Can reliance on technology help St. Louis Cardinals improve performance, dodge injury?
The impact of modern technology is inescapable at the Cardinals Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Florida. Backstops on each of the back fields are adorned with control boxes for Trackman radar systems.
Slow motion cameras have been seen both in front of and behind pitchers going through early workouts. Even players recording video clips for use on the Busch Stadium scoreboard are standing in front of green screens in order to allow animation to be added.
And then there’s Tyler Webb.
Webb was the unfortunate guinea pig for a spring initiative that’s decidedly old school. He was told to put on a nylon vest with weights sewn into it and take a 30-minute walk around the complex’s various warning tracks in order to break in his new cleats. Some old problems require old solutions.
“Everyone works out in the off-season,” Webb explained. “You lift weights and you run and you do all that stuff, but you’re not standing. You’re not on your feet. So they’re trying to get everyone prepared to be on your feet for a long time.”
“Standing in spikes is not fun.”
Webb has yet to utilize the more cutting-edge tools provided in camp this spring, but fellow reliever John Brebbia was outfitted with a Motus sensor on Monday, designed in part to help measure the effect his workout may be having on the health of his elbow.
“It has some type of algorithm where it accounts for number of throws and the arm speed and gives an effort level of throws and tells you how much work you’re putting in,” Brebbia said. “I think that’s cool to see like, hey, this last week was a really high workload week. Let’s take this heavy (bullpen) day and push it back two days, something like that.”
The technology Brebbia was using was not without its flaws. The sensor was designed to be worn inside a special pocket in a compression sleeve; the Cardinals have opted to tape it to players’ arms because the sleeves were wearing out after repetitive motion and excessive exposure to perspiration. Brebbia also had to avoid absentmindedly tossing a ball into his glove during his rest periods; there was a risk the sensor would record those ubiquitous baseball movements as an efforted throw.
Perhaps more of a hurdle than the proper application of the technology is the uncertain status of the information which the technology collects. At the end of every data point is a dollar sign, and for baseball franchises seeking to limit costs at every turn, the information gathered from wearable technology could be a double-edged sword for the players whom the data describes.
“A little bit (concerned), to be honest, yeah,” Webb conceded. “You always want to know where the data’s going, who has access to the data. I think that’s just, it’s part of looking out for yourself.”
“Do I think that they’re using that data in a negative way? No. I think it’s all to help the player get better. But I do think it’s in the player’s best interest to know who has access to the data and who’s looking at it.”
Brebbia said the Major League Baseball Players Association offered guidance to its members regarding the rules and regulations around access to the data. The information is owned by the player, Brebbia explained, and they have ultimate control over its access.
The Players Association does have limited reach. Minor league players who are not on an MLB team’s 40-man roster are generally not eligible for MLBPA membership, and teams are working to integrate data collection technology into a player’s development process as early as possible.
“We don’t really know much about all this data,” Brebbia said. “A Motus sleeve has only been around so long. So the assumptions that we can be making from the data given could be totally wrong.
“I don’t mind going through the organization. I haven’t been around all that long, but I know it’s a business, I know baseball’s a business and moves are made not for people but for what’s best for the business. I get it and I like that.
“But at the same time, these aren’t bad people. This isn’t a bad organization. So I think that I haven’t seen more negatives than positives.”
Comparisons to social media, gunning for biggest impact
Webb drew a comparison to a technological innovation which has changed many aspects of the broader human experience.
“It’s just like social media,” Webb opined. “It’s great for some people and some people it gets them in trouble. So if you use it in the right way, it’s just like anything else.”
Ultimately, both Brebbia and Webb expressed a preference for enhancing their short-term efficacy over privacy concerns which may implicate their longer term career path. That attitude is certainly one which benefits organizations seeking to maximize their return on significant investments in new bells, whistles and lenses.
“There’s a positive and a negative to whatever we do,” Brebbia said. “I’m more concerned about if I’m getting hitters out or not, and if I believe that collecting some of this data can help me get hitters out, then that will take precedence over looking at, ‘oh boy, he’s got all this work load, he’s never gonna make it.’”
“I’m a right handed middle reliever,” Brebbia said with a wistful smile. “We’re not long for this game. I’m not long for this game as it is. So I want to try to make the biggest impact that I can to help the team as soon as I can.”
