The Rays are among several MLB teams that "have made six-figure investments in a baseball hitting simulator known as an iCube," where players "don 3-D motion-tracking glasses, step into a small room that replicates a stadium and have a pitcher on a screen throw to them in true detailed form," according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. TIMES. Rays RF Steven Souza Jr. said, "It's a huge advantage because sometimes you don't see guys very often." K.C.-based Eon Sports VR CEO Brendan Reilly said, "Guys are getting to face the pitcher they're going to face that night. They can pick up his timing, get a feel for how his ball moves, how he pitched to him the last time. ... You feel like you're on the field in a real, live game." Angels GM Billy Eppler, on whether VR could be overkill for players, said, "If there starts to be notable success from using it and guys want to make it part of their regular routine, then it will catch on. If they look at it as something that is not necessary for their day-to-day preparation, then it will be optional." DiGiovanna noted the Rays "are the only team that has publicly confirmed its partnership with EON Sports," but there "are others." Reilly: "We work with a handful of major league teams -- that's all they will allow me to say. The other teams are pretty tight-lipped. They act like they're the U.S. Army." Eppler, whose team is not yet using the EON Sports tech, said, "I thought it was realistic, better than anything created to date. I have a level of interest in it, but I wouldn't say specifically if it's something we will adopt or not" (L.A. TIMES, 5/8). Check out this week's issue of SportsBusiness Journal, which goes in-depth on the VR boom.
