Danny Borrell our new pitching coach

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Listened to the whole thing, thanks. Interesting discussion about learning the college scholarships, getting 10-15 contacts a day from kids interested in coming to GT. He checks out kids and their pitching with his toys before offering.

Was hoping there was some discussion about what he'll do in game with calling pitches and putting in relievers in the game. I'm really looking forward to his contribution there.

Come on Nuke, you don't want him to give up all of his secrets to our opponents this early, do you? I'd like to be pleasantly surprised throughout the season.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Come on Nuke, you don't want him to give up all of his secrets to our opponents this early, do you? I'd like to be pleasantly surprised throughout the season.

The in-game management is what I'll be watching this year. I hope to be pleasantly surprised too. Borrell's experience is not in-game experience but he knows his stuff.

Getting antsy with less than two weeks to go.

 

[gtjackets930]

All that technology he mentions in the podcast....Yep, it's going in the pitching and video lab at GT!!

I can't imagine the stress of that pitching coordinator job that he walks through. Yikes.

Happy he's slowing down and that he and his family are enjoying it at GT!!

First of all, really appreciate your posts here! Very interesting and insightful.

Can you give some insight into the pitching lab we're setting up? Have seen you reference it s couple of times and curious what types of things are going into it

 

[eokerholm]

check out this post

OMG, I hope you're sitting down.

Down the 3rd base side, past the dugout they'll be redoing the bullpen and pitching lab for GT. 3 Lanes, Rapsodo and multiple TVs for the guys and coaches, as well as live feeds of game.
There's more, but I don't want to give away too much.
Work begins after last pitch 2020 season. Scheduled to open 2021 season.

If you saw the 4D shots during the World Series or the 360 degree shots at the Oscars of the ladies in dresses, you'll get my point. I don't remember the number but something like 8-10 cameras/sensors that capture motion/angle/load etc when the actors wear sensors for CGI. Crazy impressive and will be THE BEST pitching lab in the country. Will give pitchers and the batters instant feedback and data presented near real time on the TV monitors...Major Bad ***! The data geeks and analytics guys will have a field day. Really a great feedback, coaching, and learning tool for everyone.
Going to be a MAJOR DRAW for players and pitchers.

Also they're improving spectator experience with a deck on top, 3rd floor. Going to be fun as hell! The drawings and architecture mock ups are impressive as hell!!

Thanks! Super happy to be here and share what I've seen, know and research.
I'm not your typical crazy Travel ball dad. Danny commented on it and was very thankful and told Christian he should be proud of me
I'm a huge asset and proponent of him and communicative and not crazy. (like some).
I chuckled.

I work in Data and Advanced Analytics so I live in-front of dual monitors all day so shoot me a message or whatever and I'm happy to try to answer and share as needed.

I'm happy to share our experience as a baseball recruit and what we've nationally during travel ball and various college visits and camps (as you've seen). It's quite interesting who we heard from and who we didn't and the various levels of interest from different programs and what that meant to Christian in the recruiting process.

It was/still is interesting to see and compare the different programs and we are excited as Hell to be committed to GT and coming in 2021!

Definitely listen to the podcast and you can hear the brands of technology that he's bringing in. Rapsodo, Trackman, Tetronix(sp? I forget the name), high speed cameras. He mentioned one does the first 45 feet of ball flight and the other does the last 15.
ALL of that is coming in the pitching lab. It's going to be amazing and provide ton of information and instant feedback and data to the Pitchers and the coaches. They mentioned TVs at the mound and at the plates for batters.
They'll be able to hone each pitcher individually based on video (captured high speed images, release points, finger position on ball) and analytics/metrics (spin rates, efficiencies, axis, movement, etc. It is a data geeks DREAM).
The pitchers will be able to see the difference in flight paths of the various pitches and adjustments. AMAZING STUFF!

Similar to the Driveline stuff you see on Twitter. A slight change here or spin there or angle here has drastic difference on spin, flight path, and movement.

They'll really be able to "speak" to each pitcher about their craft and help them adjust old and create new pitches with different move and spin profiles. Some guys might be visual, some might be auditory, and some might be data-centric.
This new pitching lab is going to be the "Rosetta Stone" for each of these pitchers and the staff. Time with Danny and his experience is precious and priceless. I would expect to see exponential improvements to our pitching staff, arsenal and use of various types of pitchers as they each build and expand their tool sets and quivers!

For example. I've mentioned this before. Christian's pitching coach wanted to teach him a 5th pitch this off season and spring. A slider. But Danny commented based on Christian's spin, axis and efficiency of his pitches it wouldn't "Move like a normal slider". He would be better off honing in on the 4 pitches (FB, Curve, Cutter, Change) he has now and wait for the lab for them to add more to his arsenal. That was great feedback and gives him more time and confidence to come in with 2 more years of experience with his pitches and be ready like a sponge to fine tune those, with minor adjustments, and then play around with Danny in the lab to see what other pitches they can come up with. He can't wait. He's extremely excited about Danny and GT and can't wait to get to campus.

It's cool to hear how Danny helps cue the pitchers mind and eyes on pitching and explain what the differences are to the ball and to the batter.
Helps to plan a pitch from the batters eye so you can mess with his timing and confidence and what they see.
Christian loves the metrics and eats this stuff up (like me).

I wish he was graduating in 2020, for him!! Going to miss my son, but am super excited bout getting him into the GT System with the coaching staff and caliber of players that are now flocking and SWARMING to GT.
Told ya it was going to happen! The attention, preparation and education is very much worth going to school and skipping the draft.

He's getting calls, emails, and texts from scouts and agents, appreciate the attention but continue to pass.
We're all very dedicated and steadfast on his commitment to GaTech.
The end goal is the same, but this isn't about money.
He is very interested in investing in his craft, his body and his education (for life beyond baseball.)
He sees and understands the big picture, pay off, and odds and will be stacking as much as he can in his favor.

Super excited to see and support his journey and dreams!

 

[gtjackets930]

check out this post

View attachment 7691
Thanks! Super happy to be here and share what I've seen, know and research.
I'm not your typical crazy Travel ball dad. Danny commented on it and was very thankful and told Christian he should be proud of me
I'm a huge asset and proponent of him and communicative and not crazy. (like some).
I chuckled.

I work in Data and Advanced Analytics so I live in-front of dual monitors all day so shoot me a message or whatever and I'm happy to try to answer and share as needed.

I'm happy to share our experience as a baseball recruit and what we've nationally during travel ball and various college visits and camps (as you've seen). It's quite interesting who we heard from and who we didn't and the various levels of interest from different programs and what that meant to Christian in the recruiting process.

It was/still is interesting to see and compare the different programs and we are excited as Hell to be committed to GT and coming in 2021!

Definitely listen to the podcast and you can hear the brands of technology that he's bringing in. Rapsodo, Trackman, Tetronix(sp? I forget the name), high speed cameras. He mentioned one does the first 45 feet of ball flight and the other does the last 15.
ALL of that is coming in the pitching lab. It's going to be amazing and provide ton of information and instant feedback and data to the Pitchers and the coaches. They mentioned TVs at the mound and at the plates for batters.
They'll be able to hone each pitcher individually based on video (captured high speed images, release points, finger position on ball) and analytics/metrics (spin rates, efficiencies, axis, movement, etc. It is a data geeks DREAM).
The pitchers will be able to see the difference in flight paths of the various pitches and adjustments. AMAZING STUFF!

Similar to the Driveline stuff you see on Twitter. A slight change here or spin there or angle here has drastic difference on spin, flight path, and movement.

They'll really be able to "speak" to each pitcher about their craft and help them adjust old and create new pitches with different move and spin profiles. Some guys might be visual, some might be auditory, and some might be data-centric.
This new pitching lab is going to be the "Rosetta Stone" for each of these pitchers and the staff. Time with Danny and his experience is precious and priceless. I would expect to see exponential improvements to our pitching staff, arsenal and use of various types of pitchers as they each build and expand their tool sets and quivers!

For example. I've mentioned this before. Christian's pitching coach wanted to teach him a 5th pitch this off season and spring. A slider. But Danny commented based on Christian's spin, axis and efficiency of his pitches it wouldn't "Move like a normal slider". He would be better off honing in on the 4 pitches (FB, Curve, Cutter, Change) he has now and wait for the lab for them to add more to his arsenal. That was great feedback and gives him more time and confidence to come in with 2 more years of experience with his pitches and be ready like a sponge to fine tune those, with minor adjustments, and then play around with Danny in the lab to see what other pitches they can come up with. He can't wait. He's extremely excited about Danny and GT and can't wait to get to campus.

It's cool to hear how Danny helps cue the pitchers mind and eyes on pitching and explain what the differences are to the ball and to the batter.
Helps to plan a pitch from the batters eye so you can mess with his timing and confidence and what they see.
Christian loves the metrics and eats this stuff up (like me).

I wish he was graduating in 2020, for him!! Going to miss my son, but am super excited bout getting him into the GT System with the coaching staff and caliber of players that are now flocking and SWARMING to GT.
Told ya it was going to happen! The attention, preparation and education is very much worth going to school and skipping the draft.

He's getting calls, emails, and texts from scouts and agents, appreciate the attention but continue to pass.
We're all very dedicated and steadfast on his commitment to GaTech.
The end goal is the same, but this isn't about money.
He is very interested in investing in his craft, his body and his education (for life beyond baseball.)
He sees and understands the big picture, pay off, and odds and will be stacking as much as he can in his favor.

Super excited to see and support his journey and dreams!

Thanks so much!! Super interesting and awesome to hear GT is building an already great program even further. Lab sounds like an amazing recruiting & player development tool that is already paying dividends. Now just need the season to start already!

 

[FredJacket]

@eokerholm I am curious on the context around CDB & this pitching lab...& just what it could mean...objectively. We've learned that TStan made a deliberate move to up the anty on acquiring a caliber of pitching coach previously too "expensive" for the budget. This is great news on a few levels & reason for previously unseen optimism regarding Ga Tech pitching.

So... high-level pitching coach PLUS the use of analytics (including lab/facilities) are going to be fully operational in coming years. Call those development "resources"... re pitching.

Do you have some idea where this places Ga Tech's pitching "resources" against the rest of D1 or say the "P5" caliber teams? How many may have or plan to have similar stuff in next few years. How about compared to Georgia schools (we play nearly every D1 Georgia school)? & ACC schools?

Not asking you to do research... I can't afford to pay you for your work Just curious if you have an idea where these moves place Tech on the spectrum... so to speak.

 

[JacketOff]

@eokerholm I am curious on the context around CDB & this pitching lab...& just what it could mean...objectively. We've learned that TStan made a deliberate move to up the anty on acquiring a caliber of pitching coach previously too "expensive" for the budget. This is great news on a few levels & reason for previously unseen optimism regarding Ga Tech pitching.

So... high-level pitching coach PLUS the use of analytics (including lab/facilities) are going to be fully operational in coming years. Call those development "resources"... re pitching.

Do you have some idea where this places Ga Tech's pitching "resources" against the rest of D1 or say the "P5" caliber teams? How many may have or plan to have similar stuff in next few years. How about compared to Georgia schools (we play nearly every D1 Georgia school)? & ACC schools?

Not asking you to do research... I can't afford to pay you for your work Just curious if you have an idea where these moves place Tech on the spectrum... so to speak.

I can answer some of that. Georgia is the only in-state school that would have something similar to D-Bos lab brewing. It wouldn’t make sense logistically for any of the Georgia mid-majors to invest in such expensive technology with the level they play at. The technology itself is costing around $800k, plus you have to have someone on staff who can take the acquired data and analyze it in order for it to be utilized on-field. That investment is just too much for any school that’s not a serious national contender. As for UGA, they don’t currently have anything similar, and there’s no word that it’s coming to Athens anytime soon. I would imagine they will have something similar either completed or in the works in the next 5 years though.

As far as I know, Wake is the only other ACC school to have an active “lab”, but I’m sure the usual suspects like UNC, Miami, Clemson, FSU aren’t too far behind. Vandy and Baylor are the only 2 other schools in the country that I personally know that also have active “labs”.

Most schools use a lot of the data that is available through the lab, but the lab expands how much you’re able to see at once. Tech will definitely be one of the first 10 in the country to have a full pitching lab available for use on campus, and that’s a huge leg-up on the competition. Within 5 years though, these labs will be a lot more widespread within the P5.

 

[FredJacket]

I can answer some of that. Georgia is the only in-state school that would have something similar to D-Bos lab brewing. It wouldn’t make sense logistically for any of the Georgia mid-majors to invest in such expensive technology with the level they play at. The technology itself is costing around $800k, plus you have to have someone on staff who can take the acquired data and analyze it in order for it to be utilized on-field. That investment is just too much for any school that’s not a serious national contender. As for UGA, they don’t currently have anything similar, and there’s no word that it’s coming to Athens anytime soon. I would imagine they will have something similar either completed or in the works in the next 5 years though.

As far as I know, Wake is the only other ACC school to have an active “lab”, but I’m sure the usual suspects like UNC, Miami, Clemson, FSU aren’t too far behind. Vandy and Baylor are the only 2 other schools in the country that I personally know that also have active “labs”.

Most schools use a lot of the data that is available through the lab, but the lab expands how much you’re able to see at once. Tech will definitely be one of the first 10 in the country to have a full pitching lab available for use on campus, and that’s a huge leg-up on the competition. Within 5 years though, these labs will be a lot more widespread within the P5.

Thank you! That's great news!

 

[eokerholm]

@FredJacket

I can answer some of that. Georgia is the only in-state school that would have something similar to D-Bos lab brewing. It wouldn’t make sense logistically for any of the Georgia mid-majors to invest in such expensive technology with the level they play at. The technology itself is costing around $800k, plus you have to have someone on staff who can take the acquired data and analyze it in order for it to be utilized on-field. That investment is just too much for any school that’s not a serious national contender. As for UGA, they don’t currently have anything similar, and there’s no word that it’s coming to Athens anytime soon. I would imagine they will have something similar either completed or in the works in the next 5 years though.

As far as I know, Wake is the only other ACC school to have an active “lab”, but I’m sure the usual suspects like UNC, Miami, Clemson, FSU aren’t too far behind. Vandy and Baylor are the only 2 other schools in the country that I personally know that also have active “labs”.

Most schools use a lot of the data that is available through the lab, but the lab expands how much you’re able to see at once. Tech will definitely be one of the first 10 in the country to have a full pitching lab available for use on campus, and that’s a huge leg-up on the competition. Within 5 years though, these labs will be a lot more widespread within the P5.

• Vandy does, but again, not as decked out or bleeding edge as DBo's lab will be. (Christian was there for 5 days of camp/tour)
• Arkansas has one, not as elaborate or technology decked out, but close. (Christian mentioned from visit)
• Virginia has some, same as above. Tons of cameras on field as well that they study. (O'Connor made sure to show us on personal tour of field and facilities)
• UNC has a start of one, same as above. (we saw on tour/camp; smaller scale)
• Texas has a new player center/lab, again, not as decked out or complete and comprehensive (just completed in Sept, they undershot that one).
• Duke might, but not on/near practice field. Weird facilities, and no lockerrooms for visiting teams, unless they're at Durham Ballpark. That was a very weird set up.

No one has the caliber of current technology and bleeding edge stuff as GT.
Facility is to be ready for 2021 season.
Assuming it stays on track and time.
Construction to start after last play, last game, this season.

Others will definitely imitate and duplicate, but no one else has a DBo.
It's one thing to have the technology. It's another to understand it and how to use and leverage it.

You can't really retro fit a lab to incorporate as much as we are. You have to start over or it is "band-aid-ed".

The cool part at GT is that we DBo and also have active engineers and data science students, chomping at the bit, to leverage to help crunch, navigate, translate and present the data for the staff and players! Other schools can't say the some or similar. They just can't.
Woot woot!

This lab and DBo, Ramsey and ATL will continue to be the national/high caliber draw to this program and it's strategic evolution. Really going to be special and a huge improvement to year's past and facilities and what they will be able to do for the existing guys (Batters & pitchers!!)!

 

[FredJacket]

@JacketOff & @eokerholm And I'm going to assume the DBo hire came before any plans for this lab. The lab was not in the works until he was hired, right?

 

[eokerholm]

Texas' new player center


Virginia has 8 cameras in the field, facility and a sweet video room.

Vandy has video system on the field. Didn't get to see their lab, but know they have one and Scotty Brown is awesome. They filmed and shared at Vandy Camp.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

@FredJacket

• Vandy does, but again, not as decked out or bleeding edge as DBo's lab will be. (Christian was there for 5 days of camp/tour)
• Arkansas has one, not as elaborate or technology decked out, but close. (Christian mentioned from visit)
• Virginia has some, same as above. Tons of cameras on field as well that they study. (O'Connor made sure to show us on personal tour of field and facilities)
• UNC has a start of one, same as above. (we saw on tour/camp; smaller scale)
• Texas has a new player center/lab, again, not as decked out or complete and comprehensive (just completed in Sept, they undershot that one).
• Duke might, but not on/near practice field. Weird facilities, and no lockerrooms for visiting teams, unless they're at Durham Ballpark. That was a very weird set up.

No one has the caliber of current technology and bleeding edge stuff as GT.
Facility is to be ready for 2021 season.
Assuming it stays on track and time.
Construction to start after last play, last game, this season.

Others will definitely imitate and duplicate, but no one else has a DBo.
It's one thing to have the technology. It's another to understand it and how to use and leverage it.

You can't really retro fit a lab to incorporate as much as we are. You have to start over or it is "band-aid-ed".

The cool part at GT is that we DBo and also have active engineers and data science students, chomping at the bit, to leverage to help crunch, navigate, translate and present the data for the staff and players! Other schools can't say the some or similar. They just can't.
Woot woot!

This lab and DBo, Ramsey and ATL will continue to be the national/high caliber draw to this program and it's strategic evolution. Really going to be special and a huge improvement to year's past and facilities and what they will be able to do for the existing guys (Batters & pitchers!!)!

How is this used to help batters? I can see how by showing the swing and ways to improve but haven't quite wrapped my head around how this would be a game changer for hitters like it is for pitchers.

It will be really good to get this going. I think the best point is "It's one thing to have the technology. It's another to understand it and how to use and leverage it."

 

[eokerholm]

How is this used to help batters? I can see how by showing the swing and ways to improve but haven't quite wrapped my head around how this would be a game changer for hitters like it is for pitchers.

It will be really good to get this going. I think the best point is "It's one thing to have the technology. It's another to understand it and how to use and leverage it."

From what they were saying on the various tours (at multiple schools) it was pretty cool.
Batters also get instant feedback with trackman and the others on their launch angles, etc.
The cool part of the various cameras and stuff is it allows the batter to see and learn what pitches do coming into them and what the profile (scouting report) has to say about the various pitches a guy would have.
O'Connor mentioned the various cameras in the field (in the Disch and at Places like Vandy) allow them to study Pitchers (and batters) and look for tells or weaknesses, patterns, etc.
"When he gets down 2-1, what pitch does he rely on, etc." Same with batters.
They study all that stuff, even during series to see what is working and what isn't.
I thought that was pretty neat.

Visualizing the pitches on screen and or in a Virtual Reality device allow batters to "get reps" and get more comfortable seeing and learning pitches coming at them, where to expect the ball, etc.

How many times have you heard "Sit curve, look fast ball." That's great if the guy only has 2 pitches. Bring in a change and that messes with their head and judgement.
That's why having more than and command of 3 pitches is key. 3 is hard enough to deal with and judge and adjust to. 4 or 5 is major mind "screw". (good for pitcher, bad for batter)

But if you get to see various styles, angles, spins, and movement helps the batters adjust their approaches to hit, just like the pitchers adjust to get the batters to miss.

Baseball is a lot more complicated than I used to think. Pitch, Hit, Run, Catch, Throw

 

[GTNavyNuke]

From what they were saying on the various tours (at multiple schools) it was pretty cool.
Batters also get instant feedback with trackman and the others on their launch angles, etc.
The cool part of the various cameras and stuff is it allows the batter to see and learn what pitches do coming into them and what the profile (scouting report) has to say about the various pitches a guy would have.
O'Connor mentioned the various cameras in the field (in the Disch and at Places like Vandy) allow them to study Pitchers (and batters) and look for tells or weaknesses, patterns, etc.
"When he gets down 2-1, what pitch does he rely on, etc." Same with batters.
They study all that stuff, even during series to see what is working and what isn't.
I thought that was pretty neat.

Visualizing the pitches on screen and or in a Virtual Reality device allow batters to "get reps" and get more comfortable seeing and learning pitches coming at them, where to expect the ball, etc.

How many times have you heard "Sit curve, look fast ball." That's great if the guy only has 2 pitches. Bring in a change and that messes with their head and judgement.
That's why having more than and command of 3 pitches is key. 3 is hard enough to deal with and judge and adjust to. 4 or 5 is major mind "screw". (good for pitcher, bad for batter)

But if you get to see various styles, angles, spins, and movement helps the batters adjust their approaches to hit, just like the pitchers adjust to get the batters to miss.

Baseball is a lot more complicated than I used to think. Pitch, Hit, Run, Catch, Throw

Pete Rose did all right. See the ball, hit the ball.

There is a wide difference of opinion for hitters about overthinking being more harmful than split second analysis. We will see in the next decade which school of thinking prevails. My favorite pitch is the kickball which no one knows where it will go. Just need Joey behind the plate!

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Not sure how I feel about all of this technology in baseball. I'm an old school guy. Nolan Ryan is going to throw you a fastball. Try to hit it. If you've done anything to irritate him over your career, you may want to be ready to duck...

We'll see how all of this stuff impacts the game long term.

 

[JacketOff]

Not sure how I feel about all of this technology in baseball. I'm an old school guy. Nolan Ryan is going to throw you a fastball. Try to hit it. If you've done anything to irritate him over your career, you may want to be ready to duck...

We'll see how all of this stuff impacts the game long term.

We’re really already seeing how it impacts the game. Analytics are a huge part of in-game strategies now. Pitchers are throwing more breaking balls than ever, and there’s a good portion of relievers nowadays that throw more breaking balls than fastballs. Why? Because they’re harder to hit breaking balls than fastballs. More relievers are being used per game, because the least amount of times a lineup sees one pitcher, the less likely they are to hit him. Hitters take more pitches now, because drawing walks and increasing a pitch count is more valuable than putting the ball in play for an out. Hitters are swinging for the fences more, because scoring a run(s) with one swing of the bat is easier than stringing together multiple hits. Stolen bases are at a historical low, because the risk of getting thrown out outweighs the gain of an extra base.

Are all these changes for the betterment of the game? That’s of personal preference. It’s obvious analytics provide data to swing win probabilities if it’s used correctly. On the other hand, if data and analytics driven games become too boring to hold a fan base, the game might have to revert to a more “old-school” look to liven the games up again.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Pete Rose did all right. See the ball, hit the ball.

There is a wide difference of opinion for hitters about overthinking being more harmful than split second analysis. We will see in the next decade which school of thinking prevails. My favorite pitch is the kickball which no one knows where it will go. Just need Joey behind the plate!

LOL, knuckleball not kickball.

I think we've seen that stealing pitch calls was effective in MLB. But in that case, the batter had plenty of time to process the information. I still think that it's best not to think as much in the fraction of a second between ball release and arrival. But we'll see. I couldn't even come close to hitting balls from a pitching machine.[/QUOTE]

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

LOL, knuckleball not kickball.

I think we've seen that stealing pitch calls was effective in MLB. But in that case, the batter had plenty of time to process the information. I still think that it's best not to think as much in the fraction of a second between ball release and arrival. But we'll see. I couldn't even come close to hitting balls from a pitching machine.

[/QUOTE]

I just assumed you meant kickball. No one knows what the ground will do to a kickball pitch either...

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I just assumed you meant kickball. No one knows what the ground will do to a kickball pitch either...[/QUOTE]

Actually, with Nolan Ryan it was dodgeball.

Then again, don't we all need "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story"?

Sorry, kind of bummed after the basketball game. We face plant like that in baseball and it's gonna be hard to take.

 

[CINCYMETJACKET]

Actually, with Nolan Ryan it was dodgeball.

Then again, don't we all need "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story"?

Sorry, kind of bummed after the basketball game. We face plant like that in baseball and it's gonna be hard to take.

Since 4 of our 6 games to start are against Cincinnati and Ohio State, if we don't win at least 3, if not all of those 4 games, I will never hear the end of it here in Ohio. Just win all 6 and keep going!

And I had forgotten about the basketball game until you mentioned it... Ladies next up tomorrow vs Wake. Go Jackets!