Posted on 08/02/2014 12:45:22 PM PDT by TaxPayer2000
As a hardcore baseball guy, I often wonder why people needlessly waste their time on all those other, lesser sports. But I suppose everyone has a right to their insane opinions.
In any case, football fans may want to keep an eye on this development: The NFL announced this week that it will be using RFID tracking chips on players during select games in the 2014 season. The high-tech chips — RFID stands for radio-frequency identification — will generate precise positioning data on each player on every play.
Football Uniforms Throughout History
For the initial rollout, the RFID system will be used in 17 of the NFL’s 31 stadiums. (Astute sports fans will note that the NFL has 32 teams, but the Giants and the Jets share the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.) When squaring off in these stadiums, players will actually be tracked by two RFID chips — one in each shoulder pad. Data is broadcast in real-time to provide information on positioning, velocity, direction, distance run and even force-of-impact.
All of that data is instantly analyzed by the NFL’s MotionWorks system, which then generates statistics for every play. The data can also be instantly incorporated into the visual elements of the TV broadcast. In fact, the MotionWorks system crunches the numbers so quickly that graphics can be added within the broadcast’s standard two-second delay.
Should Kids Play Football?
The upshot of all this is that viewers — not to mention coaches and team executives — will be able to track every players’ movement in the often chaotic scrum of the typical NFL football game. When a blocking assignment is missed or a receiver is suddenly wide open in the end zone, fans will know precisely which player screwed up, and when and where.
The system will also generate an entire new field of statistics for fans to obsess over. In fact, the MotionWorks system is part of a larger initiative the NFL is calling “Next Generation Statistics.” The stadiums participating in the 2014 program: Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, New Orleans, Oakland, San Francisco, St. Louis and Washington.
via: Fastcolabs.com
Credit: NFL
WTH, stadiums are to big, they only need a room with a TV monitor and CGI to
reproduce each play with players named Zeebert, and Zzzbot.
I also notice that when a batter questions an umpire’ s strike call, the batter is almost always right.
Great idea. We’ll be able to track the average 12 minutes of actual playing time per game.
Glavine much more so than Maddux, imho, but the whole staff was like that. It was bizarre.
Aren’t most of them wearing ankle bracelets anyway?
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Avid baseball fan for the local team...
I always wondered how umps actually see the ball as a strike or a ball when crouched down behind the catcher...some are obvious ball or strike but many are a close call...
Instead of a electronic device calling the shots, I'd like to see the coach have the ability to have a called pitch reviewed...maybe two or three per game...
I've seen LOT'S of suspect calls when games were on the line...
Soccer.
Golf.
Baseball.
Drying Paint.
In that order.
LOL...I did think that was hilarious...baseball.
“One owner (Pittsburgh) raised so much dough for Obama they made him an ambassador and staged an Obamacare rally at the stadium with Sebelius.”
Yeah, and many of us in Pittsburgh were sick about both things. Ol Dan Rooney must be as senile as Nancy Pelosi.
It hasn't been done because it would make game fixing difficult.
Problem is the ball is big and oddly shaped. you could easily have the ball touch the line (remember all lines start on the inside) without the rfid section crossing it.
Better than having faith in the umps, all of whom have their own definition of the strike zone, most of whom will even admit it. When Curt Shilling said that part of his tape review was studying the ump to get a handle on how they customize their strike zone MLB should have panicked and cracked down on the umps, there should be no “my strike zone” it’s defined in the rule no customization needed.
If you are going by-the-book strike zone, the top and bottom would have to be customized for every hitter. Not sure how you would do that with an automated system, but certainly it could be called better than it now is, where the high by-the-book strike is usually considered a ball.
Freegards
There’s various sensors you can build right into the uniform that are directional. Really between directional sensors and touch plates just about everything in baseball could be automated.
Interesting, it could work. So you put sensors in the uniform, how much of a crouched batting stance do you allow? Because there would be a lot more crouching that the umps don’t generally take into account now. You could have a whole generation of short speedy slap hitters and bunters who do everything bent over at the waist, like submarine hitters. Who makes sure the sensors are in the right spot and calibrated?
You could put the sensors on something the players can’t manipulate. Like every player has a set height at their normal batting stance and two posts far away records the height of the ball crossing the plate for that batter. The problem is if a batter uses a radically different stance according to the count and game situation, so maybe that wouldn’t work either. Or you use a formula for the player’s height and discount whatever stance the batter uses.
Freegards
Let them crouch, you basically point out why they won’t really want to, no power hitting. And it would put more of the slider destination in the strike zone, so they’d really be easier to get out, and less risky when they got a hit.
Argh. I know just how many of you feel in Pittsburgh about that.
I don’t know man, I think base on balls would skyrocket. Not only the short speed specialized guys but anyone who gets into a 3 ball count. So many walks by not calling the high strike and super valuing OBP already slow the game down. Seems like even smaller zones would only exacerbate it. You really think they would be easier to get out, not sure what ‘slider destination’ means?
Right now I am picturing some tiny dude doing a split and bent over, cracking myself up. Or a real tall guy squatting with his knees above his chest. Negative strike zone!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel
Freegards
Works for me. Give the plate umpire a stool ten feet behind home and a novel. When there’s a play at the plate he can get up, walk over and make the call.
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