MLB and Sportvision, the folks who brought us the the yellow first down line and glowing hockey puck, will introduce PITCHf/x today during Game 1 of the World Series.
BusinessWeek says: Sportvision has been rolling out gadgets for all the major sports, including the PGA Tour, NASCAR, and Major League Baseball, for which it whipped up “K-Zone,” a virtual box that frames a batter’s strike zone and pinpoints the location of each pitch. The latest gee-whiz creation from Honey’s lab will debut during Fox broadcasts of the World Series, which begins on Oct. 22. “PITCHf/x” will track the arc of pitches, giving fans a better look at how a curveball curves and a fastball darts.
Update: Having seen PITCHf/x in action, I can tell you it won’t revolutionize the way we watch baseball. It’s not much more than the glowing hockey puck effect that was dropped from broadcasts.
Actually, unlike the puck thingy, this is only used to analyze replays of pitches and not during live action. And for baseball, which has much in the way of inactivity, it helps fill the time between pitches and batters. I think it may be something that stays around in some form or another.