Throughout the 2023 Major League Baseball season, many players have sought out new training methods to improve their game. In this search, many players have chosen two companies: Tread Athletics and Driveline Baseball. 

Tread and Driveline both bring new tools, data, and ideas about baseball to the table. Both companies started with very few clients in the late 2000s and early 2010s. However, as the game of baseball progressed, pitchers’ needed ever-increasing velocity for their pitches. This is where Tread and Driveline come in. Using tools such as Trackman and Rapsodo, which measure pitch velocity, spin, depth, and movement, Tread and Driveline advise pitchers on the best grips, release points, and mental cues to improve their performance.

Due to these developments, players–including myself and Junior Abe Charkow–have flocked to Tread and Driveline to use these tools.

“It’s helped me expand my understanding of the human body, learn the proper ways to exert force while exercising, and how to translate that into baseball,” Charkow said.

These companies have changed pitchers’ perspectives on baseball and how they should train. They can also change an entire player’s career. For example, after Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans averaged an abysmal 92.1 miles per hour on his fastball in 2022, Ragans signed up for Tread. Over only one offseason, he gained 4.4 miles per hour on his fastball and became the best pitcher on his team. 

As more and more players take advantage of these companies and gain velocity and strength, players and coaches will change the way they train and think about the game of baseball.