy could swap off and hit a whole bucket of balls (those yellow dimpled ones) over and over and over again. For a whole hour. That was the life!

And, though most balls got by me initially, I was soon lining hits up the middle pretty consistently (I impressed my friends at the hitting cages at the old Malibu Speedway in Oakland). And then it happened: I could see the dimples on the balls rotating towards me. Now, I had no idea how that is suppose to help me as a batter (I'm sure there is, but I didn't have any buddies who played little league or friend there who I could ask about that; I have to assume it gives a clue as to type of pitch, fast ball, curveball, slider, etc.), but that was so exciting: so that's what the hitters mean!

Then, going off on a tangent here, as most college guys do, we got cocky and moved from the 60-70 MPH machine to the 90 MPH machine and cranked it up. After doing no better than fouling off a pitch or two - most thumped the padding in back with a loud "Thwack!", we went back to the other machine and happily sprayed balls all over the "field" and watching the balls rotate as the pitch came in.

Everybody's Different

I think the criticism of the tool is mainly because not everyone can benefit from seeing pitches come in at such high speeds. It is kind of like Barry Bonds explanation when reporters ask him the stupid question of how he does what he do: "I'm gifted, man, I'm just better than you." I think some people are able to see the balls come in at high speeds like this tool and would, like I eventually did with the pitching machine, see the balls rotating in as their eyes adjust to the higher speeds. Which should make the slower pitches in a real game seem like they are standing still, because it is all relative.

Then again, who would it help? Probably the best hitters like Bonds, they might get even better than they are. And there are probably those on the edge between good and great, who if they got help like this tool, could push them over the edge to great. I would have to assume that Scott Boras will get one of these machines for his training center that he runs for all his clients, and get them working on that machine to see if it could help them. I think it is a tool that most teams will eventually get, especially given all the money being paid players today, investing this will be a drop in the bucket comparatively, I would think, eventually (I'm assuming the price is a bit high right now but would fall as volume rise).