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...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
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 
