Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson expands use of instant replay

TEMPE, Ariz. -- C.J. Wilson, who likes to be on the cutting edge with his training techniques, is using new video technology this spring in an effort to sharpen his delivery.

The Angels left-hander has been taking footage from practice on GoPro cameras that can be mounted to himself, a batter, a catcher, or even on a drone-like flying device that can hover several feet over his head.

“It has a Bluetooth function so you can literally stand there with an iPad and watch playback of the video instantly,” said Wilson, who demonstrated the system after Monday morning’s workout. “You get a lot of different angles, and you and your coach can look at it right away, so it’s a good teaching tool.”

Wilson, who went 17-7 with a 3.39 earned run average last season, believes he can pick up more from the GoPro video, which he can view in slow-motion, than he can from the center-field camera feed used in games.

“With an overhead view, you can see your arm path and stride and all that stuff in real time,” Wilson said. “Baseball is very complex, and it happens really fast, but if you can break it down frame by frame, you can figure out, ‘Hey, maybe I’m doing this with my slider.’

“Some guys will release a fastball from up here, with their arm forming an ‘L’ shape. On a breaking ball, maybe they drop their arm a bit, and the hitters see that. But as a pitcher, it’s hard to feel that because it happens so fast. I’m a visual learner, so I will benefit from this.”