Q and A With Brad Reyes
Brad Reyes is the Chief Technology Officer and one of three founders of Big League AI. We sat down with Brad and asked him nine questions, here are his answers.
Why did you decide to start Big League AI?
Traveling the country and seeing the great baseball facilities opened my eyes to what we can do to get the most out of our players. As someone who enjoys seeing the newest tech, it was also amazing to see the latest state-of-the-art equipment that facilities have.
I want Big League AI to be another part of a player’s regimen that gets the most out of their potential. One core aspect to this is analyzing the root cause of inefficiencies in a swing, and the best way to do that is to start with the analyzing the body.
The hard part that keeps this out of reach for so many players is that equipment in the past was so expensive and often took a large amount of setup. Creating a solution that makes this process as easy and painless as possible, while providing easy but effective metrics is my ultimate goal with Big League AI, whether that be for a player that’s getting drafted or someone looking to hit their first home run.
What is your favorite baseball team and why?
My favorite team is the San Francisco Giants. Growing up in King City, CA, the closest teams to us were the A’s and the Giants, but I loved watching Lincecum, Cain and Bumgarner head out pitching staff in those early days of the dynasty.
Who is your favorite baseball player and why?
I really like watching Mike Yastrzemski play. He plays the game the right way, and love watching him make web gem catches in right. On the pitching side, Logan Webb has nasty stuff, and I try to watch all of his starts.
What is your favorite baseball memory?
I remember sitting in the cafeteria in college with my club baseball teammates watching Bumgarner mow down the Kansas City Royals in relief for Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. A close second is attending Game 162 during the 2021 season and finally clinching the division against the Dodgers.
What baseball player, that you’ve met personally, had the biggest impression on you?
I haven’t had the opportunity to meet a lot of professional players, but I did get to meet Jeff and Griffin Conine during a trip to Florida. I was struck by the intensity and confidence they both had when we talked baseball, and the mentality it takes to be in the big leagues.
Why is Big League AI so unique?
Getting accurate data that analyzes your swing is difficult, not only because capture systems require specific pieces of hardware but also the price point for many of these systems are too expensive for a young player and his parent looking to get better in their backyard.
Big League AI is unique because it can get important swing data by analyzing the body using ONLY an iPhone. Likewise, only Big League AI uses Swing Efficiency, a metric that takes into account a player’s specific build to compare against more than 130,000 players to generate an easy-to-understand number that can get your training journey kicked off right away by identifying your largest inefficiencies in your swing.
What inspires you?
As both a baseball player and software engineer, it has been my dream to make my mark on the sport that has given me so much in the best way I know how and give back to the hard-working baseball community. I hope that Big League AI is a part of that, and that it helps all types of players get everything they got given their talent, work ethic and passion for baseball.
What’s you favorite baseball stadium and why?
Oracle Park is so beautiful, and there’s no bad seat in the house! Couldn’t have asked for a better stadium to house my Giants!
What position did you play?
I pitched in High School, but while on the club baseball team, I converted to a second baseman and left fielder.
