Hit Tracker is a highly accurate method of estimating home run distances.  It combines observational data (time of flight and landing location) with atmospheric data (temperature, wind & altitude) to recreate the complete trajectory of the ball in flight, after which it is a simple matter to determine how far the ball would have flown if it had been allowed to return all the way back down to field level.  Hit Tracker runs inside MS Excel via Visual Basic macros, and typically provides an answer in 10-30 seconds, which makes it ideal for in-stadium use.

Hit Tracker is a more robust method than the well-known "Tale of the Tape" system popularized in the late 80’s by its sponsor, IBM  (read here to learn more about this method).

• Hit Tracker includes the effects of atmospheric conditions, which have a profound effect on the flight of the ball; TotT does not.
• Hit Tracker allows any landing position, based on the precise spot where the ball lands; TotT divides the stands into sections, and provides only three possible numbers for each section.
• Hit Tracker inputs are all objective (time of flight, landing location, temperature, etc.), and thus immune to observer bias; TotT requires the user to select the trajectory of the ball from one of three possibilities, thus introducing posible error if two users choose different trajectories.
• Hit Tracker provides as an output the entire 3-dimensional flight path of the ball, allowing the user to compare the recreated flight path to the real one and thus have confidence that the estimate is accurate; TotT only provides a distance number, with no supporting information to help "convince" the user of its accuracy.
• Hit Tracker provides the speed off the bat and the precise directional angles that the ball took as is was hit, allowing the user to adjust the atmospheric conditions and see the effect on the homer (e.g. take a home run hit in Fenway Park and see how far it would travel in Coors Field); TotT only gives a distance number.
• Hit Tracker’s precise trajectory information can be used to evaluate player performance when HT is used on all balls hit in the air, not just homers, and is particularly well-suited to factoring out the impact of ballparks and environmental conditions; TotT only provides home run distances, and not very accurately…

For a detailed example of how Hit Tracker works, click here…

For a glossary of Hit Tracker terms, click here…

If you want to hear more about a particular homer for any reason, please send an email to grybar@hittrackeronline.com.

Nightly updates for Hit Tracker, which have been interrupted since Aug. 3, are set to resume tonight, Saturday Aug. 12.  It may take a day or two to catch up, but we will get there.

Welcome to the Hit Tracker Online MLBlog, where you can read posts and commentary from the author of Hit Tracker, the site that provides complete trajectory analysis, including distance estimates, for every home run hit in 2006!  Look for entries each night (typically complete by midnight, Pacific Time) regarding the day’s home runs, plus interesting tidbits culled from the mass of data on MLB home runs…