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Rob Neyer has had a couple of entries in his blog about these the last couple of days (he got the info from other blogs).
I can't imagine why a ML Club wouldn't spend the money on it (considering how they spend it on other things). I'd guess they'll all have them soon.
Here is a video of it in action
I can't imagine why a ML Club wouldn't spend the money on it (considering how they spend it on other things). I'd guess they'll all have them soon.
Here is a video of it in action
ProBatter Sports has signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the club to acquire two of its leading-edge ProBatter PX2 video pitching simulators. The Bucs becomes the fifth major league organization to purchase the ultra-sophisticated systems, which employ patented technology to recreate the experience of facing live pitching in a completely controlled environment.
The deal was struck with Pirates General Manager, Neal Huntington, and Director of Player Development, Kyle Stark. Both executives joined Pittsburgh this past off-season after serving in the Cleveland Indians' front office and helping to build the team into perennial contenders. While with the Tribe, Huntington and Stark oversaw the acquisition of multiple ProBatter systems for use throughout the organization, including a unit used regularly by players at Jacobs Field. Last year, the Indians finished first in the American League Central Division.
ProBatter has sold multiple systems to the New York Yankees for players' use at Yankee Stadium and the ballparks of three of their minor league teams. In addition, the world champion Boston Red Sox and New York Mets have ProBatter simulators installed at their spring training locations in Florida, where major and minor league players can use the machines to train and rehabilitate throughout the year.
--snip--
The ProBatter PX2 allows a hitter to face a DVD-quality image of a real pitcher, which is projected onto an 8x10 foot screen. The pitcher winds up (or throws from a stretch) -- at the moment of release, an actual ball is fired through a small hole in the screen, delivering virtually any pitch a human being can. Synchronization is precise and the effect is extremely realistic. Hitters can be challenged by an endless array of fastballs, sinkers, cutters, curves, sliders, change-ups, etc. -- at speeds up to 100 mph and variable in increments of two mph. Moreover, the pitches can be delivered with pinpoint accuracy and thrown to pre-selected locations inside and outside the strike zone.
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