In a stadium in Phoenix, Arizona during the training of the Anaheim Angels, directors of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) had the first approach to the work that the company TrackMan Inc does with the 30 Major League teams.
With a combined work of radar and cameras installed in ball parks and a unit the size of a laptop, hundreds of data can be stored on each hit, pitch, speed, ball spin, and more advanced statistics .
The company of Danish origin, which also has experience in collecting golf data, has the technological infrastructure to not blink in an entire competition or season and also presume that its margin of error in data measurement is millimeters. Accuracy is the competitive advantage highlighted by Hans Deutmeyer, President of Trackman Baseball.
”We have preparatory and advanced technology that allows us to take measurements in large and small stadiums and golf courses. We can provide this data instantly, since it is difficult for another company to do it on the scale that we do and in the levels of precision that we have”, he answers to El Economista.
The LMB and Trackman have three years of a first contract to measure the statistics of the 18 teams. After an Assembly of Owners, it was determined that the investment would be made jointly (teams and league) with the command that the stadiums must have broadband so that the technological tools do their job. The accuracy of the data is a value for the reputation of the company and if a team wanted to specialize more, it would be an additional expense, meanwhile, analysts are required for the use of data.
“We don’t need such formal requirements, just that we can install the system in a space that has broadband. We know that the LMB has recently made investments in infrastructure to provide this type of data in the stadiums”.
The premise of all technology is to simplify work processes, however, the accumulation of advanced baseball statistics requires professionalization within the teams. Hans Deutmeyer points out about the specialists who can land the information that is intended for public use such as TV broadcasts, on the scoreboard and the private information accessed by coaches and players.
”For teams that really want to be competitive, they can have data engineers so that the statistics are in an accessible format. Clubs in the world that have used our technology for years have up to 10 or 20 engineers or analysts. Also having sports scientists to apply the insights to a player.”