Live From MLB All-Star 2019: In Dramatic HR Derby, ESPN Takes Fans Deeper With Statcast Edition,' 4DReplay Massive effort produces primary telecast and alternative viewing experience By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 3:59 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
In a night that saw a record 312 home runs - including a whopping 91 from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. alone - ESPN delivered arguably the most dramatic Home Run Derby telecast ever. Whether watching the primary telecast on ESPN or the Statcast Edition alternative viewing experience on ESPN2, fans were in for a treat last night. And ESPN's production team did not disappoint, deploying 4DReplay system, FlyCam aerial system, 3D spray charts of home runs, and more.
With all the data that is collected now for baseball, we are always looking for better ways to deliver that data to make it more engaging for the fan, Phil Orlins, senior coordinating producer, MLB, ESPN, said prior to the Home Run Derby. We really feel that the Derby is a perfect place to highlight a lot of that data. With tools like the [3D spray] home-run charts and 4DReplay, we can give fans a deeper look. For those looking to take an even deeper dive into the analytics, the Statcast [alternative feed] is a perfect place.
ESPN's Statcast Edition Back for More at the Derby
For the second consecutive year, ESPN produced a Home Run Derby Statcast Edition (powered by AWS) featuring an analytics-driven presentation with 3D spray charts of home-run paths, exit velocity and launch angle, and deeper analysis provided by play-by-play voice Jason Benetti, analyst Eduardo Perez, and MLB Statcast analyst Mike Petriello. Following positive feedback on last year's Statcast Edition for the Derby, ESPN also produced a Statcast Edition for its coverage of the NL Wildcard Game last October.
ESPN Production Enhancements team deployed a new system for 3D Home Run spray charts
In addition, for the first time, ESPN offered a one-hour Baseball Tonight alternative viewing on ESPN2 featuring Benetti, Perez, and Petriello.
I am so excited about the Statcast show this year: not only are we bringing back the coverage for the Derby, but we also have a unique Baseball Tonight show, which will provide a lot more time to go deeper, said Orlins. Unlike when we did the [Statcast Edition] for the Wild Card game, the Derby is very aggressively paced, so they have all this great information, but they don't have a lot of downtime to get it on-air. That is why having the hour of Statcast Baseball Tonight is great.
ESPN's Statcast Edition feed of the HR Derby featured an edition of Baseball Tonight for the first time.
Statcast was produced out of its own truck this year - Harb Productions' Sophie unit - having shared a control room with Baseball Tonight in ESPN's main NEP EN1 truck last year. ESPN leveraged its GREMI (graphics-remote-integration] model for the Statcast Edition feed, locating two EVS replay operators and a Vizrt graphics operator at its headquarters in Bristol, CT.
Since the [Statcast Edition] show expanded a little bit and is gaining in popularity, we thought it best to get a small dedicated truck for that this year, said ESPN Remote Operations Manager Paul Horrell. It's a totally different type of broadcast that runs concurrent to the main broadcast. Our job, from a remote-ops perspective, is to make sure we have enough horsepower to do what they want to do, as well as maintain agility to be able to deal with last-minute changes that come up with a unique show like this.
ESPN created custom animations for each player as part of the 3D spray charts at HR Derby.
ESPN's Production Enhancements department also launched a brand-new system to create 3D home-run spray charts for each player's round. The system was available on the mid-first camera and featured cartoon-like player graphics followed by AR graphics showing the path of each home run hit in a single round (red lines representing homers of more than 440 ft.).
ESPN's Derby Cameras: 4DReplay Returns, FlyCam Debuts
After debuting the 4DReplay system on last year's Derby, ESPN leaned in to the system this year, airing 4DReplay packages after almost every single competitor in last night's Derby.
The 4DReplay system relies on 60 4K cameras mounted on the concourse level behind home plate and stretching from first to third base.
The 4DReplay system at Progressive Field relies on 60 4K cameras tied together.
The cameras are tied together, and, for each play, the single operator selects the pivot point on which the camera axis turns. The operator can manipulate the replay from side to side and can zoom in without losing resolution (thanks to 4K). Since 4DReplay simply stitches together 60 camera feeds and does not have to virtually create filler frames, no rendering is required, allowing clips to be ready in under 10 seconds and sent on to the ESPN EVS replay room in the truck.
It's really exciting because they can turn a replay around for you in 10 seconds, but there are [editorial] challenges, too, Orlins explained. When you do normal replays, all you have to decide is whether or not to use that shot. With [4DReplay], there are almost infinite choices in terms of what you can do with a replay. Are they picking the right thing to execute in terms of what your talent wants to talk about? That's the challenge.
Inside the 4DReplay operator booth at Progressive Field.
In addition, Perez was provided the 4DReplay tablet app for the Statcast Edition production, allowing him to control the replay system himself.
That takes longer to turn around, said Orlins, but it gives Eduardo the choice: he can choose where to start it, where to stop it, where to zoom, where to spin, go up and go to the side. It's important to put these tool
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Live From MLB All-Star 2019: In Dramatic HR Derby, ESPN Takes Fans Deeper With Statcast Edition,' 4DReplay Massive effort produces primary telecast and alternative viewing experience By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
