Rapsodo Unveils Hitting Analysis System, Teams with Mizuno

Rapsodo has moved its sports analytics technology to baseball with its new camera- and radar-based hitting monitor system.

The portable hitting analysis system combines radars and cameras to deliver performance data, such as exit velocity, launch angle, backspin, trajectory and distance whether inside or outside or off a batting tee or from a pitcher’s hand.

Rapsodo attempts to give the system a fresh dose of publicity with a new Mizuno partnership in North America that places the hitting system alongside Mizuno’s proprietary bat fitting system, BIOS. Starting this fall, select Mizuno field sales team members across the United States and Canada will be outfitted with a Rapsodo unit for use at events and tournaments to fit athletes with the Mizuno bat that maximizes their performance.

“Rapsodo has been setting the standards for ball flight analysis cross sports categories,” said Chad Robertson, associate brand manager of bats and batting gloves for Mizuno USA. “The new unit is the perfect complement to our bat-fitting system, BIOS, to bring the visual impact of performance to reality in a demo format.”

Rapsodo has been in use in the golf industry using computer vision and machine learning so PGA Tour golfers can optimize their launch conditions. The baseball system helps with both data coming off bats, but also aims to increase the efficiency of pitchers looking for movement.

“There is a little bit of a battle between the art and science of baseball and in my personal opinion you need to have a combination of both,” Vanderbilt pitching coach Scott Brown said on the benefits of Rapsodo. “If you want to continue to grow in the game you have to come over the science side a little bit.”

— Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.