Rawlings Sci-Fly Blog

Perfect Game tests out Sci-Fly at Inaugural Rawlings Home Run Challenge!

2008-07-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

The Rawlings team just made their way back from Minneapolis where we attended a Perfect Game National Showcase and the first ever Rawlings Home Run Challenge! This showcase featured the top high school baseball players in the country as they played in front of pro scouts and college coaches. Each of the eleven teams took turns hitting with the new Rawlings Rush Lite and Plasma Gold bats while our Research and Design team took some measurements of their swing with our new Sci-Fly system. The hitter on each team with the most home runs advanced to the finals at the Metrodome. It was a battle, but a winner emerged victorious; Jonathan Singleton of Lakewood, CA was named the winner of the inaugural Rawlings Home Run Challenge with six blasts! Pretty impressive for a 17 year old!

Check out how each hitter performed by clicking on the link below:

http://www.rawlings.com/downloads/TRN806-18-PG%20HR%20Derby-MPLS-summary.xls

Testing out the new Rush Lites

2008-05-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Rawlings Sci-Fly Tech team did extensive testing with High School and College players as a part of the new Rush Lite Series baseball bat launch. Both the players and coaches were impressed with the capabilities of the Sci-Fly system and how they can utilize the data to help fit batters with their optimal bat.

Two major tests were conducted:

1. Rush Gold Lite vs. Competitor Bats:

Rawlings Rush Gold Lite bats were player tested against two of the leading competitor bats of the same category (2 pc bats). Each player hit all three bats and their batted ball speed was captured and analyzed using the Rawlings Sci-Fly system. On average, players hit the ball 14 feet farther using the Rush Gold Lite than when they hit with the two competitor bats. Approximately half of the players that were tested performed best with the Rush Gold Lite in this study.

2. Rush Comp Lite vs. Competitor Bats:

Hitters also tested the Rush Comp Lite, this time against five leading competitor bats of the same category (Composite bats). Hit distance and batted balls speed were measured with the Sci-Fly system. Players and coaches were excited to learn that the Rush Comp Lite out hit all the competitor bats by as much as 15 ft in distance. One third of the hitters in this study performed highest with the Rush Comp Lite.

So there you have it! Try out the new Rawlings Rush Lite bats for yourself!

The Sci-Fly team will be traveling to several locations this summer to continue player testing. We will keep you updated with where we’re going and where we’ve been.

Biju Mathew,
Testing & Analysis Manager, R&D.

Sci-Fly and Holt High

2008-04-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

The Rawlings Sci-Fly team recently worked with the pitchers at Holt High, a competitive St. Louis area high school with a top notch pitching staff. The Holt pitchers and coaches were impressed by the capabilities of Sci-Fly, and pitchers eagerly took turns throwing while their teammates watched the live data being displayed on the computer.

The Rawlings team was interested to learn that one of the more valuable measurements the Sci-Fly gives is the pitch release location (i.e. how high the pitcher releases the ball above the ground). If a pitcher has a different release location for his curveball than his fastball, the batter can pick up on this and know what pitch is coming as soon as it’s released. From the pitcher’s perspective, having this information is valuable so he can fix the problem if it exists. On the flip side, this knowledge can be valuable for batters to help them pick up on whether the opposing pitcher is tipping pitches and learn to take advantage of it.

While many of the best coaches and scouts can tell a pitcher if he is tipping pitches based on his release position, it is difficult to precisely define by how much. The advantage of Sci-Fly in this case is that it can tell exactly how much a pitcher’s release location varies. Six inches is probably a major problem, while one or two inches is considered acceptable.

Overall this was a great experience for Rawlings and seemed very beneficial to the Holt players and coaches as well. Each pitcher received a sheet detailing every pitch they threw along with some analysis of their session. It was a pleasure to work with the Holt High baseball team and Rawlings is very appreciative for their valuable feedback.

Greg Williams

Project Engineer

Introducing the Sci-Fly System

2008-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

The Rawlings Sci-Fly system is a baseball/softball tracking device that uses radar to determine the exact trajectory of a ball in flight. The system calculates all imaginable flight characteristics of the ball including velocity, rotation (spin), amount of curve, etc. and is capable of being a very valuable tool for both pitchers and hitters at every level of play.

Pitchers
Pitchers find the Rawlings Sci-Fly system to be useful not only in capturing pitch velocity and ball rotation, but also in computing the amount of break for a pitch. The pitcher's release height, and the position of the ball as it crosses the plate are also measured. In evaluating these and other useful pitch characteristics, the Rawlings Sci-Fly can help a pitcher learn where they excel and what they can do to fine tune their delivery.

Hitters
Since Sci-Fly tracks the ball from the moment of impact with the bat until it hits the ground, batters are able to discover exactly how far they hit the ball. Information measured directly after impact, including ball velocity, amount of spin, and launch angles, enable batters to optimize their swing in order to achieve their maximum potential. The Rawlings Sci-Fly system also serves as a bat fitting tool by providing hitters knowledge about which bat they perform best with.For the first time, highly in-depth (scientific) information is available to students of the game. Rawlings looks forward to bringing a Sci-Fly system to a location near you!

Greg Williams
Project Engineer