Improving as an Infielder: Infielder Execution Drill
In the modern game of baseball, where batters are getting faster and arm strength is more highly valued among infielders as opposed to solely their outfield and catcher teammates, the ability to accurately monitor how fast an infielder can get the ball to first base on a throw across the diamond is highly coveted.
Having access to this kind of precise data will be critical in helping coaches make decisions on who plays what position and will help scouts gain a better understanding of what types of tools and traits each prospect brings to the table.
What is the Infielder Execution Drill?
The traditional way to perform and track this drill is very similar to the way that the Pison rendition of it is performed – only slightly less precise. Normally, a coach or batter would hit a ground ball in the vicinity of the infielder and another coach would start a stopwatch as soon as the infielder fields it and stop the stopwatch as soon as the ball hits the first baseman’s glove. This will yield generally accurate results, which is okay if you are comparing players of vastly different skill levels, but it will not satisfy the demands of highly competitive baseball.
How Pison Differs
Using a Pison device with a BASEBALL Pro subscription the batter/coach (wearing a device) starts the drill then will hit a ball to the infielder (wearing a device) involved in the current rep. This bat-to-ball contact is the first trigger. The infielder will make the play and throw the ball to the first baseman (wearing a device) as quickly as possible and the coach will end the drill on the app. That ball-to-glove contact is the second trigger. The delta between triggers is calculated as the infielder’s time to first base, and displayed on the BASEBALL Pro app in real time.
Using electroneurography (ENG), Pison devices are able to detect stimuli, such as a ball hitting the glove, down to the millisecond, making the scores extremely accurate especially in comparison to the traditional stopwatch method. These scores will be instantly available on the BASEBALL Pro dashboard found in the app.
Utilizing the App
In the app, players will be able to initiate training sessions where they can continuously track and upload their scores to their own personal database for an overarching view of their scores and progress. They will be able to see where they stack up against their teammates and competitors and what the average scores are for players at the next level, giving themselves a benchmark to reach. Furthermore, there will be levels of trust among teams and organizations where training sessions can be verified and uploaded by a “trusted” user to discourage cheating the drill.
Check out the Pison BASEBALL Pro app in the App Store and Google Play Store for more information.
