Live From MLB All-Star 2023: ESPN's Dual-Network Home Run Derby Coverage Pushes Real-Time Graphics Tech Limits Primary coverage of the fast-paced event will be on ESPN; alternative MLB Statcast, on ESPN2 By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, July 10, 2023 - 10:07 am
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When the midsummer fireworks display that is the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby returns tonight (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN2), ESPN will lean on more than 20 cameras and a load of graphics developed in partnership with MLB Statcast to produce an increasingly fast-paced event.
The 2023 MLB Home Run Derby from Seattle's T-Mobile Park airs at 8 p.m. ET July 10 on ESPN, with the Statcast edition on ESPN2.
On a good day, it's controlled chaos. On a bad day, it's just chaos, says Phil Orlins, VP, production, ESPN, and a 30-year veteran of the Home Run Derby. The pace is insane, but the pace is definitely a huge part of the popularity of the event. This is always the most special event of the year for me. To see what this event has become is impactful and special.
Since the Derby shifted to a timed format in 2015 and further tweaks two years ago allowed pitches to be thrown before the previous batted ball had landed, the high-octane event has become frenetic - and a genuinely massive challenge for telling the story of this event.
The coverage again features a split-screen format and continues to build on the long-standing relationship with Major League Baseball and its Statcast division. Deploying real-time augmented-reality graphics, spray charts, and 3D renderings, both the primary Derby coverage on ESPN and the alternative Statcast broadcast on ESPN2 rely heavily on data visualization to keep fans' heads on straight as balls fly out of T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
This is going to be the most aggressive approach we've ever taken with experimentation, Orlins said in an ESPN press call last week.
Two robotic cameras (left) flank home plate and provide key angles with ESPN's Home Run Derby coverage featuring more real-time ball-flight tracing with augmented-reality graphics.
He notes that the broadcast will retain many of the analytics featured in last year's show. It will show exit velocity and launch angle in real time on one side of the screen but will change the approach on the other side: instead of trying to chase multiple balls with quick camera cuts, it will stick with a wider shot and use real-time hit trails, similar to those provided by Shot Tracer in golf.
We'll be watching the ball follow that way, Orlins says, which, I think, is a pretty aggressive step in looking at baseball coverage - or Home Run Derby coverage, especially.
The camera lineup features four virtual-camera feeds, four super-slo-mos, and six robotics, two of which flank home plate from behind. In addition, the Groovy Cam, the Fletcher-developed robotic camera system (pictured below), will be parked on the infield grass behind the pitcher, serving the same role as the traditional main game camera over the back of the pitcher while giving a much tighter, more intimate look.
Fletcher's Groovy Cam serves the role of the traditional main game camera during ESPN's Home Run Derby coverage.
ESPN's coverage will be produced fully from a fleet of NEP trucks, most notably the Monday Night Football behemoth: the four-truck system of EN1. Coverage on ESPN will be led by producer Scott Matthews and director Doug Holmes.
Meanwhile, on ESPN2, the Statcast alternative broadcast will push the envelope with live, real-time, in-game augmented-reality graphics and instant interjection of data from MLB Statcast. Orlins notes that this might be the most intensive effort and the most collaborative project that his team has ever worked on with the Statcast crew, which is overseen by MLB SVP, Broadcasting, Ryan Zander; VP, Technical Operations, Broadcasting, Mark Ellinson; and Senior Technical Manager Kyle Burke. Also involved has been Simon Chattington, head of baseball, Animation Research Ltd., which develops the core of the Statcast tracking technology. Derby coverage on ESPN2 will be led by producer Andy Jacobson and director Mike Griffin.
ESPN's MLB All-Star presence also features live coverage of Sunday's MLB Draft, as well as numerous Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter hits throughout the day on both Monday and Tuesday. The network's full onsite infrastructure has been spearheaded by ESPN Operations Specialist Cindy Pennington, Remote Operations Specialist Kevin Cleary, and Remote Operations Manager Paul Horrell.
Coverage of the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby begins at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10 on ESPN, with the Statcast edition starting at the same time on ESPN2.
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Live From MLB All-Star 2023: ESPN's Dual-Network Home Run Derby Coverage Pushes Real-Time Graphics Tech Limits Primary coverage of the fast-paced event will be on ESPN; alternative MLB Statcast, on ESPN2 By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
