An endcap for a sporting implement includes a base portion and a transverse extension projecting from the base portion. The base portion has a bottom surface with a central axis normal thereto. A receptacle opposite the bottom surface is configured to receive a portion of the sporting implement. The extension is configured such that, during swinging of the sporting implement with a hand of a user gripping around the sporting implement portion, the extension contacts an exterior lateral portion and upper portion of fifth proximal phalanx of a user’s hand and the hand is constrained in both the transverse and longitudinal aspects while being allowed rotation of a first metacarpal of the hand away from the central axis.

Aspects herein relate to a shoulder-pad system that may be used to attenuate impact in various contexts. The shoulder-pad system may have a number of subcomponents, which may include an impact plate assembly, an impact-attenuation sub-layer, a base-layer garment, and a securing garment, among others. The shoulder-pad system may be described as modular, in that the various subcomponents may be added to, and/or removed from the system when it is desirable to do so.

A sports ball is configured to enhance detection of spin properties by radar. The ball includes a spherical body having a first reflectivity with respect to radiation generated by a radar to be used in detecting spin of the ball. In addition, the ball includes a plurality of markers. Each of the markers has a second reflectivity with respect to the radiation generated by a radar to be used in detecting spin of the ball. The second reflectivity is different from the first reflectivity. The markers are distributed on the ball so that every great circle extending around an exterior surface of the ball is within a distance d of a projection on the exterior surface of the ball of at least one of the markers. The distance d is less than a radius of the ball.

A method may include receiving a group of images taken by a camera over time in an environment, in which the camera may be oriented within the environment to capture images of an object in a substantially same direction as a launch direction of the object, and the group of images including a first image and a second image. The method may further include: identifying a first position of the object in the first image; identifying a second position of the object in the second image; generating a flight vector based on the first position of the object and the second position of the object; and determining one or more flight parameters using the flight vector. Additionally, the method may include: generating a simulated trajectory of the object based on the flight parameters; and providing the simulated trajectory of the object for presentation in a graphical user interface.

A ball bat extending along a longitudinal axis. The bat includes a handle portion, a barrel portion and an end cap. The barrel portion includes a proximal region and a distal region. The proximal region of the barrel portion is coupled to the handle portion by a first pivot joint. The distal region of the barrel portion is coupled to the end cap by a second pivot joint. The first and second pivot joints movably support the barrel portion relative to the longitudinal axis.

An improved anchor fitting (10) for anchoring a tether cord (22) to a hollow ball (12). The anchor fitting (10) includes an anchor body (16) comprising a shank portion (18) and a head (20) at one end of the shank portion. The anchor body is received in a hole (14) in the wall of the ball and defines an axial passage through which the tether cord extends. The anchor fitting includes two rigid shoulder-defining bodies (26) and (28) which are located within the ball and which extend perpendicularly relative to one another when assembled. The shoulder-defining bodies define holes in which the shank portion of the anchor body is received, with the head (20) abutting an inner side of the shoulder-defining body (28). A flexible resilient rubber washer (34) is located between the shoulder-defining bodies and an interior side of the wall for absorption of impact forces acting on the wall of the ball when the ball is struck by a bat.

An electronic home plate provides assistance to an umpire in determining whether a pitch results in a “strike” or a “ball.” The home plate is implemented with LEDs producing discrete pulses of infrared light beams extending vertically. As a moving ball intersects the pulses, light from the pulses is scattered and incident on photodetectors embedded in the home plate, producing a series of data points. Two stages of light compensation compensate the data points for ambient light, first by applying an offset current to a photodetector through a PNP transistor, and second by subtracting a measurement immediately before a pulse from a measurement during the pulse. A processor then fits the data points to a curve, to compute vertical and lateral positions of the ball, thereby determining whether the pitch passed within a strike zone. Other applications may similarly analyze the trajectory of other projectiles for various purposes.

A bat configured to improve batting skills during practice and training. The bat includes a body extending between first and second ends of the bat and including opposed first and second ball-contacting surfaces and first and second cutout portions of the bat body formed along a length thereof and forming a wedge therebetween. The wedge extends between the first and second ball-contacting surfaces. The cutout portions include respective flat machined surfaces forming opposing sides of the wedge. The bat body defines a longitudinal axis, and the wedge is formed such that the flat machined surfaces each form an acute angle with an imaginary reference line that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

A baseball training device comprises a contact segment in the shape of a flexible loop coupled to a first side of an object and a securing mechanism coupled to a second side of the object for securing the baseball training device to a wrist of a user.

A swing training assembly includes a shuttle, a shuttle travel track, a tensioner, a shuttle displacement line and a shuttle pulley. The shuttle resides in the shuttle travel track and the shuttle pulley and shuttle displacement line are adapted to linearly displace the shuttle to different shuttle positions within the shuttle travel track in response to displacement forces applied to the shuttle pulley by a user pulling on the shuttle displacement line. The tensioner provides an opposing counter-force to control the rate of shuttle displacement. The swing training assembly may also include body positioning limits to maintain proper body alignment while the user pulls on the shuttle displacement line.