After starting this new monthly feature for BaseballGB with a British site (www.britishbaseballdata.co.uk) in April, I make the inevitable Stateside move with the second instalment. With so many to choose from, what will my first US site be? There are several fascinating sites I have come across “off the beaten track” in recent years, but they are normally run as hobbies and so there is no guarantee that they will continue to be maintained. I was very disappointed, for instance, when updating of the Hitting Streak Blog ended in November 2007 after only a few months. It’s fantastic when someone finds their own niche in baseball, such as hitting streaks, and then sets about informing the world on it.
Another niche site that I have enjoyed – and that is still updated – is this month’s web pick.
Hit Tracker (click here to open the site in a new window)
The main premise of Hit Tracker is as follows:
When a batter hits a long home run, people want to know how far it traveled. Unfortunately, in the past it has been difficult to determine this distance with accuracy when the ball does not complete its trajectory all the way to the ground, i.e. when it strikes a light tower or other tall structure, or even when it lands in outfield seats that are elevated above field level. Hit Tracker determines the true distance a home run travels by recreating the precise trajectory the ball followed during flight, and extending that trajectory all the way back to field level to allow “measurement†of the home run.
The distances of Major League home runs are calculated using a spreadsheet built by Greg Rybarczyk, a baseball enthusiast with a very impressive engineering background. The spreadsheet combines atmospheric data (such as wind speed and altitude) with the location and timing of a point near the end of the home run’s trajectory, and then establishes what the initial speed and direction of the hit ball would have been through an advanced form of trial an error. Once these factors have been determined, the full trajectory of the home run can be plotted, which includes how far the ball would have travelled had an obstacle not interrupted its flight.
The length of a home run had it returned to field level uninterrupted is referred to as the “true distance” on the website. In addition, a “standard distance” is also presented for each home run hit, which is the same as the true difference, except it is corrected for atmospheric conditions. These and other stats are presented in a sortable format going back to 2006 (there are a few home runs from 2005 as well).
There’s plenty more to explore on the site, and I will leave some surprises for you. I hope you will find enough to decide that the site is worth a bookmark.
