⚾️ In today’s issue

• How AI Is Protecting Young Arms Before They Break

• MLB Enhancing the Ballpark Experience with AI

• The Jersey Faux Pas

• Bat Shatters. Ball Bounces. Absolute Mayhem Ensues.

• The Amazing Bat Flip

• And more

BEST LINKS

Top dugout finds

🔗 Is there still room for grace in today’s workplace? (LinkedIn)

🔗 Dylan Crews' connection with young autistic fan grows with Nationals (MLB.Com)

🔗 He once wrote 'Yankees rule' on the Pesky Pole. Now he's mashing for them (MLB.Com)

🔗 MLB 2025: Pitchers share stories of failed new pitches (ESPN)

🔗 Dodgers plumbing the depths to give players all the comforts (DailyNews)

🔗 The Orioles are turning to AI to help their pitcher (Waterloo)

🔧 Gearin' Up

A smarter game starts with the right tools. Here’s what’s new from the blog:

🧢 5 Pitching Targets Every Little Leaguer Should Know About
Train smarter, throw sharper. These targets help players focus, aim, and improve accuracy without burning out their arm.
👉 Read more

🎒 5 Best Team Equipment Bags for Little League Baseball (2025)
Dugout-tested and coach-approved — we broke down the top bags that can handle bats, gloves, helmets, and chaos.
👉 Read more

🥇 7 Best Baseball Gloves for 2025
From pro-style leather to youth-friendly fits — we found the gloves that are making noise this season.
👉 Read more

⚾ More reviews, gear guides, and tools at Box-Seats.com

⭐ Top Pick of the Week

Victus Vandal Lev3 BBCOR -3 Metal Baseball Bat (2025)
Speed, balance, and a sweet spot players actually talk about.

The Victus Vandal Lev3 BBCOR -3 is one of the easiest BBCOR bats to control through the zone — lightweight feel, crazy pop off the barrel, and a vibe that players, parents, and coaches are all backing.

Built with a one-piece VXP alloy design and a carbon composite end cap, it swings fast but still feels sturdy.

Plus, the new vibration-reducing knob tech solves one of the biggest complaints from earlier Vandal models — your hands won’t feel like they’ve been hit by a tuning fork on mishits.

Bottom line?

Players love the light swing and responsive sweet spot. Coaches are seeing guys switch to it mid-season.

Parents love that it doesn’t cost as much as some of the flashy “hype” bats — but still performs like a top-tier stick.

👉→Victus Vandal Lev3​

DEEP DIVE

Throw Smarter, Not Harder: How AI Is Protecting Young Arms Before They Break

If you’ve ever worried about your kid throwing too much, too soon—you’re not alone.

Arm injuries from overuse have become so common in youth baseball that “Tommy John surgery at 15” doesn’t even raise eyebrows anymore.

But here’s the twist: AI and wearable tech are stepping in to stop the damage before it starts.

⚾ The Problem: Pitch Counts Aren’t Enough
Pitch limits and rest guidelines are great… in theory.

But research shows more than half of coaches don’t follow them.

Even when they do, pitch counts don’t tell the whole story—every kid has different mechanics, stress loads, and recovery rates.

What’s “safe” for one player might burn out another.

That’s where AI comes in.

🧠 The Tech That's Changing the Game
Enter tools like PitchAI, which uses simple smartphone video and computer vision to analyze a pitcher’s motion in real time—tracking arm angles, trunk rotation, and early signs of fatigue.

If something’s off, it alerts the coach before injury strikes.

Or take Pulse Throw—a forearm-worn sensor from Driveline Baseball that tracks not just pitch count, but the intensity and stress of every throw.

It's like having a biomechanics lab strapped to your wrist.

📉 The Fatigue Factor
One of the scariest parts of arm injuries? Fatigue.

It sneaks up quietly.
New AI fatigue models analyze how a pitcher’s movements change over time—slower trunk rotation, subtle elbow drift, even longer pauses between pitches.

Some systems now claim up to 89% accuracy in flagging early warning signs before injury risk spikes.

🧠 The Human Element Still Matters
Even with all this tech, education is still the secret weapon.

Studies show young players are far less likely to suffer overuse injuries when parents and coaches understand and follow smart guidelines.

These tools don’t replace good judgment—they help everyone make smarter decisions.

⚾ Bottom Line
This isn’t about scaring parents.

It’s about giving them better tools to keep kids healthy.

With AI and wearable tech, we finally have a way to see the stress—before it turns into a setback.

Because the best ability? Availability.

📱 MLB's Quiet Plot to Turn Your Phone Into the Best Seat in the Ballpark

Once upon a time, all you needed at a ballgame was a scorecard, a stubby pencil, and maybe a soft pretzel the size of your head.

In 2025?
Better bring your iPhone — because Major League Baseball is quietly building smart stadiums where your phone is the game.

⚾ Real-Time Stats in Your Face (In a Good Way)

Remember when the broadcast booth got all the juicy data and we got... nachos?

Not anymore.

At ballparks like Target Field, you can now point your phone at the action and unlock live Augmented Reality(AR) overlays: player names, pitch speeds, ball flight arcs, even batting averages floating over hitters like video game power-ups.

Follow a home run with a glowing trail straight into the upper deck. Watch a strikeout unfold with a 3D strike zone drawn right on your screen.

Powered by Statcast, juiced up with AI, and delivered at 5G speed.
(Yeah, it’s fast enough to keep up with that 101 mph heater.)

👀 Ticket? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ticket (Well, Kinda)

MLB is rolling out facial recognition entry at places like American Family Field.

No QR code. No fumbling through your wallet like it’s 1998. Just walk in (if you opt in, of course).

Add in mobile concessions, in-seat ordering, and beefed-up WiFi, and MLB’s message is pretty clear:

Less standing in line. More time heckling the opposing team's bullpen.

🧠 Why It’s a Bigger Deal Than You Think

This isn’t tech for tech’s sake. It's solving actual fan headaches:

• 📈 Get stats instantly, no Googling mid-inning

• 🎯 Stay engaged when the pace slows to molasses

• 🏃 Skip the lines, grab a beer, and get back to the action

Bottom line: Your phone just became your stat sheet, your play-by-play guy, your pitch tracker — and maybe soon, your scoreboard too.

So sure, bring your glove if you're feeling lucky.

But definitely bring your phone.

In 2025, the best seat in the house might just be in your pocket.

🎭 Minor League Mishaps: The Great Jersey Debacle

Bottom of the ninth. Salem Red Sox cruising, up 12–5 on the Hickory Crawdads.

The bullpen gate swings open. Here comes lefty reliever Michael Sansone, strutting out with all the confidence in the world…

Wearing the wrong uniform.

Bright red jersey.

Entire team? Blue.

Sansone? Looking like he lost a fight with a clearance rack.

The umpires did a double-take. Fans started buzzing.

Somewhere, a confused teammate probably whispered, “Did we trade for a matador?”

Umpires held back laughter as they sent Sansone packing:
"Sir, this isn’t a pick-your-own-color league."

Walk of shame back to the dugout. Scrambling for a solution.

And then — pure minor league brilliance — they slapped a blue jersey right over the red one.

No time to undress.

Just layer it up like a Little League mom prepping for a surprise thunderstorm.

The broadcast summed it up perfectly:

"In Minor League Baseball… it happens."

(Translation: We're all just hanging on by a thread.)

To his credit, Sansone still shut the door and secured the win — though he did give up a run, possibly because the batter was too busy wondering if this guy even played for the right team.

Moral of the story? Always pack a spare.

Also: New team meeting topic — "How to Dress Yourself 101."

THAT’S A WRAP

See ya next week

John Boxley

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