Paul Baim is the Director of Sports Technology for the Titan Systems Corporation Aerospace Electronics Division and also functions as the Director of Development for QuesTec Incorporated. He heads the team that creates the technology used in the products from QuesTec for applications such as the Umpire Information System(tm), PitchTrax(tm), and Tennis ProView(tm) that have been part of over 1000 sports broadcasts to as many as 190 countries.

Mr Baim has been developing software applications for more than 20 years in the areas of information analysis, image and signal processing, user interfaces, and artificial intelligence. He has a BSEE degree from the University of Florida and an MSCS from the University of Illinois.

Baim's response:
The pitch location data could be used in such a way but the more likely use for something like this is in the training of new umpires. Either an entirely virtual game could be shown to the umpire or a virtual view he or she could see during a training game or in the batting cage could be used to help the umpire trainee compare where they thought the pitch went versus where it actually went. This might help train their eyes more quickly and accurately than current instructional methods.

Baim's response:
To help you in this, I direct you to the excellent book "The Physics of Baseball" by Robert Adair (ISBN 0-06-095047-1) which you can easily obtain in softcover for a few dollars from any bookstore. The book includes analysis of both pitching and batting and explains things in a very understandable way.

Baim's response:
Major League Umpires are amazingly accurate at evaluating pitch locations. Many factors can contribute to making the umpire's job more difficult including sudden movement by the catcher that gets in the way of seeing the ball and the same combinations of light and shadow that complicate the batter's job. The Umpire Information System is designed to provide all the information the umpire needs to examine the conditions surrounding a pitch that may have created a problem in calling that particular pitch.

Baim's response:
The PitchTrax system has been used live during broadcasts of 1000s of games since 1997. In addition, the 1999 and 2000 All Star Games featured live simulcast of PitchTrax data on the Major League Baseball website.

Baim's response:
We have also used this technology to create a tennis product that tracks serves and have used the Tennis ProView system during live tennis broadcasts including the French Open and ATP Tour events including the World Championships broadcast live to 190 countries.