If you are a new or upgraded owner of Rapsodo's Pro 2.0 Softball flight monitor, this post is for you. If you are a pitcher who has attended a camp, been assessed, or regularly pitched on a 2.0 unit and now have access to the Pro 2.0 Softball unit, this post is for you.
In my day-to-day, I deal with a lot of Rapsodo data, specifically .csv data. A major change in with the new hardware and app is how vertical and horizontal break are calculated. OGX has been running old and new versions for a few months now specifically to understand how the "old" data compares to the "new" data.
Previously, break was provided two ways: spin-based and trajectory-based. The Diamond app returns break based on Rapsodo's (very likely) proprietary spin-based algorithm. In the new app specific for the Pro 2.0 Softball units, break is returned as trajectory-based.
As "old" (2.0) units are no longer sold, many college programs and organizations were enticed to trade in their current units for credit toward the new version over the last few months. In our ongoing internal review of data from both versions, the trajectory-based break values are noticeably different compared to spin-based. To what magnitude is yet to be determined. This isn't surprising, but the timing of this change and lack of clarity about it may lead to coaching or training decisions based on "false" information. By "false," I don't mean untrue. I just mean that it's quite literally comparing apples to oranges with regards to how the data was calculated.
Coaches should be cautious comparing break profiles between old and new versions. For college coaches, this extends beyond your season preparation but also to recruiting. If you are trying to decide between two potential pitchers and comparing break profiles, one might "look" better than the other simply because the data was collected on old versus new. Don't get fooled by that picture/screen shot on social media about 12 inches of sink on a drop ball. We (the softball community) don't really know if that's good... yet. It might be average. I get it, we love PRs for the 'gram but tread lightly.
Pitchers should also be cautious. If you've pitched on an old unit at some point and received a report or are just keeping up with your data in your Rapsodo account, adding in pitches on a new unit may tell a different story about your break profile than you've been chasing or maintaining.
It's not a matter of which method is right or wrong, but rather understanding that they are different.
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