RevFire system measures speed and spin, lets pitchers know when to throw in the glove

Pitching a baseball or softball isn't only about how fast you can get the damn thing across the plate, but how effectively you can spin the ball and control its position and timing as well. Well speed is easy to measure -- radar guns have been around for years -- but it's been more difficult for pitchers and coaches to determine how spin changes over time, with visual analysis generally being the best tool available. Well now thanks to a company called RevFire, teams can use a device of the same name to measure both speed and spin for multiple pitchers simultaneously as well as track individual performance through a number of practices and possibly even seasons. The one downside here is that the RevFire system uses proprietary balls to go along with the handheld monitor: two balls come in the package, so a few out of the park homers is all it takes to sideline the unit until replacements arrive. Unfortunately for would-be backyard flame throwers, RevFire seems targeted more towards organized teams than the lone gunmen trying to red shirt his or her local Little League team, a notion only furthered by the lack of pricing info on the product page. Sounds like a handy addition to the modern coach's tool chest, but maybe not so great for that washed up player who's been hanging on by good looks and a string for the last two seasons.

[dschwab @ Apr 12th 2007 7:54AM]

There is pricing on the site if you dig around a bit:
http://www.revfire.com/a0002.html $398 for the baseball or softball package
http://www.revfire.com/a0006.html $39.95 for extra balls

[NHAnimator @ Apr 12th 2007 9:38AM]

So if I'm too scared to shell out $400 for the full package, will buying the extra balls first help me take the leap? Sorry.

[RaynorWolfcastle @ Apr 13th 2007 12:51AM]

I'm not sure if it was tongue-in-cheek or not, but this system is obviously not designed for on-game use, but rather for use in practice.

[Wayne @ Apr 12th 2007 12:41PM]

To red shirt means to sit out a season. Why would anyone red shirt a season in little league, and why would they need some fancy device to do it?