Are Drones Benefiting or Harming the MLB?

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Drones are here to stay. While they’ve been around for years, their popularity has grown in recent years due to the fact that they’re easy to fly, easy to buy, and they come with many different possibilities. Everyone from filmmakers to farmers are using drone technology.

But, is it a type of technology that’s good for the baseball industry? There are some concerns about their presence in the MLB, and even in minor league games or something as simple as a T-ball game. When they start showing up more frequently in the majors, the trickle-down effect could mean you’ll see them flying around at your son’s next home game.

The major concern with drones hovering above MLB stadiums is the risk of crashes. Drones can be flown with a handheld controller, but they can also be programmed to fly on their own. Some team owners see this as a threat, since it could be far too easy for a drone to crash into a fan, part of the stadium, or even a player. While drones can get great shots of the game, they do present a slight risk.

How Technology Is Affecting the Baseball Industry

Technology and baseball go hand-in-hand. If you’ve been to a major league game lately, you’ve probably seen some of the advancements made that weren’t available just a few years ago. But, the industry is using this technology outside of the stadium, too.

Virtual reality has become widely popular in the world, and it’s likely only a matter of time before the mainstream popularity of this technology allows fans to watch games at home in new ways and more often. That could be a huge benefit for the MLB, attracting a larger audience of people who may not otherwise be able to make it to a game. Virtual reality has also been helping players. They can use virtual reality and augmented reality to practice and hone in on their skills. It can also give players real-time information during a game, including things like pitch speeds and batting averages.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has also taken its place in the world of baseball, particularly in its use for scouting and training purposes. What’s more, AI technology can constantly monitor a player’s health both during a game and during practice. It can provide them with specific training techniques designed for them, as well as identify areas that need improvement. It’s a sophisticated way of training that will undoubtedly start to become more normalized in the future as it becomes more easily accessible.

What Are the Benefits of Drones?

Because the MLB is so open to the idea of beneficial technology, it’s important to understand that they aren’t just worried about drones for no reason. Crashes do happen, and fans getting hurt in a stadium could lead to a lot of problems for teams, owners, and the stadium patrons themselves. If there are no regulations in place, anyone could fly a drone into a stadium, which could be seen as a security threat. On a smaller scale, drones could be seen as annoying at baseball games because bigger drones carrying more powerful cameras would be a distraction for both fans and players.

But, it’s important to remember that drones are extremely beneficial and can be used in a variety of helpful situations. Drones impact people’s lives every day. If you frequently order products from Amazon, you could start to see drones getting your packages to you faster. According to WareHouse Anywhere, “Many of the most high-profile experiments with e-commerce fulfillment automation involve Amazon’s work on self-driving delivery trucks and autonomous delivery drones. These autonomous vehicles and drones will be dispatched from warehouses to drop items directly to people’s doorsteps.” Drone technology is great for delivering packages quickly (even within minutes, depending on your location!).

Drone technology is about more than just convenience. Drones have been used to give medical aid to those in need, and they’re frequently used in areas that have recently experienced a natural disaster to seek out individuals who need help, provide them with food, medication, etc. Drones have changed the way public health is able to respond to those in need. In the world of baseball, some of these drone advancements could also be helpful. We’ve already touched on how drone technology can help people watching at home, but they can also help athletes and coaches by providing footage that isn’t often attainable from a standard camera on the ground or in a press box.

Are Drones Good for Baseball?

So, if the MLB is open to innovative advancements in technology, is it open to the use of drones? That’s an answer we might not get right away. There is still a lot of confusion when it comes to how drones can be used regularly and effectively in the MLB. For now, though, stadium owners aren’t showing any signs of allowing non-commercial drones to come into their stadiums. Just recently, a drone flew over Fenway Park in Boston, and the Federal Aviation Administration is still trying to figure out who it was, as well as their motive.

Currently, the FAA prohibits drones from flying over stadiums during these events. It’s a safety precaution in place to protect people from crashes or more serious, intentional attacks.

So, while drones can certainly have their place in the world of baseball, and may even benefit both players and fans, there will always need to be rules and regulations in place when it comes to who can fly them, where, and when. Letting fans fly drones around the stadium is dangerous for everyone and probably won’t be allowed in any major stadium across the United States. But, with the right people manning the controllers, drones could create new viewing experiences for people at home and better training opportunities for players on the field.