April 1, 2025 · Caleb Balbuena
Chandler firm pioneers new baseball device
Player development experts and former pro baseball players Matt Ceriani, a one-time catcher, and Caleb Balbuena, a former pitcher, noticed a problem in baseball.
Coaches and catchers from the MLB to high school did not have an accurate way to measure pop time — the amount of time it takes a catcher to throw to the intended fielder — that was not prohibitively expensive.
They found a solution collaborating with Chandler engineering firm Southwest Engineering Concepts: the Caught Stealing Pop Time Data Collection System.
State-of-the-art location, distancing, and acceleration technology are located inside wireless units worn on the wrist straps of the catcher’s and infielder’s gloves.
The Caught Stealing PRO100 is, in effect, a wearable personal radar and advanced-biometric performance-tracking device for catchers, coaches, and scouts. It analyzes throw mechanics and calculates the distance between players so coaches and teams can get accurate pop and exchange time data.
Ceriani said he and Balbuena are addressing a demand for accurate data in baseball.
“Baseball is a sport where players are held accountable based on fractions of a second, and the current method of using a stopwatch is not giving us accurate data,” Ceriani said. “The PRO100 collects accurate pop times and exchange times to 1/1000th of a second and tracks distance down to the centimeter.”
Greg Mills, president of Southwest Engineering Concepts and chief engineer of the Caught Stealing PRO100, explained, “We use an ultra-wideband technology that accurately measures the sensors on the glove.”