Technology in Diamondbacks Baseball | Avnet Diamondbacks, Baseball, Avnet, Technology, Engineering, Arizona

TECHNOLOGY IN BASEBALL

When many people think of baseball, they immediately think of the field, players, stats and snacks. We're here to explore the technology behind the game - from digital scoreboards and internet-connected concessions to computer vision and equipment sensors.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES

IP&E TECHNOLOGIES

LIGHTING UP THE FUTURE: CHASE FIELD’S NEW LEDS

LEDs are replacing more lighting in our daily lives, from simple flashlights to automotive applications and standard light bulbs in our homes. LEDs bring several advantages such as longer lifetimes, smaller space requirements and lower power usage. These are some of the reasons why Chase Field recently replaced its metal halide lighting with LEDs. This article dives into the advantages LEDs bring to the lighting in the stadium.

read article >

Industrial Technologies

A host of technology goes into providing a world-class experience for baseball fans and players. From capturing and broadcasting the audio and video of each play to providing the comfort of a swimming pool and the shade of a solar pavilion that doubles as a renewable energy source. Check out how technology is enhancing the in-park and home experience.

camera drones

From the MLB All Star game to the World Series, discover how drones are being used in today’s game.

explore now >

solar energy

With silicon and semiconductors, learn how solar panels use sunlight to power electric vehicles.

explore now >

Sensors can offer a multitude of data, discover how these technologies enable users to proactively upkeep environments.

Swimming pool

Camera drone flight above baseball field

explore now >

Discover how VR creates immersive environments that can help players prepare for their next competition.

VIRTUAL REALITY

explore now >

Learn how hardware like drivers and transformers enable a television to display every big play.

TELEVISION BROADCAST

explore now >

Learn the ins and outs of radio technology and the history between it and Avnet.

RADIO BROADCAST

camera drones

Drones are an exciting technology that are making their way into the ballpark. Though you won’t see one flying around at your typical regular season match-up, aerial production drones have been used in the past to capture game footage and are undoubtedly a piece of the sports broadcasting future. While the Skycam camera, fixed on a wire track above fans’ heads in Chase Field can capture memorable moments during a game, Major League Baseball (MLB) opt into using autonomous drones during high profile events like the All Star-Game, Field of Dreams game and the World Series, to offer a unique, close-up perspective of players between pitching changes or innings. There are a multitude of components that are used in these drones, many of which are unseen. Accelerometers capture even the slightest of movements across a drone’s three axes in order to keep its balance to ensure clear video quality. Magnetometers collect orientation data and combines it with GPS to give drones a complete picture of their location. Barometers measure air pressure to keep a precise height, and gyroscopes calculate angular velocity to maintain stability. Sensors like these are essential for drones to fly precisely where the controller directs. Learn how industries are incorporating unmanned technologies for enhanced performance and are pushing the advancements of autonomous robotics.

The solar panels installed at Chase Field’s APS Solar Pavilion not only provide shade to the most loyal of D-backs fans but can also generate 75 kilowatts of solar power to charge electric vehicles. With solar panels being made more accessible to the mass market, we’re seeing how solar energy can be utilized for many things, including transportation, off-grid power supplies, and solar water heating. Solar panels are composed of layers that enable them to capture sunlight and transform it in functioning energy. Amongst these layers, photovoltaic cells take excited electrons to create an electric current and silicon wafers enable the panels to conduct electricity, while semiconductor layers create electric fields to drive the flow of electrons. To be used in an electric vehicle, a power management system regulates the flow of electricity as its converted from direct current to alternating current through inverters and directed to the battery pack. With the help of silicon and semiconductors, a sunny day can now power your next drive. Charging your EV with solar is not a new concept. Discover how Bi-directional charging will give you access to the power stored in your EV.

SOLAR ENERGY

Swimming pools are a unique luxury in the desert climate of Phoenix and the pool at Chase Field has become a coveted piece of the Diamondbacks’ homestand deserving of the utmost care. Fortunately for stadium staff, today’s pools use quality sensors to provide real time information to help us maintain and measure important metrics like pH levels, temperatures, chlorine levels, while environmental sensors track things like UV index, atmospheric pressure, and humidity. These sensors can work with wireless communication technology like Z-wave and Zigbee, and cloud-based data systems like IoT platforms, to give caretakers real time dashboards and reports that inform decisions not only for day-to-day operations but for future improvements. For example, receiving instant data of humidity levels can be critical to ensure guests are comfortable and healthy and one can change humidity levels to preserve pool infrastructure and reduce maintenance costs. Receiving and visualizing data instantly allows attendants to proactively upkeep their pool environments, so if you ever get the chance to take a dip, feel rest assured you’re in good hands. Learn how Avnet enables the sensor technologies you need and provides hardware and software to track important data.

SWIMMING POOL

Virtual reality can be a powerful tool for learning or training purposes. In the game of baseball, VR headsets create an environment where hitters can practice against simulated pitching styles of their real-life rivals. A player can become more familiar with their opponents, giving them a competitive advantage the next time they step up to the plate. VR employs many pieces of technology that work together to create immersive experiences from graphics processing units to haptic feedback actuators. Graphics processing units handle complex computations needed to create environments in real time and have a high frame rate to ensure frame rates remain consistent. They also reduce latency to make sure that the headset reacts in time to a user’s actions and can render two slightly different images at once to create accurate depth perception. GPUs are critical for creating complex 3D graphics while haptic feedback actuators simulate the sense of touch to enhance one’s experience. They provide physical sensations that correlate with virtual interactions and can also simulate different textures and forces to make interactions even more convincing, which is especially helpful when different textures or resistance levels are needed in a VR experience. The more convincing VR can be, the better the Diamondbacks can prepare against their next opponent. Learn how Avnet is enabling the fusion of virtual and physical reality in the Metaverse.

VIRTUAL REALITY

You may not know it, but there is a lot that goes on behind the screen to ensure you don’t miss a single hit. How is your TV able to capture and show every home run, stolen base, and big inning in real time? Televisions require a lot of hardware to display your favorite team at the push of a button and the motherboard is the cornerstone that harbors critical components. The graphics processing unit renders graphics to give smooth video playback of high definition and 4K content. Wi-Fi modules enable a TV to connect to wireless networks while drivers, middleware, and system utilities enable hardware components to communicate. Flash memory chips store a TV’s operating system and ensure quick access to data and firmware updates, and power supply units made up of transformers, rectifiers, capacitors, voltage regulators, and more convert alternating current into direct current. Clock generators generate clock signals to synchronize all parts of the system to work in harmony to maintain smooth operation, while display drivers ICs control individual pixels by managing their voltage to give you that crystal clear image. All these components and more work together for you to catch every play. Learn more about communications and broadcast technologies.

TELEVISION BROADCAST

It may seem like a thing of the past, but the radio is still alive and well and a great way to follow your favorite hometown team. There are many components used in its system used to transmit and receive the signals for various uses. Transmitters generate and modulate radio frequency signals to carry information and use components like power amplifiers, modulators, and RF oscillators to generate, modulate, and amplify the signals. Receivers capture these signals and extracts their information, and antennas capture electromagnetic waves and transform them into electric signals, while RF amplifiers boost weak signals received to a level adequate to further process. Demodulators reverse the modulation process and recover an original audio waveform and an audio amplifier increases the signal to a volume sufficient for broadcasting. Together, these components enable listeners to follow the game wherever they are. Avnet and radio technology go way back. Charles Avnet founded the company in 1921 as a surplus radio parts store on the famous Radio Row in New York City. As the radio grew in use and profitability, so did Avnet’s store. A hundred years in, Avnet continues to play in role in bringing technology ideas to life. Learn more about Avnet and its history with radio technology.

RADIO BROADCAST

IP&E Technologies

When you’re sitting at the ballpark enjoying America’s pastime, you may not be thinking about the technology seamlessly integrated around you to ensure your experience is nothing short of magical. Seen and unseen, it impacts your experience at the ballpark – from the scoreboard stats to the cameras tracking the ball - so you don’t miss a single hit.

explore now >

From towering scoreboards to beautiful ribbon displays, learn how technology drives your game day experience.

SCOREBOARD

explore now >

From lightning-fast data transmission to real-time statistics, discover the fascinating technology in pitch analytics.

PITCH TRACKING

explore now >

From tracking vital signs to player positioning, learn how cutting-edge wearables are changing sports technology.

PLAYER PERFORMANCE

explore now >

Discover how Statcast revolutionized baseball analysis & how Avnet connects you to the forefront of technology innovation.

STATCAST

baseball pitcher with the ball behind his back

explore now >

Signals between players need to be fast and secure. Learn how high-tech pitch-calling devices are changing the game.

PITCH CALLING

explore now >

Discover how players are using technology and metrics to improve their swing with cutting-edge bat sensors.

BAT SENSORS

learn more >

We’re excited to partner with the Diamondbacks and share our commitment to the community. Discover all of the ways Avnet is changing the game.

AVNET AND THE DIAMONDBACKS: A WINNING TEAM

© Copyright 2024 Avnet, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy | Cookies | Legal | Accessibility When browsing and using our websites, Avnet collects, stores and/or processes personal data. To ensure fair and transparent processing of your personal data and compliance with applicable laws on data protection, please read our Privacy and Data Protection Information on your personal data. You can see what cookies we serve and how to set your own preferences in our Cookie Policy.

You’re sitting in Chase Field enjoying the game, the atmosphere with the other fans and maybe some snacks and you look over at the scoreboard to check the stats and progress of the game. It might be who’s up to bat and their stats, the current inning, a close-up of a play, or simply the score. But have you ever thought about the technology behind collecting and displaying these statistics? Aside from the obvious Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) there’s a wide range of other products that enable the LEDs to work as expected. The Scoreboard in Chase Field is an impressive 136 feet by 46 feet high and is capable of displaying two true high-definition 16:9 images side by side. And let’s not forget the LED ribbon display that adorns the second deck façade. This 1,119-foot-long marvel is currently the largest in the MLB. Both of these impressive displays required a great deal of hardware and software engineering along with cutting-edge electronic components like cables, connectors, power supplies and antennas just to name a few. Connectors are used in just about every type of product. Learn what needs to be taken into account when selecting the right connector for the job.

SCOREBOARD

Getting statistics and information on a pitch that’s just barely left the pitcher's hand adds an interesting layer of information for both fans and players alike. As a fan, we want to see what was thrown and how fast it was thrown. Pitchers can adjust their technique to get their perfect pitch. Acquiring the data from a pitch requires an astounding amount of technology. High-speed cameras in multiple locations use image sensors, high-speed cables and many other components such as resistors, inductors and countless others. These systems are able to start tracking the ball in ¼ of a second from leaving the pitcher's hand with several cameras that can record up to 300 frames per second. What’s even more impressive is that this data is transmitted even faster than the pitch itself. Video systems such as these are used in many applications. Read about how HD video is being streamed from space.

PITCH TRACKING

The health and performance of the athletes goes beyond simply ensuring they’re eating well and working out. Modern player performance is tracked with wearable technology that monitors a host of key data points such as blood oxygen levels, skin temp and heart rate to name a few. Combined with these biometric sensors are GPS and accelerometers for accurate player positioning on the field as well as speed and direction of their movement. Aside from the sensors and processors, these systems require antennas, cables, connectors and much more technology to collect and transmit the vast amount of data being collected. The technologies used in these systems go beyond baseball. Read how wearable technologies such as smartwatches and fitness trackers make heart rate monitoring a casual activity.

PLAYER PERFORMANCE

Every baseball fan knows that statistics are crucial to keeping up with the latest developments. Based on radar and optical technology, a system called Statcast was introduced in 2014. This system tracks the ball from the instant it leaves a player's hand or the end of the bat to provide unprecedented information about the trajectory of the ball. In order to achieve these feats of tracking, the companies that design these systems are continually reviewing the latest advancements in technology. The system uses multiple high-speed cameras to accurately track moving objects with binocular vision that replicates the human eye. These systems require a great deal of technology like image sensors, high-speed connectors, powerful cables and much more Avnet provides the bridge between the manufacturers of the technology and the engineers. Stereo vision systems have many uses. One use that’s most familiar to us is face recognition. Learn how facial recognition systems are being used to keep us safe.

STATCAST

While bat sensors aren’t used in games, these provide a wealth of information about every swing by tracking metrics like barrel speed, acceleration, attack angle and more. These simple to use devices attach quickly to any bat and deliver the information they collect to a smart device running the app. These devices contain a host of sensors including accelerometers and gyroscopes that are supported by even more technology that ensures the signals are collected and transmitted quickly and accurately. This includes very small antennas that are built into or mounted on the circuit board. A survey found that many developers see sensors and some of the most underrated technology in driving innovation. Our experts help make sense of sensors.

BAT SENSORS

In baseball, each team is always looking for even a slight advantage over another. One of the most popular means of gaining this advantage was stealing the pitch calls between the pitcher and catcher. And the means to keep these calls private delayed the game even further. Fast forward to the present date, and the introduction of the pitch clock to keep the game moving. The next technological advancement is the pitch-calling devices that are used by the players. This device provides the ultimate in security and reduces the time it takes to relay these calls. Since the pitch calling devices are wireless, they of course require antennas, connectors and a host of other high-tech products to make sure the signals are transmitted and received by the intended player safely and rapidly. Designing the technology for these wireless systems requires many considerations. Avnet gives engineers access to our knowledge and experts. Read what our experts say about connectors for 5G wireless systems.

PITCH CALLING

explore now >

From the MLB All Star game to the World Series, discover how drones are being used in today’s game.

camera drones

explore now >

With silicon and semiconductors, learn how solar panels use sunlight to power electric vehicles.

solar energy

explore now >

Sensors can offer a multitude of data, discover how these technologies enable users to proactively upkeep environments.

Swimming pool

explore now >

Discover how VR creates immersive environments that can help players prepare for their next competition.

VIRTUAL REALITY

explore now >

Learn how hardware like drivers and transformers enable a television to display every big play.

TELEVISION BROADCAST

Industrial Technologies

explore now >

From the MLB All Star game to the World Series, discover how drones are being used in today’s game.

camera drones

explore now >

With silicon and semiconductors, learn how solar panels use sunlight to power electric vehicles.

solar energy

explore now >

Sensors can offer a multitude of data, discover how these technologies enable users to proactively upkeep environments.

Swimming pool

explore now >

Discover how VR creates immersive environments that can help players prepare for their next competition.

VIRTUAL REALITY

explore now >

Learn how hardware like drivers and transformers enable a television to display every big play.

TELEVISION BROADCAST

explore now >

Learn the ins and outs of radio technology and the history between it and Avnet.

RADIO BROADCAST

© Copyright 2025 Avnet, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy | Cookies | Legal | Accessibility When browsing and using our websites, Avnet collects, stores and/or processes personal data. To ensure fair and transparent processing of your personal data and compliance with applicable laws on data protection, please read our Privacy and Data Protection Information on your personal data. You can see what cookies we serve and how to set your own preferences in our Cookie Policy.