In the past tracking the performance of athletes was a bit more complicated and harder than it is today. This is because today wearables have become a lot more accurate, a lot more accessible, and also a lot more affordable, which means that outfitting a sports team with a fitness tracker would be financially feasible.
That being said in a report from ESPN, it seems that the Major League Baseball has given the greenlight for a new wearable that can be used by players during a game. This makes it the second such device that the League has approved. This device comes in the form of a tracker made by a company called Whoop.
This tracker could be seen as a more advanced version of fitness trackers because not only does it track your heart rate, but it can also track things like heart rate variability, ambient temperature, motion, and sleep data. This data can be stored on the device for up to 3 days, meaning that coaches can monitor the vitals of their players heading up to a game.
However it seems that players are not required to wear the device and will only wear them if they choose to. The agreement between Whoop and the MLB also states that Whoop has no rights to the collected data, and that players and teams will be given equal access to the information, where the stats could potentially be used during TV broadcasts and such. The band itself is said to cost $1,200, but for customers who want a cheaper and more consumer-friendly version, there is the Whoop Strap 2.0 that is priced at $500.
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