Pitch Location Charts with PITCHf/x and ggplot

Visually analyze each at-bat of a baseball game.

What you'll learn:

• scrape PITCHf/x data into an R session
• plot pitch locations with ggplot
• visualize pitch type and speed with ggplot
• subset vectors in R
• work with color in ggplot
• facet in ggplot
• label with geom_text
• work with seq, lapply, unlist, and unique in R
• save plots as png's
• write for loops in R
• work with factors in R

In this course, we make use of PITCHf/x data to create pitch location charts for a given baseball game. We break the game out into each at-bat and visualize the location, type, and speed of each pitch, the order in which the pitches were thrown, and the outcome of the at-bat.

In order to accomplish this, we will be taking a deep dive into ggplot. We will learn much about how to work with color, how to use aesthetics, and how to facet. We will also gain additional R skills, such as how to subset a vector and how to work with factors.

One should be able to complete the course, at a relaxed pace, in about three weeks. It is best if students already have a little bit of a background in R, dplyr, and ggplot, but it is not completely necessary.