To follow your analogy - all the analytics in the world won't turn a Dodge Neon into a Ferrari. Until we get back to recruiting lights out starting pitching, meaning guys who can dominate with a heater and a good off speed pitch, it doesn't really matter.

I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Is that your quote? I love it.

Out here in CA there are dozens of Baseball Training Complex places that use all this tech, but they...

1. Don’t understand it
2. Focus on the flaws or shortcomings
3. Simply don’t put enough thought or honest thought into the actual talent potential of the player.

There are some really good hitting/pitching instructors that use the tech...but if we’re being honest the promise of technology gets parents to pay.
But my 5’7 CF that runs a 6.3 - 60 (no joke) has to put the ball in play if he’s going to play for me. He is NOT a D1 talent, and never will be.
But he goes to a guru, with HitTrax and Blast (both potentially great tools) and is told to increase his launch angle (which itself doesn’t make sense if you know what launch angle is)
What they really mean is that he needs to increase his attack angle...but the kid is a dumb 17 year old and just nods his head and tries to hit fly balls.

Sorry if I’m venting...but this tech revolution is dangerous in the hands of someone that doesn’t know what the numbers mean.

everytime he hits one in the air. I would embed the Willie Mays Hayes video form Major League if I knew how.

That has to be frustrating as his high school coach - the kid has elite speed and needs to pound the ball in the ground

so much of the private lesson “game” is focused of the mythical next level.
Can’t we just enjoy the team we’re on?

I think you can still have goals/dreams of playing at the next level, but those dreams are squashed when you don’t experience success.

the hands of those who either know or are willing to learn how to use it. Moreover, it’s a tool that allows those who might be at a disadvantage in some areas (i.e. geography) to obtain a competitive advantage over those who still cling to old-fashioned (and demonstrably incorrect) teaching methods.

I agree with you that good coaches are critical. As you say, focusing on launch angle alone, especially without an understanding of other more critical aspects of proper mechanics, is dangerous. We need good coaches who can teach the fundamentals. But I am highly suspicious of any coach who refuses to at least consider the knowledge and advantages that can be gained from analytics and development technologies.

And it isn’t as if Notre Dame would have a lot to lose by seeking to better understand how, say, Vanderbilt might be getting the most out of its players. In Missouri’s case, my understanding is that they used technology to help hitters gain a better understanding of the strike zone and develop better approaches to at-bats. I see very little downside in bringing this technology to Notre Dame—assuming we can hire coaches capable of incorporating the technology correctly. And if our current coaches are unable or unwilling, that would be a big strike against them in my eyes.

Well said.

Simplifying the game should be the goal of every coach. Tech can either make that possible or impossible...depending on the reliance of it all.

with fundamentals - like base running, closing batters out when ahead in the count etc. Seems to me if ND applied analytics to areas that we've been deficient in as a team, we'd see improvement in a way that effects our W/L record immediately.