Advance reports come in many different forms. Typically they are reviewed in team meetings and players are expected to go out and execute them during the game. I believe we need to apply advance reports to game-like settings, rather than just sending players on their way after going over them. In this post, I will focus on how this could work for hitters.
I believe Step One should be each player getting their own report based around what I previously wrote about. Then, if the player wants one, the team can create app-based mini-quizzes that are based on different game situations. For example, maybe an opposing pitcher favors his curveball in an 0-0 count with runners on, as opposed to a fastball in an 0-0 count with nobody on. The player would be presented with that scenario and tasked with choosing the most probabilistic outcome.
Step Two should include a plan of action, where the player is able to apply the report in practice. I see this as adding an element to the situational rounds of BP, except instead of the hitter being assigned a task, they would now get a more realistic pitch based on the situation. Here’s how it could work…
The player gets their advance report, they review it, and enter the cage to face the dual-machine (below). One machine is a breaking ball, the other is a fastball. Try to recreate the shape and velocity of the pitches as best as possible.
The two lucky machine-feeders will each get a decision tree that would look something like the one below. The feeders would then both hold up a ball to feed, but communicate with each other to determine who would actually insert their ball based on the probabilities from the advance report (another interesting way to do this could be to use Ethan Moore’s pitch prediction model). Fastball 70% of the time in that situation? Feed the fastball roughly 70% of the time (or feed it 100% of the time to condition the player to think fastball in that scenario and if it doesn’t happen in the game, it doesn’t happen).
Some players may hate the idea and not want to participate at first, but I believe that creating a much more realistic scenario will lead to better performance. Once a couple players buy in and have success, it should be easier to get the other players on board. And if it doesn’t improve performance, bag it.
Additionally, there are vision training resources out there such as GameSense. The biggest problem with them is that they rarely have video of the pitcher your team is up against, unless that pitcher is a major leaguer. Obtaining video from behind the plate throughout the season on pitchers you will face again has a ton of value, and it is not difficult to make your own version of the vision training video that sells for thousands of dollars.
Incorporate the behind home video of the pitcher you are facing that day as a BP station with a projector screen and your players will be getting just about the most realistic experience as possible.
The final step of this should be some form of evaluation system where teams can see how well the reports actually played out. A player could memorize everything on the report and none of it happen during a game, so there needs to be a constant loop of improvement.
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