{"id":96356,"date":"2021-05-27T16:12:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T21:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=96356"},"modified":"2021-05-27T16:12:28","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T21:12:28","slug":"cubs-begin-to-embrace-baseballs-technological-revolution-but-not-everyone-is-convinced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/cubs-begin-to-embrace-baseballs-technological-revolution-but-not-everyone-is-convinced\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubs begin to embrace baseball\u2019s technological revolution, but not everyone is convinced"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Benjamin Rosenberg<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Ian Miller just felt stuck.<\/p>\n

Drafted in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by Seattle, Miller was still in the Mariners\u2019 organization at the beginning of 2019 without having spent a day in the major leagues. He had put up solid but unspectacular numbers for Triple-A Tacoma the previous two seasons, and he decided it was time to change things up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI\u2019d never been open to the metrics or the data or any of the technology that\u2019s been offered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller finally embraced the modern technology that all clubs have access to, from companies such as Rapsodo, TrackMan and Driveline. These services all help prospects track and understand new-age metrics including exit velocity, launch angle and spin rates. Miller credited blast motion sensors, which he attached to the knob of his bats during practice sessions, for keeping him in baseball.<\/p>\n

After slugging just .315 and .327, respectively, during his first two seasons in Tacoma, Miller began driving the ball with more authority. He hit just two home runs combined in 2017 and 2018 at Triple-A, but had 11 through 108 games in 2019.<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s improvement drew the interest of the Minnesota Twins, who traded for him in early August. He spent a few weeks with the Twins\u2019 Triple-A affiliate in Rochester before finally making his big league debut in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe threw the blast motion sensor on there, and it was a revelation,\u201d Miller said. \u201cTalking about swing paths, staying through the baseball, how the ball is jumping off your bat. Basically making your swing as efficient as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller became a minor league free agent after 2019, signing with the Chicago Cubs that December. He spent the shortened 2020 season at the alternate training site in South Bend and is now trying to make his way back to the top, currently playing for Triple-A Iowa.<\/p>\n

Although reluctant at first, Miller is a great example of a player who has bought into baseball\u2019s technological revolution. But some players and coaches still have more of an old-school view of player development.<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s manager in Des Moines, Marty Pevey, is among them. Pevey was grateful for his players to have access to technology and analytics, but he emphasized that if players don\u2019t have the talent to succeed at Triple-A and in the majors, all the technology in the world won\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can show them the numbers, but we walk out there and they won\u2019t know how to fix it, and we have to show physically how to fix it,\u201d Pevey said. \u201cWe\u2019re teachers, we\u2019re not just baseball coaches. We\u2019re not guys who go in the library and do research and all we have are numbers. We teach from what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitcher Ryan Jensen, the Cubs\u2019 No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, also said he hasn\u2019t taken a hard look at analytics. Currently at High-A South Bend, Jensen said he\u2019s more focused on adding pitches to his arsenal in order to remain a starter as he advances through the Cubs\u2019 system.<\/p>\n

But Jensen\u2019s manager, Michael Ryan, was more open to advanced technology, saying he stresses its importance to his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to get that information, to make the players better, it\u2019s such an advantage,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen the results and how quickly they can come by using that technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like all teams, the Cubs now employ instructors whose main purpose is to introduce players to the latest technology, including Director of Hitting Justin Stone. Stone, who was promoted after the 2019 season, previously founded Elite Baseball Training, which used the BioTech cage to help hitters track every small movement within their swings.<\/p>\n

Stone said the technology he has brought to the Cubs paints a clear picture of the specific skills each prospect needs to work on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes to the approach they have in the batter\u2019s box. It goes to vision and reaction time quality, as well as decision-making,\u201d Stone said. \u201cAnd the mechanical side is really where the technology comes into play, to make sure you\u2019re not missing something that could potentially shave off milliseconds, (and) those milliseconds are really worth millions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller, for his part, is now all-in on advanced technology after using it to completely revamp his swing. Now that he\u2019s able to generate more power thanks in large part to the blast motion sensor, he encourages his teammates to get on board as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat blast motion sensor put my swing on the map,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI was able to channel my energy and my thought process to make things more efficient, just based off of the data it allowed me to see. It really saved my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin Rosenberg is a sports reporter at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter at <\/i>@bxrosenberg.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Benjamin Rosenberg Medill Reports Ian Miller just felt stuck. Drafted in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by Seattle, Miller was still in the Mariners\u2019 organization at the beginning of 2019 without having spent a day in the major leagues. He had put up solid but unspectacular numbers for Triple-A Tacoma the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":777,"featured_media":96357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135,31,5092],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iowa-minor-league-baseball-2021","category-sports","category-spring-2021"],"yoast_head":"\nCubs beginning to embrace baseball\u2019s technological revolution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/cubs-begin-to-embrace-baseballs-technological-revolution-but-not-everyone-is-convinced\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs beginning to embrace baseball\u2019s technological revolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Benjamin Rosenberg Medill Reports Ian Miller just felt stuck. 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