Two thumbs up for YES Network’s new camera angle

When the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009, one thing that really disappointed me was the traditional offset camera angle. A number of clubs had started using a directly behind the pitcher camera angle that, in addition to make balls and strikes easier to see, really brought a pitcher’s stuff to life. We got to see fastballs moving in ways we had never before seen on television, breaking balls were breaking both side-to-side and up-and-down, changeups fading away from hitters of the opposite hand … it’s great. The directly behind the pitcher angle gets two thumbs way up from me.

The YES Network used a traditional offset angle over the last few years — check out the gallery above and you’ll see the angle changing slightly from 2009-2012 — but this year they have it pretty close to centered behind the pitcher with the rubber and home plate nearly in line. It’s not a perfect behind the plate view like the Braves, Red Sox, Twins, or Cardinals have, but it’s far better than the traditional offset look. It allows us to see Mariano Rivera’s cutter hook around the plate for a backdoor strike three better than ever before, for example.

So, while not much has gone right for the Yankees early this season, at least we’ve got a cool new center field camera that makes the strike zone and a pitch’s movement easier to see than ever before. I don’t think YES can raise the camera any higher to get a true in-line look — I guess they would have to put the camera on top of the concession stand in center field? — so this is probably the best we’ll get. It’s much better than the offset look in my opinion and I’m glad we got it, even if it came later rather than sooner.