From PitchCom to Pitch Clocks: How MLB’s New Rules are Reshaping the Game with Joe Martinez

Athletic Intelligence Episode 1 Transcript

From PitchCom to Pitch Clocks: How MLB’s New Rules are Reshaping the Game with Joe Martinez

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[00:00] Joe Martinez: You wanna play baseball, you don't wanna wait around. Let's get the ball, let's go and keep the game moving. And it feels a little bit like the game that you grew up watching or grew up playing with your buddies, right? The best version of the game we can put on the field is going to kind of benefit baseball everywhere.

[00:17] Joe Martinez: The goal isn't to get back to, you know, 1987 baseball, but there were things about that 1987 baseball that was good, that. Fans say they want more of — even now. 

Meet Joe Martinez: From MLB Pitcher to VP of On-Field Strategy

[00:25] Narration: That's Joe Martinez, a former Major League pitcher who's now helping shape the future of the game as the VP of On Field Strategy at Major League Baseball. Now pitching number 49, Joe Martinez.

[00:40] Narration: Joe spent years on the mound with the Giants, Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Indians now guardians. Over his nine years in pro ball, he racked up more than 1,500 innings and 1,200 strikeouts.

[00:56] Narration: Now he brings his experience as a player into the decisions that are propelling the sport forward. In this episode, Joe sits down with Aman Loomba SVP of Product at Game Changer, and Alex Trezza, Senior Manager of Baseball. Alex is also a former player, coach, and recruiter. Together, they break down the latest tech shaping Major League Baseball from PitchCom, designed to eliminate sign stealing, to the pitch clock, aimed at speeding up the game and bringing fans back to the action.

[01:30] Narration: This is Athletic Intelligence from Game Changer, a show where we go deep inside the world of baseball and softball. Uncovering the tech that's shaping the game. Aman kicks off today's conversation. 

Designing Rule Changes That Improve the Game

[01:44] Aman Loomba: You are the VP of on Field Strategy at MLB. It sounds like you play a role in rolling some of this stuff out.

[01:49] Aman Loomba: What are the batteries of your job? 

[01:51] Joe Martinez: I like to say, you know, when everybody watches baseball games with their family or their buddies and you're, you're just sitting around the couch watching the game, you're like, you know what, what will make the game better? Or, you know, what really bothers me about the game when guys do this?

[02:01] Joe Martinez: Or there's too much of that. We kind of do the same thing, except we actually then are able to try to design rule changes or technologies, right, that actually address those issues or get at those things we wanna see more of. So any kind of on field changes that you've seen in the last couple years? Our, our team has kind of, uh, been involved in those both in

[02:21] Joe Martinez: Trying to dream them up, right? Some of the ideas kind of aren't our own. We didn't just make all of it up. We sourced 'em from kind of anywhere. They can come from fans, prior rule changes that maybe didn't work quite as well. Some of them are new also, you know, then how do we design what those changes are?

[02:35] Joe Martinez: How do we test them and get feedback and kind of refine them to the point where they are viable options at the management level right now, obviously have to make the decision if that's the right choice for the game itself. So. 

Creating a Better Product for Fans and Players

[02:45] Aman Loomba: What's sort of like the main outcome you're trying to drive? Is it, is it more engagement from people watching, more engagement from people in the stands?

[02:53] Aman Loomba: Like what? What are you looking to accomplish? 

[02:55] Joe Martinez: You know, if you give the consumers more of what they want or better product for them to watch, to make them wanna go to the ballpark, to make them wanna turn their TV on, to make them want to get out there and play themselves right and get involved, the best version of the game we can put on the field is going to kind of benefit baseball everywhere.

[03:11] Joe Martinez: So that's really our goal is to try to figure out, you know, what is the best version of the game, um, and how can we give fans more of what they want and less of what they don't. And I think the players would also agree, right? We wanna give the players what they want also. Right? What's fun to play? What, what helps 'em showcase how good they are?

[03:28] Joe Martinez: How athletic they are? You know, how special these guys are. You know, we have an extreme example, right, with Shohei Ohtani right now. The guy's one of the best pitchers in our game and, and one of the best hitters in our game. But all that stuff's really difficult. He makes it look easy, but it's really hard.

[03:39] Joe Martinez: But, you know, how can we kind of showcase players like that and give our fans more of that? 'Cause that's what they like to watch.

[03:47] Narration: Shohei Ohtani is one of the most remarkable players in modern baseball. An ace pitcher and a power hitter all in one with two American League MVP awards and a national league MVP honor to his name so far. 

How Playing Experience Informs Rule Innovation

[04:03] Aman Loomba: Did uh, your experience as a player influence the way you think about implementing some of these on field technologies?

[04:09] Joe Martinez: Yeah, for sure. Um, I think that's probably the value that I bring more than anything to our team is. When we are contemplating these changes or, or new technology that we're using, it's easier, I think, for me to kind of get in that place and think about how would I play, how would I pitch with this rule in place, right?

[04:25] Joe Martinez: What would I do? What would I be worried about? Where do I think this would break down? You know, even in some cases, how can players exploit these rules and find soft spots that make them ineffective. A lot of times, because you know, as a player you're looking for any advantage you can, and if you can do something that's going to give you more time.

[04:42] Joe Martinez: For instance, when we're trying to make the move at a certain pace, like, that's probably not a good thing. From our perspective we want to then be able to plan for how do we make these rules? How do we construct them in a way that they are effective and they don't have those big loopholes in them, right? Or, and they don't negatively affect guys' ability to execute pitches or to hit or fields or whatever it might be.

Ending Sign Stealing with PitchCom Technology

[05:04] Narration: At first glance, it looks like a pitcher adjusting their cap or a catcher tapping their wrist. But what they're doing is sending a signal. That's PitchCom, a wireless communication system that lets catchers call pitches silently. They tap a keypad on their wrist and the pitch type plays directly into the pitcher's earpiece tucked inside their cap. Strike!

[05:30] Narration: It's a modern solution to an age old problem — sign stealing.

[05:37] Narration: In the past, catchers used signs to call pitches, but if a runner on second base or a coach or even someone off the field could decode these signals, they could tip off the batter. It's happened at every level of the game, but in recent years, sign stealing has become a bigger concern, especially at the collegiate level. 

[05:57] Narration: Alex jumps in to dig deeper into what prompted the league to act. 

[06:02] Alex Trezza: How much was there about potential sign stealing and, and things that that teams were worried about that drove the league and yourself, right, to really look into PitchCom. Obviously it was happening at the collegiate level with wristbands and, and earpieces and stuff like that, probably a little bit before that, but how much did that influence, you know, how quickly you guys moved?

[06:23] Joe Martinez: I think a  benefit of it is obviously like kind of the sign stealing, addressing potential sign stealing issues. I think it's also kind of a pace of game thing where major league teams had these, you know, very elaborate systems in place to try to prevent sign stealing, right? You'd see, you know, the pitchers had the cards in their hats, the catchers had the cards.

[06:42] Joe Martinez: They'd be holding up numbers to each other, or they'd have mound visits, you know, every time someone got on second base. So it just really dragged the game down, right? And when a runner got on second and things really slowed down, so by using PitchCom, it became a lot easier 'cause you didn't have to do those things anymore.

[06:58] Joe Martinez: It's secure. You're pressing a button. Only the pitcher and catcher, you know, whoever else has the receivers in their hats can hear the pitch call. So, you know, I think it was very useful both for pace of game and also kind of the sign stealing concerns. We tested the minor leagues like we do with everything else pretty much before it gets to the big leagues.

[07:15] Joe Martinez: The players really liked it. There was some good feedback and then we actually tested during Major League Spring Training one year and um, there was a call from the teams that they wanted to use it that year. Right. We weren't necessarily planning on doing it that way, but we were prepared and, and you know, they were the ones who were really kind of calling for, there was more of a pull than it was a push, but it does definitely address, you know, that issue as well.

The Pitch Clock: Speeding Up the Game, Raising New Questions

[07:37] Narration: Another major change you've maybe seen in pro and college ball is the pitch clock. It's a visible countdown on the field that gives pitchers a set amount of time to throw the ball and batters a set amount of time to get ready in order to speed up the pace of play. Major League Baseball began by testing the clock in the minors and eventually implemented it in the big leagues.

[07:57] Narration: The results speak for themselves. In 2023, the average length of a nine inning game was two hours and 36 minutes. The quickest pace since 1984. But it's not just quicker games we're seeing. The pitch clock has helped bring more action back into baseball. In fact, fans saw more stolen bases than in any season over the past 40 years.

[08:19] Narration: And naturally, with any major change new questions start to surface. Including whether a faster pace or less recovery time between pitches could lead to more injuries. 

Does the Pitch Clock Affect Arm Health?

[08:30] Alex Trezza: Has there been any talk? I, I, I know I read a couple articles about it. I follow it closely as a former pitching coach and just time between pitches.

[08:38] Alex Trezza: Are people worried about kind of the load on the arm and the stress, uh, as opposed to, you know, taking 30, 40 seconds between these pitch? 

[08:45] Joe Martinez: Yeah, sure. I mean, I think we've, we've heard some of that. Um, we've also looked into it. The office did a pretty comprehensive study on pitcher health and arm injuries and, you know, relation to, um.

[08:57] Joe Martinez: All causes, you know, not just rest, but also intensity and velocity and all those types of things. Nothing that we've seen or any of the doctors have told us, uh, shows kind of a correlation between the implementation of the pitch clock and an increase in injuries. We always wanna be mindful of those things, but I think the intent really with the pitch clock was to get us back to a pace and kind of a rhythm of the game that we saw in like the nineties and the eighties when baseball was extremely popular, right?

[09:26] Joe Martinez: There wasn't so much sitting around fixing your batting gloves, looking at your positioning card. Guys kind of got on the mound, threw a pitch, and, and batters got right back in the box and, and got ready for the next one. So that's what we were trying to do in return to that time. And that was a time when we had very few arm injuries.

[09:40] Joe Martinez: Right. So it was a different thing and, and obviously like we wouldn't wanna do anything with any kind of change that is going to put players at, you know, increased risk for injury, that that's obviously, you know, a kind of a foundational piece of what we're trying to do. 

[09:54] Alex Trezza: Yeah. And I, I have to say that pace of play is, is awesome.

[09:57] Alex Trezza: Right? Get the ball back and get ready and go. Right? Like, that's how the game's made to be played. So it's been fun to see how both of those things have really increased the pace over the last couple of years. So it's been fun to watch as a

Bringing Back the Game You Grew Up Watching

[10:09] Joe Martinez: Yeah, yeah. You know, you know from playing too, right? Yeah. You get the ball, you play, right?

[10:11] Joe Martinez: You wanna play baseball. Let's get the ball, let's go and, and, and keep the game moving and, and it feels a little bit. Like, even though it's, you know, through new changes, it almost feels like in the game that you grew up watching a little more or grew up playing with your buddies. Right. 

[10:24] Aman Loomba: Is that a common way for y'all to talk about some of the changes that you proposed for on field is getting back to a time when, um, baseball felt a certain way, a time when baseball had a certain level of popularity and significance.

[10:38] Aman Loomba: Is, is that a common framing? 

Restricting the Shift to Restore Familiar Defense

[10:40] Joe Martinez: I think so, and I think it resonates with some fans also who, who kind of yearn for those same things. I mean the shift restriction's a good example that we, we had a, a lot of fans, particularly those who are probably like my age and older, that, you know, were used to shortstop, playing shortstop and third baseman playing near the line.

[10:56] Joe Martinez: And, you know, someone out in short right field was like, uh, an atrocity, right? They, they hated that. Not because of what it did to the game. It just looked bad, you know, it was uncomfortable. So they, they wanted the game to look like, it used to look. When we go to our fans and we ask them what they want and we do a lot of polling and, and surveys and things like that. We try to,

[11:15] Joe Martinez: to use their feedback as guidelines for what we're working towards with these changes. Right. And and a lot of it is. Getting the game a better pace of play, getting the ball in play, watching guys do exciting things, stealing bases, taking extra bases, making great plays in the field. Very rarely do you see, well, we wanna see more mound visits and walks, you know?

[11:35] Joe Martinez: You know what I mean? Right. So like when you ask the fans, we really try to let them lead us to what the answer is. The goal isn't to get back to, you know, uh, 1987 baseball, but there were things about that 1987 baseball that that was good and that fans say they want more of even now.

Bigger Baseball Bases, Smaller Risks

[11:53] Narration: not all of the changes the MLB has made to the game are as obvious as the pitch clock. Some are a little more subtle. In 2023, the MLB increased the size of its bases, a move that some fans may not have noticed.

[12:09] Joe Martinez: We've asked people this before. Do you know how big a base was before we went to a bigger base? Do you know what the size of it was? 

[12:15] Aman Loomba: No.

[12:16] Alex Trezza: I don't know. I know home plate, but I don't know. I don't know the base.

[12:25] Joe Martinez: Right. So, no, I didn't know either. Right. That's, that's kinda the point. Right. And so bases used to be 15 inches on each side, and now we went to an 18 inch base on each side.

[12:27] Joe Martinez: So it's a little bit bigger. It's not super noticeable. I mean, when you're, when you're playing you on the field, you're like, oh, that looks big. Kind of, you know, but you kind of very quickly just don't think about it anymore. It has. Potentially it contributed to a little bit more aggressive base running, right base dealing, things like that.

[12:43] Joe Martinez: Cause they're a touch closer to each other. We also think that it's probably helped reduce some injuries around the bases, right? Players are just bigger now, um, than they've ever been. They're faster, right? So just creating a little bit more room to maneuver around the bag. A little more space for guys to run through first base, you know, we think has had a positive effect.

[13:01] Joe Martinez: So it's something like that, which is pretty subtle, I don't think. You know, if you dropped a fan from 1960, you hadn't seen a baseball game till, you know, 2025. You dropped him off at a, at a ball game. You'd never point out the bases being bigger. But, you know, it has had some kind of an impact. 

[13:16] Aman Loomba: I didn't realize that it had an impact on, um, a potential impact on the injury rate.

[13:19] Aman Loomba: That's really fascinating. 

[13:21] Joe Martinez: Yeah, we hope so. I think it's probably worth, you know, continuing to study over time. Right. The more data you get, I think the more you're confident in your conclusions. But it does seem to be helping. 

Technology and Analytics in Baseball

[13:29] Alex Trezza: I'm curious, Joe, how much were you an analytics guy? Were you, were you looking for tech when you were playing to help you?

[13:37] Alex Trezza: Or were you a guy that just went out and relied on the things you knew in baseball? Uh, again, it was different when we played, but, and did you think you would ever be doing the stuff you are doing now, right. To implement, you know, some sort of tech into the highest level of the game?

[13:49] Joe Martinez: No, I, I was not an analytics or tech guy.

[13:53] Joe Martinez: Different time though, like you said, we had a lot less tools at our disposal. By the time I was getting out of baseball. I think Rap Soto and Pitch FX and all that stuff was really starting to be on the rise and obviously we're, we're way past that now. But even with the Giants I came up with in the minor leagues, it was a little bit more of like an old school approach with Brian Sabian as a general manager who was a great, obviously a great general manager, um, and took the team to three World Series titles, but,

[14:18] Joe Martinez: you know, they had a different way of going about developing players and a lot of it was based on mental approach and commitment and execution, and getting people out, you know, focusing a little bit more, maybe not on the outcomes per se, but like they stress different things rather than, I think the things they do now.

[14:36] Joe Martinez: Right. We have the benefit of looking at these huge data sets and figuring out exactly what kind of behaviors lead to success most of the time, or the highest percentage of time. You know, I think now it's great when you can use this data to kind of help you learn things about yourself that maybe you couldn't feel or you weren't aware of, or kind of reinforce things.

[14:54] Joe Martinez: If you are making changes, is this actually better or is it not, you know, and, and how do we measure those things? I also wasn't a big rules guy. I don't think I'd ever open a baseball rule book. Right. The umpire was there for a reason, but, um. Now that we have it, you need to use it in, in a responsible way.

Striking the Right Balance with Baseball Data

[15:10] Joe Martinez: Hopefully it doesn't do anything but kind of enhance the good things about the game that are already present. Right? And you don't want it to take away from them. So I think the introduction of of analytics and technology's great, but I do think you don't want it to take away from kind of some of the wonderful things about the game that existed, but well before there were any kind of TrackMan devices or anything like that.

[15:31] Aman Loomba: How about you Trezz, were you an analytics guy? 

[15:32] Alex Trezza: No, I look at all this stuff now and I, I would not like to look at it like certain things like Joe mentioned, right? Like that would help you. But I think I would've went, gone down a wormhole, so to speak. Uh, you know, even coaching at BC we had guys up like, you're not allowed to look at the stuff, just go out there and play.

[15:50] Alex Trezza: So, I think what's interesting now is there's, there has to be a balance. You know, some players, again, don't wanna look at any of it, and some players wanna know as soon as they come in a dugout, right? What pitch was that? What was the count like? What's the velo? So it's a quirky sport in that sense. There's, there's a lot of different attitudes towards that stuff, but I think at, at the end of the day

[16:10] Alex Trezza: there's something there that can help you develop and get better and, and be successful. So you gotta try to pull that out, you know, without going too far where it's gonna impact you negatively.

Facing Pitching Machines That Replicate MLB Stars

[16:25] Narration: With all this new data in tech, it can be challenging to find balance. For some players, the numbers help. For others, they get in the way. How do coaches, managers, parents, and trainers use it without letting it take over? And in a game that's constantly evolving, there's always another innovation just around the corner.

[16:45] Joe Martinez: One cool thing that, I dunno if you all have seen is, um, and this, I don't, wouldn't say as as impactful yet, but is the Trajekt pitching machine. Have you seen this? 

[16:54] Alex Trezza: I actually just saw an Instagram post about it yesterday. It, it's pretty amazing. 

[16:58] Joe Martinez: Yeah. So it's a company, I believe out of Canada, but, and they're working with a number of big league teams.

[17:02] Joe Martinez: They have a pitching machine that has kind of a video of a pitcher pitching, and it can be, you know, a specific major league pitcher and it replicates obviously what they look like by the video. Also, their release point and release height and all that, and the characteristics of their pitches, right?

[17:19] Joe Martinez: Spin, speed, all, uh, movement, all that stuff. So it, it's a way for players to kind of get quote unquote “live” at bats without actually have to having to face a live picture. So it's a pretty cool technology. 

[17:30] Aman Loomba: Wow. Okay. So you've created robotic versions of real life pitchers that you can now practice against.

[17:37] Joe Martinez: Well, I haven't created any of that, but someone has.

[17:39] Aman Loomba: This company has. Someone, has, someone has 

[17:41] Aman Loomba: cloned them into the technology and we can now play against them. That's fascinating. 

[17:47] Joe Martinez: It's cool. Really cool. 

[17:47] Alex Trezza: There were some companies, even when we were playing that were touching on that and there was like, first versions of it were, were very weird.

[17:55] Alex Trezza: Where like, yeah. You're double toe tapping and it's not coming out at the same time, so they weren't used. But it seems like the tech now is really good. I mean. You're getting multiple bats before you even face anyone. Do you think that's gonna influence player success? Uh, obviously they're doing it for that, but how close is that gonna be related to a guy being able to know a guy, you know, a pitcher's gonna throw a three two slider and be able to, you know, hit a ball in the gap or something like that?

Can Advanced Tech Reduce Strikeouts and Increase Action?

[18:21] Joe Martinez: Yeah, it's a good question. I'm not sure, like tendencies wise, if it's all that helpful, maybe you could program it in some way to do that, but the hope is that it leads to guys putting the ball in play more. We're, I think one of the, the problems that we definitely have in Major League Baseball right now is the strikeout rate is quite high, just for reference.

[18:40] Joe Martinez: And I, I don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but I. We're somewhere in that neighborhood of like 23% strikeout rate, which is similar to the rate Roger Clemens struck out batters for his entire career. So the average major league pitcher right now is striking people out like Roger Clemens did, which is pretty wild, right?

[18:58] Joe Martinez: It's kind of a an alarming stat.

[19:03] Narration: If you’re not familiar with Roger Clemens, he pitched from 1984 to 2007 and rocked up 4,672 strikeouts. The third most in MLB history with a 3.12 career ERA. So the average pitcher striking out hitters at the same rate as Clemens is a sign the game has changed. 

[19:24] Joe Martinez: So I think the more we can get the ball in play, the more we can involve more of the players, see those great diving plays and double plays and you know, running catches in the gaps and all that stuff we want, you know, more and more of that is always good and makes it more entertaining game.

[19:36] Joe Martinez: So if by the use of these pitching machines, these advanced pitching machines, guys can take away a little bit of that first time seeing a pitcher effect. Um, and help them adjust to kind of movement profiles and, and velocity and things like that. I, maybe we get the ball in play a little bit more. That would be great to see what, whether or not that's going to happen, I'm not sure yet.

[19:57] Joe Martinez: So I think it's a little too early before we can make a conclusion on that. Draw conclusion on that. 

[20:01] Alex Trezza: That's great. 

Balancing Pitcher and Hitter Success

[20:02] Aman Loomba: How do pitchers feel about that? Do they want fewer strikeouts in the game? 

[20:06] Joe Martinez: I'm sure they don't, 

[20:07] Joe Martinez: and you can ask the, the pitchers in the sixties right when they lowered the mounds, too. It's, there's things that baseball has done in the past to try to kind of keep this equilibrium between pitchers and hitters in kind of an acceptable range that makes the game fun.

[20:20] Joe Martinez: Of course, like if you didn't have to take action, that'd be best, right? If kind of the invisible hand of the game kind of steered us back to that equilibrium point, that'd be great. But, what we've seen over the last 20 years or even more is just kind of a strikeout rate that continues to climb. 

[20:35] Aman Loomba: Sounds like there's a fine balance among all, all your different sort of stakeholders here, the fans, pitchers, the batters, the umpires, um, the owners.

Overcoming Barriers to Tech Adoption in the Big Leagues

[20:44] Aman Loomba: What were some of the biggest hurdles you would face in trying to like, deploy these technologies out onto the field? 

[20:49] Joe Martinez: I think the technology part has been, you know, the only thing we've really done in the major leagues, I think is PitchCom, right? I, I don't know if you would call the pitch clock a technology.

[20:57] Joe Martinez: Yeah. I know it's technically a clock, but, and I think the biggest hurdle with PitchCom for instance, was just getting folks used to it and embracing the benefits that it provided. Um, I know we had some pitchers who had been pitching for a long time that are great pitchers still who are reluctant to use it because they were used to doing the other way.

[21:14] Joe Martinez: Right? ‘Oh no. Me and my catcher, we have a system. I'm not gonna use it. This is fine.’ But you know, giving them time, they kind of got used to it. They started to embrace it, and now I think everybody uses it pretty much for every pitch. But I think when we are convinced that something's going to be valuable and make the game better, that isn't gonna change the game in a bad way or have a have a negative impact on the game,

[21:37] Joe Martinez: it's much easier to kind of introduce these things, these technologies to the players, and then kind of let them take it from there. And they'll tell us ultimately whether or not it's worthwhile. And, you know, we test a lot of things in the minor links before we ever get to the big leagues. But if, if they don't use something or if there's a lot of problems, we either have to adjust or we have to look for other solutions, right?

[21:54] Joe Martinez: So that part, it gets a little bit easier, but sometimes there are some hurdles in terms of like, just changing the status quo. 

[22:02] Aman Loomba: Mhm. Just getting people to adopt something new that they just haven't done before. 

Technology and Communication Tools for Youth Baseball

[22:07] Alex Trezza: That's awesome. Um, we know that you're still, uh, dabbling in coaching a little bit. We know, uh, with the little ones.

[22:12] Alex Trezza: Um, we know you, you use GameChanger. I'm actually looking at one of the teams here, 9U Shamrocks Green on GameChanger. 

[22:18] Joe Martinez: Yep. 

[22:18] Alex Trezza: And that looks like you got a big game coming up on March 30th versus, uh, the Hanover Hammers. Are using any tech to get ready for that and manage some game plans or how does that influence, you know, your use of kind of tech, even in the youth game with fan experience and tech in baseball? 

[22:36] Joe Martinez: Kind at that level,

[22:37] Joe Martinez: our, our biggest thing is communication and keeping everybody on the same page. I mean, we do in the workplace, but it's just as challenging to keep all the parents informed. To make sure, you know, they know where the boys need to be and when, you know what we're planning to do, both for practices and games and help them stay up to date on what's going on.

[22:54] Joe Martinez: So it's been, you know, extremely helpful for us. I was actually just using it before we got on this call, uh, 'cause I was, you know, planning some practices for later this week as we prepare for our game on Sunday. Like you were talking about. We use it across a bunch of different teams too. We even, you know, I don't coach our, our rec team that my same son is on, but his coach does.

[23:13] Joe Martinez: So it's, it's easy, it's a super easy kind of way to keep everything in one place, you know, keep us organized as a family and, and then also like communicate out to the other players' parents, which is great. 

From Watching Pros to Playing the Game

[23:23] Aman Loomba: How have you seen young players and their relationship with professional baseball impact their relationship with playing baseball as a youth athlete?

[23:34] Aman Loomba: Are they linked together? You know, are you more likely to want to watch your, you know, local pro team if you're also picking up the bat for your local little league? 

[23:43] Joe Martinez: I think so. Um, I don't think they're, you know, they have to go together all the time. I know my, my oldest son who's 11 now, he just told us this year he doesn't wanna play baseball anymore, which, you know, breaks my heart a little bit.

[23:53] Joe Martinez: But, um, he's interested in other things, which is great. He's got other things that take up his time, but he still loves watching games. He still likes sitting on the couch with the rest of us and, you know, watching Yankees or Mets or Giants or whoever play. But I do think it, it is helpful, right? If you see

[24:07] Joe Martinez: Aaron judge out there hitting home runs. You wanna get on the field and try to do it, you know yourself. And you know, I think that the opposite way works as well. If you're out there and you see how much fun it is and, and you know, you make a great play and then, you know, you see Anthony Volpe make a great play

[24:20] Joe Martinez: it just kind of like, helps kind of reinforce that loop that I think gets people to a place where they now work for, for the league office at 42 years old, you know, or, or coaching at Boston College. 

Pitch Counts and Safety for Youth Athletes

[24:30] Aman Loomba: I'm really interested in thinking about the ways in which those things will filter down to the youth level.

[24:36] Aman Loomba: Because as bad as an injury is to a pro, an injury to your kid is, is a lot worse, right? And completely could change the, you know, the course of your life in so many different ways. That, for example, at GameChanger, like, I don't know, you know, your kids might be a little, um, too young to use this yet, but

[24:50] Aman Loomba: you know, just pitch counting and, um, being able to get pitch counts out to state associations and monitor according to the rules and days of rest and all that, where I was looking for opportunities to try to make the game safer too. 'Cause I think that's a really, really big concern among parents. 

[25:03] Joe Martinez: Yeah.

[25:04] Joe Martinez: Yeah, I mean I think like the pitch mark guidelines and things like that are, are very helpful, you know, and I think being able to track that stuff is, is useful. And particularly across different leagues, right? Like one of the problems I'm sure with some of the youth baseball players is they throw 50 pitches for team A and then they go play with their other team the next day.

[25:21] Joe Martinez: And, and coach says, can you pitch? And you know, you're a 10-year-old kid and you just can't wait to get out there. ‘Sure, I can pitch,’ you know, but if you're able to kind of track usage, you know, that kid's pitch is thrown over the course of, or across different teams, it's gonna help everybody just make sure that he or she stays healthy,

[25:35] Joe Martinez: right? And I think that stuff is really helpful and, and super important. You know, we want players to stay healthy all the time, but you're right, uh, an injury to a younger player is way worse than an injury to an older player. 

How Pro Tech is Trickling Down to the Youth Game

[25:46] Aman Loomba: Looking ahead out into the future of the youth game, what kinds of technology shifts do you think are gonna impact more at the youth level?

[25:54] Aman Loomba: Is it stuff that's gonna trickle down from the pros? Is there some other way that you're thinking about technology and the way kids play? 

[26:01] Joe Martinez: If experience is anything like stuff from pros trickles down, right? So you probably have a lot more radar guns at youth baseball games than you ever did. I don't think I ever saw radar guns when I was in high school, and it wasn't pointed at me

[26:13] Joe Martinez: I don't think. You probably see more and more of that. I imagine you get the HitTrax and Blast Motion sensors and arm sleeves, right? So I mean, hopefully it's stuff like that, right? More than anything if you can try to keep kids healthier and monitor workload and all that it’s probably a better case, but, uh, maybe there's ways to even make practicing more fun,

[26:34] Joe Martinez: right? And, and more engaging. I know we have things like golf simulators, right? Which allow you to play golf in a, in a garage when it's 30 degrees outside rather than trying to get on a golf course. Maybe there's ways to use that for baseball. Maybe these Trajekt pitching machines, you know, there's some kind of offshoot of that that makes, you know, practicing a little bit easier.

[26:50] Joe Martinez: So we'll see what happens, but hopefully it's just done in a way and, and kind of keeping the right things, you know, as priorities rather than just trying to kind of maximize ability, which sometimes I think some we can kind of get, you know, towards unfortunately. 

[27:04] Aman Loomba: Yeah, may, maybe there's other ways outside of just performance and analytics to keep people engaged through technology.

Keeping Kids Engaged in Sport Through Smart Technology

[27:10] Aman Loomba: I, I think we, you know, playing baseball as a kid competes with all the same things that you mentioned that spectating baseball competes with, right. Between video games and social media and all the other things kids could do with their time. When we survey youth coaches, because we do a lot of surveying as well, just, I feel like you, you manage a product as much as I do here.

[27:28] Aman Loomba: When we survey, uh, the youth coaches, we ask them, what do you need help with? What kinds of problems do you need to solve for your team? Like, how do you want to coach and develop your players? And one of the most common pieces of feedback is not, you know, I need to help my players learn a particular drill, or I need to, you know, get them to focus on some fundamental, it's just I need to find ways to keep them engaged.

[27:46] Aman Loomba: I need to find ways to keep them really interested in, in coming back and, and showing up to practice and getting excited about the games because without that. There's no point. So help me give you some technology that lets me keep them, you know, excited about em showing up to practice every day. 

[28:00] Joe Martinez: Yeah, I agree.

[28:01] Joe Martinez: Even stuff like the Dribbleup app and things like that where like they have a basketball and I can keep track of like how many dribbles you do. You know, my 9-year-old and his buddies were all doing that and they're, you know, competing, they go to school the next day like, I did a thousand dribbles, or, you know, that's, it's true.

[28:15] Joe Martinez: Like how do you keep guys interested and excited about it? Unfortunately with baseball too, like, there's only certain positions that are like, the most active. So, you know, someone has to play outfield for an inning here or there. And that can be a challenge of keeping, especially the youngest, you know, players engaged.

[28:31] Joe Martinez: But you know, whatever we can do to do that and, and keep 'em coming back, right? And really developing that, that love for baseball, I think is important.

Wrapping Up: The Future of Baseball at Every Level

[28:42] Narration: The changes happening in the major leagues help shape how we experience baseball at every level. As we heard today, what happens in the MLB eventually filters down through little league dugouts, batting cages and living rooms. Connection to the game doesn't always start on the field. It often begins in the stands, on the couch, in those moments spent watching.

[29:03] Narration: That's why how people experience the game matters. Innovations like PitchCom, automated strike zones, or a faster pace of play aren't just about modernizing baseball. They're about making it more exciting to play and more compelling to watch. They strengthen the connection people have with the sport on the field, in the dugout, or at home. And the more people connected to the game,

[29:26] Narration: for Major League Baseball, that's a win. This has been Athletic Intelligence from Game Changer. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow, rate, and share it. I hope you'll join us next time as we uncover the tech that's shaping the game.