Graphing 101: PitchFx (Release Points)
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 9, 2009 10:00 PM EDT
51 comments
I'm sure everyone has seen the awesome work provided by Pitchfx gurus like our own Harry, but how many of you have asked yourself: "Mick, how in the world can I make something like that?" Well, today (and a few others) are your lucky days because I'm going to walk you through how to make a few of the charts.
First up: release points.
- Assuming you know how to pull data from Gameday, go here and grab you a pitcher's data. If not, go here, find a pitcher, hit "Extended Tabled Data", copy that, and paste special (text) into Excel.
- From there, find the column labeled "z0", highlight the numbers and hit the "chart/graph" button.
- Select scatter plot.
- For the x-values you will need to highlight the "x0" column.
- Fix the min and max data points on each axis (usually 0, 7 for y axis and -3, 3 for x)
- Add any extra touches you may want.
Now you can easily compare pitchers, pitchers pitches, and whatever else you could desire from release points using the same method. For instance, here's a look at J.P. Howell and sidearmer Brian Shouse.
Quite a change in eye level, eh?
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How Coincidental
I just made my first graph and was going on here to find your email address in order to ask you some questions. I guess one of my questions were answered =)
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 9, 2009 11:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, Not Exactly
Are you going to have some more of this on here? I could use some help. If not will you respond to emails?
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 9, 2009 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah and yeah.
Strikezone, breaks, and velocity should be coming during the next week.
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 9, 2009 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Shweetness
I’m excited.
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 9, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Awesome
R.J., thanks for this. I’ve always been a step or two away from creating readable Pitch F/X graphs.
Do you know of any place where the column headers are explained? What’s the difference between x0, y0, and z0? vx0?
:o
by Crashburn Alley on Apr 10, 2009 2:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
just to prove that i still read/like you guys
cool and useful stuff.
THIS STORY ONLY ENDS ONE WAY
by colintj on Apr 10, 2009 2:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
How detailed is this series going to get?
Are you only working with one game data, or are you going to introduce creating a database (basically an update of Mike Fast’s instructions)?
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 10, 2009 11:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Honestly, I don't even have a database of my own.
Unless I’m mistaken, I believe Mr. Wyers has a write-up on StatSpeak a while back detailing how to create a PFX database.
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 10, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'll see what I can find
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 10, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Stat Speak had one guest posted by Mike Fast
I have his PERL script, but I have errors and have no idea how to fix them.
If anyone knows about this code, or Perl in general, and is willing to help, send me an email. It would be much appreciated.
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 10, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think Mike is around these parts occasionally. Hopefully he drops by.
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 10, 2009 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That would be sweet
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 10, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey, I actually am here all the time
And I’ve done a parser and instructions too.
Check here.
by Dan Turkenkopf on Apr 10, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ummm.
I know nothing about code, is there any way to make a database by just following instructions somewhere? >.<
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 10, 2009 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'll give it a try tomorrow
Thanks Dan
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 11, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Tried It
Same failure as before. Only this time it is on line 60.
I wish I knew Perl…
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 11, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
what's the problem?
The 2008 crawlers need to be updated to handle a change in the weather info, and you can grab their spin rate/dir #’s, too.
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here's my error message:
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 11, 2009 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
check your PERL and LWP versions, update them maybe
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 11, 2009 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Works now
Thanks harry
-Zach Sanders
MLB Notebook.com
Roto Rat.com
by mlbnotebook on Apr 11, 2009 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
R.J. Is Awesome At Helping
All thanks to RJ.
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 10, 2009 11:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If he’s pulling straight from the XML file, MLBAM has a pitch-type algorithm that defines pitches.
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
oh, i have the data from Brooks'
what i’m having trouble with is figure out how to make it show up on the graph. Here’s what i have for Porcello’s movement from yesterday.
I just am having difficulty figuring out how get the different pitches to show up. Am I making sense?
by erik on Apr 10, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Let me make sure I understand you. In your plot above, instead of all the pitches being marked as red, you’d like something like red for the fastball and blue for the curveball, right?
Just go to the select data portion and hit “add legend series” name it fastball and all your FB x and y numbers. Then, hit OK. Next, do the same for your curveballs. Hit add, and then all of your x and y numbers for the curve. This will give each entry a separate color and data marker.
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The classifications are one of the last columns on the right.
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 10, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Looks good! Also, if you want to move around some of your data markers (ie: bringing your 2-seam markers out “in front” so that they overlay your 4-seam markers) just hit ‘select data source’ again and move the data markers order around by using the up and down arrows under the legend entries box.
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like how you completely outdid everyone's by including the image of Porcello.
by R.J. Anderson on Apr 10, 2009 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i thought it was a nice touch.
didn’t really take much. i must say 07 excel has some pretty newfangled doo-dads.
by erik on Apr 10, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Am I reading that right?
Is that basically saying his 2-seam, 4-seam, and change all have basically the same break and movement? If so, isn’t that bad?
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Proud father of Juan Carlos Perez. Think Albert Pujols at second.
by marcello on Apr 10, 2009 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m guessing that the pitches that PFX identified at 4-seamers are actually 2-seamers. That’s a lot of horizontal movement for a 4-seam fastball. Also remember that the changeup has a velocity difference, so even if it’s moving in a similar fashion, it’s coming in much slower.
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Porcello throws a sinker
I think Gameday is wrong on a lot of those, as it is a lot of the time. It’s for entertainment purposes, they consider the accuracy to be pretty good, improving, improvable but to be taken with a grain of salt. They want it to be better, and I think you’ll see some continued improvements coming up. Still, especially for lesser known or new pitchers, watch out. The net has been trained on a limited number of pitches and pitchers, it is crazy good on the training set and test sets, but really struggles when (a) they don’t know the guy or (b) have incorrect weightings based on inaccurate or out-dated scouting (Angel Guzman may end up getting corrected, btw).
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good call on the sinker, makes sense. The neural net stuff is interesting and I wonder how often they update their scouting reports?
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'll see what I can find out...
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Answer:
not that often, it’s a gradual process. They got tons of scouting info in 2008, they still get updates sent to them that they use, and they check the blogs that have their own pitch classification methods from time to time, also.
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Speed matters.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
by Sky Kalkman on Apr 10, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Obviously
I was just under the impression that a good changeup breaks more, vertically, than a fastball.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Proud father of Juan Carlos Perez. Think Albert Pujols at second.
by marcello on Apr 10, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A lot of straight changes
move like sinkers. There are soooo many types of change-ups.
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, you'd think they'd have less backspin.
They’ll still move more vertically, though, because they’re not going as fast, even if they’re “breaking” the same amount.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
by Sky Kalkman on Apr 10, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hence flight paths being useful
Since they’re slower they will drop, or so it appears – remember, slower pitch, longer flight, more time for gravity to act. So, backspin induced magnus effects (bime?) may be equal over the spin movement zone (40 ft to 1.417 ft, which is actually the front of the plate) but the flight paths, view from the side, will show more “drop”
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 9:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
bime? No.
Tango always pushes folks to talk about what the ball’s doing in the last .15 seconds (or something) of it’s flight, because that’s when the hitter needs to make his decision to swing or not. Any good way to tackle pitches from that perspective?
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
by Sky Kalkman on Apr 10, 2009 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
late break?
I think Fast has looked at that. Ike Hall has pondered (over email) the impact of the shift in the spin axis over the flight (nothing there, apparently).
by Harry Pavlidis on Apr 10, 2009 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
awesome stuff, thanks so much
"If Bowden was a general contractor, he'd build houses with nine bedrooms, six garages, no bathrooms, and half a roof."
by DyeLongJustice on Apr 10, 2009 12:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh excellent
I didn’t know you could get data like that off Brooks Baseball.
by VictorW on Apr 10, 2009 12:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Cool graph, RJ. Howell really comes over the top.
by xanthan on Apr 10, 2009 1:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
how do you put an excel graph into a fanpost?
for some reason, i’m really dumb and can’t do it.
"If Bowden was a general contractor, he'd build houses with nine bedrooms, six garages, no bathrooms, and half a roof."
by DyeLongJustice on Apr 10, 2009 10:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Host On Imageshack, Then Click The Picture Thingy Underneath Title
A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ‘’WTF DO I GO!?’’ or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves
-robert_d_wilfong
by cwhitman412 on Apr 10, 2009 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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