Ted Williams once said that "you can't make a hitter."
"But I think you can improve a hitter," added the man often considered the authority on the subject. "More mistakes are made hitting than in any other part of the game."
Now there is buzz over a cutting-edge new way to improve any hitter. Blast Motion, an industry innovator focused on advanced sensor-based motion capture, swing analysis and 360-degree game improvement solutions, announced a multiyear deal on Thursday that makes Blast Baseball the Official Bat Sensor Technology of Major League Baseball.
As part of this agreement, Blast Baseball technology will be available for organizational developmental use by MLB clubs, featured at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 10 at Petco Park in San Diego, integrated into select television broadcasts, used by athletes at the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C., and soon available for purchase at MLB.com/shop.
"We've created a seamless user experience that's portable, affordable, and easy to use," said Roger Weingarth, president of Blast Motion, which is based in Carlsbad, Calif. "We're excited to be partnering with MLB to advance the game of baseball and bring professional-grade technology to athletes of all skillsets.
"It's going to be fun watching technology enable a new generation of athletes."
The Blast Baseball swing analysis sensor, Power Sensor, and mobile apps have been specially designed to help players of all ages and talent levels understand the mechanics of their swings and learn how to hit with more power. The waterproof sensor and bat attachment slip over the knob of any baseball or softball bat and have been designed to capture highly accurate swing metrics and analyze performance.
By leveraging Blast Motion's patented Smart Video Capture technology with a user's smartphone camera, the Blast Baseball app intelligently combines and syncs swing metrics with video to create a powerful new swing analysis tool. The app automatically detects a player's swing and clips the video to create a series of video highlights. No user editing or playback intervention is required to experience this groundbreaking functionality.
The Blast pro team apps have been specially designed for use by professional teams and coaches to provide a 360-degree game improvement solution, optimized for both Major League and Minor League practice sessions and equipment management. The apps require a Blast-assigned team identifier prior to login.