SAS is a leader in advanced data analytics. They’re committed to a data literate future because they know that by 2030, the ability to work with data will be the world’s most in-demand job skill. Unfortunately, less than half of U.S. kids today understand data. But they do understand baseball and softball. So, to get the next generation ready for the future, we pitched them on the power of data with The Batting Lab.

The Batting Lab is an AI-powered smart batting cage that teaches kids how to improve their baseball swing, while also teaching them about data.

It’s the first-of-its-kind to give real-time feedback by tracking a batter’s stance, weight distribution, ball-flight statistics and more—over 50,000 data points per swing. The Lab analyzes each swing by comparing them to an optimal form—an analytical model created by collecting data on thousands of swings from elite players.  

We invited kids ages 9-13 to The Batting Lab to improve their swing over the course of 12 bespoke, gamified sessions. They thought we were just going to make them better batters. Little did they know, we were also helping them get better at data.

Inside the Batting Lab, swing analysis happened in real-time using cameras, sensors, AI, machine learning, computer vision, and IoT analytics. During each session, The Batting Lab provided instantaneous feedback on how to improve each kid’s swing. Afterwards, the kids got to dig into the numbers by analyzing and interpreting personalized, AI-generated data visualizations. Simply put, the kids got the chance to play with data, while playing their favorite sport.  

100% of the kids improved their understanding and confidence using data. And they had fun doing it. Every single kid also improved their swing. One of the participants even credited The Batting Lab for helping him to hit his first over-the-fence homerun in a real game.

The program was so effective, we scaled the curriculum into a free educational toolkit called The Data Playbook. It’s an online experience that allows kids everywhere to improve their batting and their statting for 2030 and beyond. It’s already been adapted for China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, with plans to roll out a physical lesson plan for the Italian Baseball Federation’s under-15 league this Fall.