The lifespan of a major league pitch is less than half a second. If that’s difficult to conceptualize, think of the most basic, reductive metaphor for something that happens fast. Then go check the Harvard Database of Useful Biological Numbers and see that, yes, a major league fastball really does go from hand to home plate in the blink of an eye.
How does one accurately capture that?
MLB’s answer is a system of 12 cameras positioned around each ballpark, the source of the data that makes up Statcast. (The optical tracking system is the product of sports tech company Hawk-Eye, best known for making line calls in tennis.) For the last few years, there were five cameras responsible for tracking pitches at 100 frames per second and seven responsible for tracking players and batted balls at a comparatively languid 50 frames per second. But this season brought an upgrade.
