An Old Hickory bat leans knob-up against the wall, its black barrel tapering up into a bare, pale, wooden grip. It’s an ordinary-looking baseball bat — until the lime-green sensor ensconced in the knob makes itself apparent.
Baseball was one of the many sports I never played while growing up. Still, when I heard I could get my hands on a smart baseball bat that could help me improve my (lack of) swing, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. The only thing I knew to do was to line up my door-knocking knuckles, which is a tip I only learned the previous night after realizing I knew absolutely nothing about swinging a bat.
The Zepp 2 smart bat by Zepp combines a classic Old Hickory slugger with one of Zepp’s sensors, set inconspicuously in the knob. The sensor measures every possible metric of a baseball player’s swing and feeds it to an iOS or Android app. Zepp is also releasing a new golf sensor, which attaches to a player’s golf glove.
The Zepp app syncs with your sensor and gives you data about your swing and tips to improve.
Image: phil nolan/mashable
A smart baseball bat isn’t exactly the newest idea; in fact, Zepp already produces a sensor that turns ordinary baseball bats into smart bats. One of the largest noticeable differences is the old sensor is mounted on the bat’s knob and sticks out about an inch and a half. The Zepp 2 has a number of improvements that one and is available in its bat-attachment form today. The new smart bat, available at a later date, has a much more discreet sensor right in the knob that isn’t noticeable when swinging at fastballs.
After a few calibration swings with the smart bat, I stepped up to the baseball-on-a-string swingaway setup and planted my feet on the turf roughly where I thought they ought to be (hey, I’ve at least watched baseball). I lined up my knuckles, kept my eye on the ball and took some undoubtedly embarrassing-looking swings.
You can see here that I’m terrible at baseball because I’m wearing a hoodie and my right elbow is about a foot too low.
Image: phil nolan/mashable
After 10 swings, the Zepp gave me my numbers… and they were pretty abysmal. I was way under the expected benchmarks for a high school ball player on bat impact speed, hand speed and swing time. Surprisingly, I did pretty well on the bat angle at impact and attack angle, but I only had a 40 mph impact speed. In essence, my power was weak, so the app gave me a suggestion: Work on power.
But how? It told me how with an instructional video. The trick to getting a more powerful swing, according to the app, is to shift your weight from your back leg to your front as you swing, twisting into the hit with your lower half before bringing the bat around.
Good tip. I grabbed the bat and did my best Kevin Youkilis impression, consciously shifting my weight from back to front while arcing the bat around my body. Ten swings later and I had my results — better than my first round for sure. I went from a 40 mph impact speed average to 48. My hardest hit was 51 mph.
And that was after just one round of practicing featuring a complete baseball rookie. By focusing on each individual component of my swing over a few weeks, I can see it all coming together and turning me into, at the very least, a pretty decent teeball player. Pair this up with some good coaching and any baseball player would be able to work his or her way toward a perfect swing.
Zepp 2 is a great way for coaches to get detailed data on their players’ swings
The Zepp 2 is a great way for coaches to get detailed data on their players’ swings, and the new Zepp app can hold as many player profiles as you need. With a single bat, a coach can keep track of every single hitter on the team and give individual tips.
The new app has the swing data for a bunch of MLB pros, including Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Hunter Pence, so you can strive to match your favorite all stars. You can also view a 3D analysis of your swing to get an idea of how you’re moving the bat without needing to film yourself. The sensor itself also comes with more movement tracking technology and has twice the battery life of the previous model.
The app gives you custom tips to improve aspects of your swing and shows you data from several different pros.
Image: phil nolan/mashable
The mountable Zepp 2 is now available online for $150, which includes a sensor, a charger and a mount for your baseball bat. The app is available to download for free. If you want to get the more discreet smart bat with the sensor built in, you’ll have to wait for a later date.
BONUS: Shooting baskets with a smart basketball: Hit or miss?
Video: Rill Causey, Quincy Ledbetter
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