Today, we’re going to focus on how we look to improve the Blast Motion Rotational Acceleration metric in a baseball player. Rotational Acceleration measures how quickly the bat accelerates into the zone, from first move to getting on plane. A high Rotational Acceleration helps players create power at contact, provide for maximum time to react to an incoming pitch and overall hitting adjustability.
Continue reading “How to Improve Blast Motion Rotational Acceleration Metric”
I joined RPP Baseball as a Data Intern this past September, and was very excited about the opportunity to learn all of the different aspects of applying technology to training pitchers and hitters. Little did I know how all-encompassing it would be. The process of working and training daily with the latest technology has proved to be an amazing experience for my personal development as a professional in this industry. Whether I am working with Rapsodo Pitching, Rapsodo Insight, Blast Motion, HitTrax, K-Vest, or assisting with our bio-mechanist on a full blown Qualisys motion capture system, I am amazed at the impact that data and technology can have on player progression and talent maximization. I decided to write this article, not only to summarize how much I have learned in this position, but also to help provide a road map for all those that may come after me. Continue reading “A Week in the Life of an RPP Data Intern”
In Part 1 of this article, we covered the information we gathered from the initial assessment on this specific college athlete and how we addressed the disconnects we felt could be easily improved. Part Two will now dive into the work this athlete put in through the remainder of the summer, as well as the information we gathered from reassessments and the changing landscape of our training environment. Continue reading “A Day (Week, and Month) in the Life of a College Hitter at RPP – Part 2”
The summer season can be a great opportunity for college baseball players to go off and play in various summer leagues throughout the country. Some of the top tier guys go to the Cape Cod League or other competitive leagues like the NECBL and Northwoods for an opportunity to play in front of pro scouts and elevate their draft stock. Younger guys may head off to smaller leagues where pitchers can get a ton of innings and hitters can get plenty of ABs to supplement those they might not have gotten in the spring. But for other guys, the “In-Betweeners,” the summer provides a different, maybe less conventional opportunity – a chance to pop open the hood and work on their game to return to school in the fall a more efficient athlete from both a hitting and strength standpoint. Continue reading “A Day (Week, and Month) in the Life of a College Hitter at RPP”
The following is a list of “frequently asked questions” that we often receive on our off-season hitting program. Hope it’s helpful, but please feel free to reach the front desk at 201-308-3363 with any additional inquiries at any time or set up a visit / “consult session” where we can give you an on-site tour and review the programming.
To be a more efficient baseball player, it’s important that you have both high amounts of force (power) and acceleration in your throw or in the box. For a pitcher, it can be a deal breaker in terms of college recruiting or ultimately being an MLB prospect. As far as hitters go, having a faster, more powerful swing allows the hitter more time to make better decisions at the plate. While going from 80 to 85 mph may only require more absolute strength, once we get into more elite velocities, max strength is simply not enough. This is where the Proteus machine shines. Continue reading “How to Generate More Power and Velocity with Proteus”
In part 2 of this series, we’re going to zero in on HitTrax results (click here for Part 1 on Blast metrics). HitTrax provides a plethora of data in a variety of formats on batted balls that can help us evaluate a hitter’s performance at the plate, including spray charts, depth of contact and strike zone information. Given the amount of variability in hitting a baseball, we generally like to collect information on at least 100 batted balls per hitter. Hopefully this will include incoming pitches throughout the zone with different pitch descent angles to replicate as many different situations as possible. Continue reading “How to Use Blast Motion and HitTrax Info to Improve – Part 2”
A few years ago, we installed HitTrax for our hitting program. Combining HitTrax batted ball results with Blast Motion sensors provides excellent pre- and post-contact information on batted balls. Now in this 2 part article, we’re going to review what pre-contact metrics from Blast Motion and post-contact data from HitTrax tell us about a hitter and his aptitudes:
Blast’s Plane score measures the percentage of time during which your swing is on plane (on-plane efficiency %) and the angle you make contact relative to the horizontal (attack angle). According to Blast, this metric is relevant because players that stay longer on plane:
There are several potential physical impediments that could lead to an undesirable Plane Score. Issues could range from lower body weaknesses, limitations on t-spine disassociation and even weaknesses in the shoulder region. Continue reading “How to Improve Blast Motion Plane Score (Contact)”
Given the rotational nature of hitting a baseball, there are variety of potential physical impediments that could lead to an undesirable Rotation Score (rotational acceleration and bat speed). Issues could range from the bottom of the kinetic chain to the top, including lower body weaknesses, hip mobility limitations, t-spine related issues and even weaknesses in the upper extremities. Continue reading “How to Improve Blast Motion Rotation Score (Power)”
