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Writer's pictureChuck Richard

RADAR CAN CHEAT YOU: USE SMARTPITCH® INSTEAD

Updated: Jun 9, 2020

A radar gun can cheat you if you try to use it to measure the Exit Velocity of your hits.  SmartPitch will not.


Here’s the Exit Velocity problem that radar just cannot handle.


Radar guns must be pointed and aligned exactly along the flight of the ball. If they are not, the radar gun readings are too slow; they cheat you. That’s why you see professional scouts all lined up behind home plate in a straight line with the pitcher and catcher. If they don’t do that, the radar guns give false, slow readings.


If you try to use radar to measure Exit Velocity, and the radar is not tilted upward at exactly the Launch Angle of  your hit, the radar speed reading will be slower than your hit’s actual Exit Velocity. But you cannot predict exactly what the Launch Angle of your hits will be, so it’s impossible to tilt the radar gun at the exact Launch Angle of all your hits. But SmartPitch® measures the Launch Angle and Exit Velocity simultaneously and calculates the true Exit Velocity for any Launch Angle, similar to StatCast. A radar gun cannot do that.


Of course, the other way radar cheats you is that radar guns cost over $1,000. SmartPitch, regularly $9.99, is now available for $4.99.  So, a radar gun also cheats you by costing you $995 more than SmartPitch®.


Here are results for a recent field test of SmartPitch® vs a Jugs radar gun. The Jugs gun was on a tripod tilted up at an angle of 24°.  The first 3 hits had Launch Angles measured by SmartPitch® of 23 to 26°, so the radar gun readings were relatively accurate. But the next 3 hits had Launch Angles of 40 to 51°, and the $1,000+ Jugs gun gave readings that were too low by 12% to 24%!!!!! 


So, pay $1,000 for radar that cheats by you that much, or spend the price of a cheeseburger on SmartPitch®, and get true Exit Velocity and Launch Angle. 

And don’t forget, you can place SmartPitch® anywhere on the field, or at the dugout, or in foul territory:  Freedom of Location. With radar, you can only set up exactly behind the catcher and home plate.


This is not a hard choice to make, folks!!

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