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Baseball Pitches : A Modern Data Definition
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About Baseball Pitches : A Modern Data Definition
This book defines each distinct pitch type independent of the specific pitcher or the pitcher method, that can be detected when only using ball tracking data. It also avoids the current ambiguity in pitch names, subjective names of pitches, and intent or technique-based pitch names, as used today. The definitions of pitch types in this book can help greatly in analytics, amateur scouting, advance scouting, broadcasting, and player development. This is the book I wished was around when I started analyzing baseball pitches. I wanted a book that would tell me for example, what exactly a slider was, or what exactly a cutter was, etc. It seemed back then that if asked 10 people what a slider was, I’d get 10 different answers. And the same is still true today. Working with pitch tracking data it becomes quickly obvious that everyone has been avoiding the elephant in the room, that the pitch names assigned to a pitch in the data are often wrong or missing. That means that stats such as "Average Slider Velocity" for example, won’t be accurate because there may be curveballs, changeups, fastballs, etc. mixed in with the "Sliders". Also, for example, if the pitch is tagged a “Slider”, you’re not guaranteed that it is in fact a “Slider”. When examining the metrics for this “Slider”, you could be looking at the metrics for example, of a Changeup. The time has come for this new type of classification to be done now because of technology advancements, and this book does that. About 2 years ago, in the book, Applied Technology in Pitching, near the end of the book we described the need for a uniform and non-subjective system of defining pitches. This book essentially continues where that book left off, and the 2+ year of work for this book began. Up until now, everyone has been trying to classify pitches from the point of view of the Pitcher and speed. The method in this book classifies pitches from the point of view of the Batter and trajectory shape. Different points of view. This book defines each pitch type with data metrics and shows a visual of the pitch flight path from the batter’s point of view. There is no subjectiveness in the way they are defined, meaning everyone who looks at the pitch data will arrive at the same pitch type name using these formulas and definitions. The pitches are defined in terms of their trajectory shape, not their speed, and not how the pitcher intended to throw them. How the pitcher produced the trajectory shape, or intended to produce that shape, are irrelevant for classification because from a Batter’s point of view, the Batter only knows the pitch shape that was produced. This book doesn't write about how to throw these pitches, as there will be many ways to throw the same pitch shape, and besides, that’s not the purpose of this book. In fact, linking the method or intent for how to throw a pitch type is partly what has caused the current ambiguity and subjectiveness of calling pitches today. This pitch detection system has already been implemented in Pitchgrader, an advanced software system used by many MLB teams and top D1 teams. The pitch detection feature allows teams to cross-check the pitch name in the data with what name Pitchgrader detected. It also helps create a consistency in reporting and saves a lot of time with advance scouting.
