Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant wants his own swing data

Chicago Cubs: Practice is the key

This has lit a fire under certain parts of America that are beginning to realize the reality of this pandemic: there may never be a chance tomorrow, and so it all has to be ”great” today. With a renewed aggressive spirit, young ballplayers are getting after it and finding ways to get ”practice” in and what’s even better; they are collecting a lot of data on themselves as they practice.

For Cubs fans, I reported back in April about Chicago Cubs pitcher, Adbert Alzolay, and how he had created his own mobile mound to keep up his pitching skills. What are other Cubs doing to stay in game shape?

Right now, many players are relying on technology to keep their pitching arm, or their swing focused for success. No, I’m not talking about Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ and playing “The Show” video game to improve out in Wrigley. I’m talking about Chicago Cubs third baseman Bryant leading the charge to get his swing data with the Rapsodo Hit 2.0.

Chicago Cubs: Bryant goes techie-geek to collect data on his swing

Bryant is no stranger to bringing the game home and working on his skills. In early April, I explored the Bryant home training facility and talked about how to set up hitting cages in your own home or backyard to maintain skills during the stay at home order.

Lately, ballplayers are going nuts for Rapsodo Company’s new technology.   Rapsodo produces hardware and software for pitchers and hitters. Teams will buy the technology, or players will pick up the tab themselves for their machine. Rapsodo’s Hit 2.0 runs between $4,000 – $5,000 for the package. The Rapsodo website says:

This unit is easy to use with the Rapsodo app providing players and coaches the ability to continually view the data of each hits exit velocity, launch angle, direction, spin axis and more. The portable Rapsodo Baseball Hitting Unit and app are a ball-tracking tool that gives players instant data on exit velocity, exit launch angle, exit direction, spin rate, spin axis, and 3D ball flight, allowing them to make immediate optimizations and improvements in their swing.

Geez, for $5,000, the Rapsodo better check the oil and tire pressure too! For these big leaguers, though, adding this nice little toy is a drop in the bucket for all the data they are going to collect. Today information is like Klondike gold to baseball players and organizations alike.

However, most times in the hustle and bustle of the game and lifestyle, professional athletes don’t have their ”own” time to collect data. They go in with a trainer who will do all the analysis and then reports back to the team and player. It’s’s been no secret since Billy Beane used statistical analysis to develop an Oakland Athletics team capable of contending that the guy with the data is king.

Bryant wants that data every day and every workout. He wants to be able to change things and see instant results that Rapsodo’s Hit 2.0 provides individuals. Now Bryant doesn’t have to wait; he can analyze the data himself.

So it’s no surprise Bryant picked up a machine for his Las Vegas home training facility, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. According to Gonzales, the unit Bryant picked up included a camera, radar, and the coveted app,  preloaded on a tablet so the player can permanently set the radar down, turn on the app, and set the parameters of the workout from a tee or pitching machine.

“It’s a great hitting tool,” Mike Bryant, Kris’ father and personal hitting coach, wrote in a text message. “It really helps to lock in the positional technique the hitter is after.”

If the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales can get that kind of recommendation for the technology, there’s gotta be something there. While most likely a little too pricey for high school baseball players quarantined in their backyards, Rapsodo is keeping Chicago’s 3x All-Star and MVP third baseman, hitting dingers all day.

And the data is all Bryant’s.