Kevin Kiermaier an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays got offered a $53.5 million dollar contract extension. They were not rewarding him for his expertise at the plate, but for his ability to field his position. His career batting average is .258 with few home runs. Kiermaier’s name is not well known amongst baseball fans, but he represents the new order in baseball. The reshaping of this sport has been evolving over the last few years through statistical analysis and camera technologies. Kiermaier and the Tampa Bay Rays being one of the first to move in this direction.
In the past baseball executives had very little data to work with. They thought they knew substantial defense when they saw it, but they were wrong. With the new combination of radar and optical tracking technologies from Statcast the MLB’S Advanced Media data baseball has been revolutionized. Not only does this data system measure the offensive side of the game but more currently baseball executives have begun to dive into the statistics of the defensive side. Some of the things this new data technology can measure on the defense side of things are defender’s arm strength, first step, route efficiency and reaction time. BAM has changed the potential effect on players’ values. BAM is a company owned by all 30 major league franchises. It disseminates its statcast data equally to
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This is important because the right angle helps you get a more perfect hit through the gap. If you don’t get the right angle your shot can vary from a pop-up to a ground-out. This data has brought about finding a new right way to approach the plate. This new found information has evolved into the idea that keeping the ball on the ground is not the way to go. The new approach is to keep the ball in the air. Attempting to hit the ball at a certain height and angle. Therefore resulting in a more powerful and effective