Of all the players on the field at a time, the pitcher is constantly in the line of fire. Whether they throw a curveball, fast ball, two seam or anything in between, there is always a possibility that as fast as they threw the ball towards home plate, it can come just as quickly back in their direction and potentially cause an injury, namely to their head.

Over the past few months, the implementation of a safety invention has been swirling around the league.

The latest baseball invention is that of the padded pitchers hat, which was invented to help reduce the damage that can be caused by line drives to the head that have led to terrifying injuries.

The padded hat was approved in January 2014. Although it is optional for major and minor leaguers, it is still a step in the right direction toward player safety.

Made by 4Licensing Corporations subsidiary, isoBLOX, the safety plates are sewn into a hat and are custom fitted. Although this sounds like a simple adjustment to the current hats that pitchers wear, the plates will add an extra six to seven ounces. To put it into perspective, a standard cap weighs about 3-4 ounces and a baseball weighs five ounces. Despite the fact that the latest invention will add some extra weight, it will offer protection to the forehead, temples and sides of the head.

The padding in the new caps is comprised of plastic injection molded polymers that are combined with a foam substrate. Although that sounds confusing, it basically boils down to the fact that the invention is designed to absorb and disperse the energy of line drives up to 90 mph in the front and 85 mph on the sides. The padding, which is about a half-inch thicker in the front and around an inch wider on the sides, has been sent to New Era, who is the maker of MLB’s official custom-fitted caps.

Although the padded cap invention has been MLB-approved, it is not required and pitchers have the choice whether or not to wear the cap. It will be interesting to see how many pitchers will actually adopt the new protective caps this year.

Copyright Davison 2014

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/01/29/not-game-ready-pitchers-pan-mlb-approved-protective-cap/

http://mlb.si.com/2014/01/28/mlb-approves-protective-headgear-pitchers/

Images:

http://cdn3.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/27609339/168283552.0_cinema_1050.0.jpg

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20140128&Category=SPORTS0104&ArtNo=301280064&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&MLB-approves-padded-cap-pitchers

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Finally, America’s favorite past-time is back in action and baseball fans everywhere can see the light at the end of the tunnel that is filled with warm summer nights, family fun, fresh-cracked peanuts, favorite MLB teams and well-manicured outfields.

Speaking of well-manicured outfields, how do those perfect and sometimes awe-inspiring designs get etched into the outfield grass anyways?

It all starts with an idea. Much like the Davison invention method starts with an inventor’s invention idea, so too do the groundskeepers’ outfield designs.

For groundskeepers, the grass in the outfield is their canvas and their imagination is the paint, or in this case, the lawn tools that make their ideas come to fruition.

Checkerboard, diamond and argyle patterns are the traditional designs in the field. But, in recent years, these designs have become more elaborate.

For instance, after the tragic events of the Boston Marathon bombing, groundskeepers at Fenway Park honored victims with an outfield design that incorporated the Boston “B” and the word “strong.”

In order to create the designs that you see in the outfield, the groundskeepers use a combination of lawn striping and grass bending. Many professional groundskeepers use old-fashioned reel movers in order to cut a stadium’s grass. Additionally, just behind the blades of the mower, is an attached lawn roller that is used to bend the grass down. The pattern that is created is revealed by light shining off of the bent grass.

The idea behind the grass bends is that, for example, when you look at your own lawn, the blades of grass that are leaning away from you will look lighter. This is caused by the sunlight reflecting off the entire blade of grass. While on the other hand, the darker green stripes are formed by the blades of grass leaning toward you with the sunlight reflecting only off the tips of the blades.

The more traditional checkerboard pattern is created by passing over the grass in side-by-side rows. The first row is going north-to-south, followed by east-to-west stripes in the grass that intersect the north-to-south stripes.

Field patterns and designs add an extra element of allure when visiting a major league ballpark. The key to success is that the design is eye-catching, yet it won’t affect the playability of the surface.

Want to see an inside look into the mind of an MLB groundskeeper? Take a look at this video!

After this long, cold winter, we can’t wait for the first pitch of the traditional opening day of the MLB season to be thrown on Monday, March 31st!

Copyright Davison 2014

Sources:

http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article/9733

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/stories/2001-06-27-ballpark-designs.htm

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question612.htm

Media:

http://binaryapi.ap.org/9c223091584046a698a6d9f46fd82617/940x.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQDP5IqowQ

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Because the quest for the World Series is currently underway, we thought it would be a great time to get a deeper look at the up-and-coming technology of this beloved sport. Hopefully, we won’t strike out with this blog, but instead, hit a homerun with our readers! Alright, now that we have that out of our system, let’s take a look at how technology continues to evolve in the world of major league baseball.

The game of baseball has come a long way since the days when it was first invented and introduced in America. Since then, there have been many changes, both in the rules and the technology that is involved in the sport. In the next year, the game of baseball will get another facelift and a few technologically savvy ideas will be employed to give managers the opportunity to challenge a previous play and create an interactive experience for fans.

All of these additions to the sport will add another layer of substance and grit to America’s favorite pastime, baseball.

Gone are the days of managers rushing the field with a head full of steam and a face furious with anger after the umpire makes a controversial call.  In the 2014 MLB season, the league plans to debut instant replay. Commissioner Bud Selig noted that this was “a historic day” for Major League Baseball.

The idea of the instant replay will allow managers to review virtually every play other than the strike zone. The managers of each team will get three challenges per game, one to be used through the first six innings and two for the final three innings. The idea for the rules continues in saying that the challenges don’t carry over; so, for instance, if a manager doesn’t use a challenge through the first six innings, he will only have two left.

This new rule is very much like the ability given to NFL coaches to challenge a play on the field. However, the idea of challenges in MLB differs, because baseball managers have to challenge the play almost immediately after it happens, while NFL coaches have a few minutes to decide whether or not to challenge the play.

The technology for the 2014 season has infiltrated the world of apps as well. The MLB also plans to equip each stadium with Apple’s new iBeacon indoor mapping technology. The app will use Bluetooth, as opposed to GPS, to sense where you are in the stadium and provide you with information or promotions. In essence, the idea is to create micro-locations within the stadium that offer users different experiences.

The idea behind this technology is that it will enhance a fan’s enjoyment by creating a completely interactive experience.

This is made possible through the At the Ballpark app that each user can access as they approach and enter the stadium. On this app, a unique ballpark guide and map will be available, as well as the ability to display a user’s ticket barcode that can be used as they enter the turnstile.

This will be the first time that a professional sports league will use Bluetooth and iBeacon technologies in stadiums.  This new app idea will allow end users to map indoor locations, such as stadiums and malls. The MLB has not yet announced which team will begin the 2014 season using iBeacon in their ballpark.

These new technologies individually enhance the game of baseball by instituting the idea of instant replays into the sport, while the interactive app will enhance the overall experience at their respective major league baseball stadiums. It seems that the 2014 MLB season will be full of technological changes to improve and enhance America’s favorite pastime, baseball.

Copyright Davison 2013

Sources:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mlb-plans-expanded-instant-replay-2014-article-1.1427815

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2013/09/mlb-plans-to-introduce-apples-ibeacon-indoor-mapping-technology-in-2014

Multimedia:

http://www.fenwaynation.com/2013_01_01_archive.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_field

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