Red Sox fan: “The Red Sox just spent $217 million on David Price. What kind of pitcher is he?”



Several years ago I introduced a visual called Paintomatic with the goal of answering questions like the one above. Like my other visuals, the intention was to unlock insight that’s hidden in the data. The responses I got to Paintomatic seemed to validate the need I was trying to fill and the desire for more.

At the time, I was making these manually, but now I’ve created an interactive Paintomatic that enables you to search for any player (since 2007) and see his pitching breakdown in Paintomatic. I’ve also redesigned the tool to include velocity, pitch movement, and a more nuanced color scheme to show pitch value (cooler colors for lower pitch values, warmer colors for higher pitch values).

In the redesign of Paintomatic, I wanted to visualize and blend together two essential parts of performance: process and outcomes. Process – the factors within the pitcher’s control – are pitch selection and usage, movement, and speed. The outcomes – quantified by Pitch Value – are represented via color. In blending these elements together, my goal is to create an easy-to-digest snapshot that describes the pitcher and what he throws. I think there’s a need for this blend of process and outcomes, visualized in an easy-to-understand format.

Paintomatic can’t answer every question about a pitcher, but I designed it to answer questions such as: How good is this pitcher? And why? What does this pitcher throw? What’s unique about this pitcher? How has this pitcher evolved from one season to another? What’s it like facing this pitcher? I also wanted to answer questions about multiple pitchers, such as: What does this team’s starting rotation look like? What about their bullpen? How does pitcher X compare to pitcher Y? Let’s take Paintomatic for a spin and explore these questions visually.

How good is this pitcher?

I can tell Jake Arrieta is good because his graphic is all orange and red.

I can also tell that Buck Farmer isn’t so good (lots of blue) — at least not yet. Although that 2-seam fastball is something to be proud of.

What does this pitcher throw?

Mark Buehrle gets it done with a low-speed mix of five pitches, with OK movement and OK results.

The simplicity of Mariano Rivera’s dominance was always pretty striking.

What’s unique about this pitcher?

Jeremy Bonderman’s sinker in 2008 was pretty crazy, with off the charts movement — you can see that each square represents 15 inches of movement — yet mediocre results.

R.A Dickey sure is an interesting pitcher. Few pitchers rely on one pitch and at such slow speeds.

How has this pitcher evolved from one season to another?



Tim Lincecum has really changed as a pitcher, both in terms of outcomes (color) and process (pitch usage, speed).

What’s it like facing this pitcher?

No, it’s not like standing in the box facing a 95 mph fastball. But just imagine facing this arsenal from Joakim Soria in the eighth or ninth inning after a long game.

What does this team’s starting rotation look like?

The future looks bright (red & orange) for the Mets rotation.

What about the bullpen across town?

If you like pitching, it’s a good time to be living in the tri-state area.

A Hardball Times Update by Rachael McDaniel Goodbye for now.

How does pitcher X compare to pitcher Y?

Clayton Kershaw gets you up and down, Chris Sale gets you side to side.

These are but a snapshot of the Paintomatic tool that I found interesting, but with close to 4,000 Paintomatic graphics available, take it for a spin and let me know what you find interesting.