Since SSW Break is directly related to seam orientation, pitchers may discover the seam orientation they are using for a pitch type is in fact subtracting from the pitch’s total movement (SSW Break in the opposite direction of Total Break), or find that they can directly add movement due to SSW by slightly adjusting their seam orientation. “The effect SSW Break will have on elite baseball could be significant, and I’m thrilled Rapsodo has led the way in applying this metric to the sport.” “This is one of the most innovative upgrades to a Rapsodo device ever,” Batuhan Okur, CEO of Rapsodo said. By looking at Rapsodo’s seam orientation data with SSW Break, pitchers will be able to hone in on the ball orientation to get the best movement for each pitch. When paired with Vertical and Horizontal Break, pitchers can learn how to maximize movement on their pitches. The metric shows a pitcher the orientations they have already tried that have or have not worked for them. Rapsodo’s seam orientation metric is geared to increase the efficiency of pitchers’ experiments with grips. ![]() Prior to this being a reportable metric, pitchers had to rely on feel and taking notes. In January 2023, the PRO 3.0 underwent an update that granted users access to seam orientation. A good understanding of the relationship between seam orientation and SSW Break could potentially be the difference between a great pitcher and an elite pitcher.” “Pitchers will be more in tune with why their pitches move in certain ways, which could ultimately result in pitches that are much tougher to hit. “With elite athletes now having the ability to track SSW Break, I believe we’re going to see changes at all levels of baseball,” Garrett said. He joined the Rapsodo team in March 2022 after a stint with MLB and has spearheaded the implementation of SSW Break into the PRO 3.0. Garrett and his team used Rapsodo’s early devices to test their theories. He began his research at Utah State University’s Experimental Fluid Dynamic Lab as a mechanical engineering student. John Garrett, analytics engineer at Rapsodo, is a pioneer in SSW and has been researching the aerodynamics of baseball since 2019. This effect differs based on air properties like humidity, temperature, elevation, etc., meaning you will see different results on a ball pitched in cities with different climates, like Los Angeles and Denver. Since the PRO 3.0 sees both how the ball actually moved compared to how it should have moved based on how it was spinning, it can determine an estimation for how much of the total break in each pitch is due to SSW. The PRO 3.0 uses radar and camera-based technology to measure both hitting and pitching metrics. Pitchers can adjust their seam orientation by gripping the ball in different ways, ultimately leading to more movement on a pitch due to the additional force. ![]() When this happens on one side of the ball but not the other, the presence of the seam causes a “shifted wake.” The shifted wake has an unbalanced pressure distribution, leading to an additional force acting on the ball which affects how the pitched ball moves. Seam orientation may cause the wake formation point to occur at a position earlier or later on the ball than it normally would. ![]() SSW Break works in tandem with seam orientation, which is the position of the ball’s seams relative to the spin axis. This software update establishes the PRO 3.0 as the first training device to ever record SSW Break. LOUIS, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Rapsodo, the company known for helping athletes achieve their maximum potential by providing advanced data in real time, announced its PRO 3.0 device released an update this week that allows users to measure Seam-Shifted Wake (SSW) Break, one of the most talked-about yet untapped metrics in baseball today.
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