Nothing says new age in baseball more than "virtual reality."
Ahead of his 3-for-3 performance against Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants this week, Texas Rangers outfielder David Dahl experimented with a program called WIN Reality, which was sent to him by Chris O'Dowd during the offseason.
Dahl got around to installing the app on his Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset during the Rangers' off-day earlier this week.
“It definitely simulates how [Cueto] throws and where he's letting go of the ball,” Dahl said. “So I just acted like I was standing in there and timing him up. I thought it helped. It was nice to get three hits doing it, but I definitely think it’s something I'm going to do. I know some other guys throughout the league have done it, and it's really helped them.”
Dahl's wife posted a video of Dahl using the program on Twitter:
As Dahl explained, the program allows you to choose the pitcher you want to face, as well as each particular pitch. While there is a bat to use with the program, Dahl only used the program for tracking purposes.
Typically been a free-swinger throughout his career, Dahl is making a concerted effort to control the strike zone better this year.
“It's definitely hard to do,” Dahl said. “I'm a swinger. I like to swing, and I’m just aggressive in the zone. But I would say I felt like I've done a pretty good job of that in spring training. A lot of it too is when your swing feels good, you can make decisions a little better.”
The VR program is growing in popularity throughout the league, Dahl explained, and he plans to use it throughout the year.
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