Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

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Jocephus
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Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by Jocephus »

Three years ago, in these same electronic pages, the present author published a ranking of all 30 clubs’ center-field broadcast camera angles. The immediate purpose: to create a reference for anyone with access to MLB.TV, MLB Extra Innings, or some other manner of game video, so that he or she might be better equipped to choose the ideal feed.

What follows is the product of an almost identical exercise, except updated to account for more recently adopted center-field cameras (or, in the case of Miami, more recently constructed ballparks).

In general, cameras have been assessed according to the ability with which they document the pitcher-batter encounter. More specifically, I’ve utilized three guiding criteria, as follow:

Shot Angle
In which more central and lower is generally preferred.
Shot Size
In which closer up and not longer is generally preferred.
Whim
In which the author’s own intuition has been utilized.

In what follows, I’ve embedded screencaps for all 30 of the league’s center-field cameras, broken down into three categories: Bottom Five, Top Ten, and The Rest. In every case, I’ve used images featuring only right-handed pitchers — so that the orientation of that pitcher’s body might least distort the perception of the camera angle. Furthermore, I’ve attempted to identify feeds from regional broadcasts — as opposed to national broadcasts, which might utilize a different feed altogether.

The reader will note that straight-on shots constitute the most highly ranked of the center-field cameras. This makes sense, of course: straight-on shots portray lefties and righties in the same way and document pitch movement in a way that off-set cameras can’t. The reader will also note that a small collection of notes and observations appears at the very bottom of this post.
29. Milwaukee Brewers
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27. Cincinnati Reds
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5. St Louis Cardinals
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1. Pittsburgh Pirates
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http://www.fangraphs.com/not/ranking-ba ... 14-update/

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cardsfansince82
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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by cardsfansince82 »

I've been saying for years now how lucky we are that the Cardinals have a good dead center camera view. The ones with the offset angle are unwatchable for me. You can never tell what is a strike and what isn't, let alone how the pitch is truly moving.

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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by tlombard »

That is why I get so annoyed with people I'm watching a game with complaining about balls and strikes without even the benefit of a replay or whatever tracking method the broadcast uses. You don't have a view suitable for judging the location accurately and if you can see the numbers or name on a pitcher's jersey when he is standing with his shoulders lined up with the plate, you are really off to the side and can't judge anything accurately without the help of some tracking system.

Of course the idiots tell me I'm stupid and then refuse to play along with my demonstration where I go hold something in front of something else some distance away and then have them look straight on and then take a couple of steps to the side and look again. Looks like it is in a completely different place than it is even though it hasn't moved.

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Jocephus
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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

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cistulli has updated for 2015, cardinals in at 6...for anyone interested

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ranking- ... 15-update/

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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by cARdsfan »

That camera angle for windy days in KC is ridiculous.

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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by st.lewis11 »

Milwaukee's the best because of Front Row Amy

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Re: Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots

Post by 33anda3rd »

I prefer the STL and TBR angles to the ones above for the little bit of extra height you get, leaving the plate less obscured by the SP. Most of the baseball I watch on MLBtv is STL or TB games and when I watch something else it seems awkward, for either the angle or the lack of breadth in the shot.

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