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Focus is on the pitch, even at blazing speed
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
You're supposed to be able to recognize the color of a number on the tennis ball. And when you get really good at it, make out the number, too.
''Red! Did you see it?'' Indians roving instructor Ellis Burks quickly calls out as the first ball zooms by.
An instant later Burks barks out: ''No. 2! Got that one?'' he said, pointing at the ball now rolling away as he looks at me encouragingly.
All I can do is shake my head no. All I can pick up — if you can call it that — is one blur after another as tennis balls with colored numbers whiz by.
I try a few more with Burks' help. But it's no use. As a newcomer, I can't pick up any of the colors, let alone the even-tougher-to-read numbers.
''That's O.K.,'' Burks reassures me. ''It takes some time. You're not trained to do it yet.''
He tells me that with practice and the proper training, I, too, would be able to pick up the necessary information from the balls being shot at speeds up to 150 mph out of the pitching-like machine from 60 feet away at the other end of the Canal Park underground batting cage.
As daunting of a task as this iTrac Vision Training System is to me, veteran user and Aeros catcher Chris Gimenez expertly demonstrates a quick 10-minute session.
''It takes some time at first, but once you catch on, it helps you so much with pitch recognition,'' said Gimenez, whose team-leading 26 walks are proof of how adept he has become at differentiating from a ball right on the black from one that's a quarter of an inch off the plate.
The iTrac system — a simple concept that has been increasingly spreading across the professional baseball landscape the past few years — is religiously used by major-league sluggers such as Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox, Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets and Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner.
Five major-league teams use the system: the Indians, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager and former Indians front office man Neal Huntington is interested in introducing the system to his organization.
In the same way that baseball players lift weights in an effort to strengthen their bodies, iTrac vision training helps them improve their eyesight, which, in turn, aids in recognition of pitches and their locations.
The system is designed to improve a player's vision and ability to track a ball by conditioning and strengthening the eye muscles. In doing so, players improve their depth perception, enhance hand-eye coordination and improve reaction time.
This happens as the system breaks down the ball path into three sections: the recognition zone, the decision zone and the attack zone.
On average, it is estimated that a professional baseball player loses sight of the ball six-to-eight feet before home plate, having to guess the final path as he makes contact. Players trained by iTrac condition their eyes to see the ball to the point of contact and thus, eliminate the traditional blind zone.
''It started in Milwaukee nine years ago, and it went from Kansas City to New York with Beltran,'' said Jason Stein, the certified vision trainer who works with the Indians' major- andminor-leaguers, of the system's growing trend.
''For a lot of guys at the major-league level, it's a tool used to help them get locked in at the plate. In the minors, where a majority of the guys are still developing, it helps them keep their head on the ball during their swing by focusing on keeping their front side in.''
The iTrac system made its debut with the Indians seven years ago thanks to Burks, a former Tribe outfielder who had first seen the system in use in Milwaukee.
''I saw Mark Loretta using it, and was like 'What the heck is this?' '' said Burks of the first time he saw iTrac in use.
Later, when Burks talked with an iTrac coordinator in 2001 at spring training, he was convinced the Indians' hitters would benefit from having the system. With iTrac's $50,000 yearly fee not initially figured into the Tribe's operating budget, Burks and two other teammates combined to contribute $25,000 and the Tribe kicked in the other half to have it installed for the season.
''It took me about a week to two weeks before I felt I could really see it and pick up the numbers,'' Burks said. ''You could see the color right away, it's the numbers you can pick up as you get better at it. And as you do, you realize that if you can see the number on a ball going 100-plus miles an hour, you can focus on that mound and see the ball come out of a pitcher's hand at a slower speed.''
For Burks, the results were well worth the investment.
''I got to the point where I was using it everyday,'' he said. ''It helped out so much, the first half of the season I think I had 24 homers. Then the very next week I broke my thumb. With the injury, I ended up hitting 28 (homers), but I could have easily ended up with 40.''
It didn't take long before the Indians began to set money aside in the budget for iTrac each year, realizing the system is just as important of a tool for the organization's minor-leaguers.
''We've incorporated iTrac into the daily station work for the minor leaguers the last two spring trainings,'' said Bruce Fields, the Indians' minor-league hitting coordinator. ''We consider it as important of a skill to work on as hitting and fielding.''
During the Aeros season, use of the iTrac is up to the individual players. But one guy Stein never has to worry about working is Gimenez. ''If I didn't limit him to short sessions, he'd be in here all the time,'' Stein said. ''He'd wear me out.''
Thanks to iTrac, that's probably what Double-A pitchers think after facing the eagle-eyed Gimenez. ''I hope so,'' the catcher said with a grin. ''To me, it's one more advantage I have in getting to the big leagues.''
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
You're supposed to be able to recognize the color of a number on the tennis ball. And when you get really good at it, make out the number, too.
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