Captivating Capture Tech: Japanese Motion Analysis Makes Inroads in Major League Baseball

The Next Base Athletes Lab has a wall covered with the signatures of renowned athletes. (© Matsuzono Tamon)

Right: Nakao Shin’ichi founded Next Base in 2014 after previously working at NTT and launching an IT startup. He was a former collegiate baseball player at Rikkyō University. Left: principal researcher Jinji Tsutomu, formerly of the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, has numerous achievements including supporting Japan’s women’s softball team to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. (© Matsuzono Tamon)

Pitching motion analysis using cutting-edge equipment. (© Next Base)

Markers are attached from each joint all the way to the fingertips. This level of precision is unique to the Next Base Athletes Lab. (© Matsuzono Tamon)

At the Chicago Cubs’ spring training in February 2024. (© Next Base)

The Next Base Athletes Lab in Ichikawa, Chiba, has made a significant contribution to the advancement of Japanese baseball. A new facility is set to open near Hamamatsuchō Station in Tokyo in March 2025. (© Matsuzono Tamon)