Pitch Recognition Training App: The Applied Vision Baseball Game

There were two truths we wanted to embrace with the Pitch Recognition Training App: The Applied Vision Baseball Game, which is:

1. If you can hit, you'll play.
2. The best way to get better is by actually being on the field and competing.

With this in mind, our goal is to give ballplayers a key advantage.

"The ability to control how much and how quickly they develop as hitters by giving them a tool to simulate at-bats and plate appearances, quickly and effectively."

The more at-bats a player has, the more failures they will have to learn from.

The quicker this process, the quicker the development.

Lastly, we wanted to make this process fun and on some level, addicting.

The more enjoyment the hitter will experience from training their pitch recognition, the quicker they'll develop baseball vision skills that will allow them to slow the game down and develope a better Hitter's I.Q.™

With the Applied Vision Baseball pitch recognition training app, hitter's will learn how to improve their pitch recognition by training:

With a Hitter's POV
Strike Zone Box Zone Awareness
Soft to Hard Focus
Swing Trigger™
Occlusion Training
Pitch Sequence Recall
To Recognize & Hit The Changeup & Curveball
High-Velocity Fastball Reaction
Against Big Leaguers

If baseball is a game, which it is...

...then it's meant to be played. This is what we kept in mind when creating the training in this pitch recognition app.

Let's dive in a bit more.

The Applied Vision Baseball Game

First, how good you get at recognizing pitches depends on a very important principle.

How effective you are at reading the spin and speed while anticipating pitch types and location.

Assuming that the next pitch is going to be the best pitch you're going to get all day is the only way you're going to be ready when it is.

If you're hoping to hit, instead of knowing you're going to hit it hard, you're hosed.

I've often said, "selective aggression gives you accuracy." Competing with confidence activates your nervous system to track the baseball.

Being as good of a competitor as you are a ballplayer is one of the many ways you will learn how to slow the game and more specifically the baseball, down.

Hitter's POV

One of the features that make the Applied Baseball Vision pitch recognition app unique is that we've been able to get the exact point of view of the hitter from inside the box.

This means we've placed our HD 4k cameras literally inside the batter's box.

This gives the user the same point of view and tacit feel while recognizing pitches out of the pitcher's hands.

No broken cameras yet. (Knock on wood)

Truthfully, this is one of the most important aspects of training a hitter's ability to judge balls and strikes.

By making the perspectives as realistic and as accurate as possible, hitters are able to simulate the exact experience of a live at-bat while in the app.

Strike-Zone Box

Understanding the strike-zone and having solid strike zone awareness is key for:

developing plate discipline
recognizing good pitches to hit
developing effective pitch sequence recall.

These are all qualities that develop a good Hitter's I.Q.™...

...and is one way you'll develop these skills while having the strike zone box baked in the pitch recognition footage.

Soft VS Hard Focus

A big part of hitting is about being on time. A pitcher's job is to upset that timing.

When a hitter is in rhythm and is seeing the ball well, the transition from the pitcher to the release point is crucial to picking up the pitch spin, speed, and location as soon as possible.

Before the delivery starts, if the hitter's focus is too specific, there will be eye strain.

If the hitter's eyes move to the release point too late, it will be hard to anticipate pitch type and location.

Building pitch recognition habits like the soft to hard transitions is one of a handful of ways hitters will train their ability to see the ball better.

Occlusion Training

It takes about four-tenths of a second for a 90 mph fastball to get from release point to the catcher's mitt.

As hitter's, we're not swinging at where the ball is out of the pitcher's hand, we're swinging at where we anticipate the ball will be when it crosses home plate.

With the Occlusion Training Method, the pitch recognition video footage will shut-off moments after the pitcher's release point, forcing hitters to make a decision about the pitch spin, speed, and location-based on limited information.

The better you perform in the occlusion training section of the pitch recognition app, the sooner you will be able to pick up the release point on various pitch types.

Pitch Sequence Recall

Carlos Delgado kept a journal as think as the bible of every at-bat he had during the season. He would document what pitches were balls or strikes, what he swung at, and what the umpire called for balls and strikes.

He wrote everything down partly because he wanted to develop his previous pitch sequence recall.

The better he could call the pitch sequences of his previous at-bats, the better he could make adjustments in his next at-bat.

Knowing how you performed in the past will dictate your approach in your next at-bat.

For example, if you smoked an inside fastball for a double, do you think you're going to get that same pitch in your next at-bat?

If the pitcher made you look like a fool on the changeup in the dirt, you'll probably get another one until you can prove that you can lay off of it.

Inside the Applied Vision Baseball app, you will be fed a series of pitches, and then you will have to recall the sequence.

Changeup & Curveball Drills

One of the most common pitch recognition related questions is on being able to pick up the changeup and curveball effectively out of the pitcher's hands.

On average, a hitter sees only 3-5 curveballs a game. No wonder most hitters struggle with pitchers who can throw it consistently for strikes.

Most hitters struggle to recognize off-speed or breaking balls because they don't have a place to train those pitches repetitively at game speeds.

Imagine if you practiced recognizing a month's worth of changeups or curveballs in one pitch recognition session? You think you'd get better?

Believe it.

Having an approach and plan to anticipate and attack the changeup or curveball is a total gamechanger.

High-Velocity Fastball

One common adjustment hitters struggle making when transitioning to the next level of baseball is higher velocity.

When the game speeds up, it's important we have a plan that allows us to visually slow the game down.

Facing 90+ mph fastball on a daily basis gets easier only when we've learned how to minimize head movement to see the ball as well as we can.

Inside the pitch recognition app, you can choose to get a steady dose of high-velocity fastballs while you train your Swing Trigger™ or strike zone awareness.

Facing Big Leaguers: Bud Smith

Lastly, the thing we're most excited about is growing our library of pitchers who've actually pitched at the big league level.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to stand in on a big-league fastball, or an elite curveball, now you have access to simulating that experience.

Our first former big-league pitcher is Bud Smith.

A crafty lefty with an 88-90 mph fastball and 12-6 curveball.

Training your pitch recognition with this sequence is a great way to rapidly develop your visual skills at the plate.