PBVCA.com recently caught up with Mark Topping, Video Coordinator for the Kansas City Royals, as well as Communications Chair for the PBVCA. Topping shared with us his work history and thoughts the future of video in major league baseaball.

PBVCA: Mark, tell us a little about your background. You’ve been all over the country, how did you get your start with the Royals?

Topping: I went to Buffalo State College in Buffalo, NY as a Broadcasting major. Worked my way up from smaller television markets to larger ones (Springfield, MO; Toledo, OH; Kansas City, MO; San Diego, CA), eventually landing at the Fox affiliate in San Diego. Got sick of the daily grind of TV news and moved back to Kansas City in 2001.

While shooting football games for a local sports station, a co-worker told me the Royals were looking for a video guy. I had no idea that this meant doing video coaching, etc. Thought it was probably something to do with production or game entertainment. Sent in a resume and got hired 3 days before opening day in 2003. Been doing this ever since.

PBVCA: In your 6 seasons with the Royals, what changes in technology have you seen?

Topping: The technology has changed a lot since 2003. The video room in KC had nothing more than a few old VCRs and monitors. Each player had his own tape, which I would pop into the VCR when it was their turn to hit or pitch.

By 2004, we started using a computerized system where we captured each clip onto a hard drive, but the video quality and efficiency wasn’t quite what we were looking for. By 2007, we upgraded our video system to BATS which was a major improvement. Now we can look up any of our player video (or opposing teams’ video) and data within a matter of seconds.

PBVCA: Have players used video differently? Have you seen any trends or applications of video change in the past couple of years?

Topping: Players are spending more time analyzing their opponents, using both video and data, compared with just a couple years ago when most of our video was used for mechanical analysis. One trend that comes to mind is the use of the portable hard drive. Most of our players and coaches now have their own hard drive, which I update every week or two with the latest video of both the Royals and our upcoming opponents. And, of course, video iPods have become a popular tool. (See Cullen McRae’s video on the Florida Marlins use of the Video iPod.)

PBVCA: The video room in KC had a make-over. Can you describe the changes. What is your favorite addition to the room?

Topping: We had a brand new video room built prior to the 2007 season. The changes were like night and day. Our old video room was a shoe-box with barely enough space for two or three players at a time. The new video room is much bigger. We have 5 video viewing laptops, 6 plasma TVs, along with several satellites and monitors in our video racks. There is plenty of space, including comfortable leather chairs and a sofa for the players to use while watching video.

My favorite addition to the room is our video switch controller. This is built into a few of the computers in the room, letting you route any source into any destination in the video room and even the clubhouse. It adds all kinds of versatility and makes my job a lot easier.

Check out Topping’s new pad in the image gallery below.

[View with PicLens]

PBVCA: Can you give us some quick thoughts on your favorite road restaurants, ballparks, hotels, club houses, and city.

Topping:

• Restaurant: Da Mimmo’s Restaurant in Baltimore’s Little Italy neighborhood. Famous for their veal chop, this is an old-school Italian restaurant in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the American League. I go there every time we go to Charm City.
• Ballpark: Has to be Fenway Park. So historic and colorful. But Camden Yards is a close second.
• Hotel: The Renaissance Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg, with the Westin St. Louis high on my list too.
• Clubhouse: Tropicana Field, and Angel Stadium is number two.
• Favorite road city: Tie between Baltimore and Toronto.

PBVCA: Mark, thanks for your time. We look forward to catching up with you in the future.