AT&T Park is fitted with tens of thousands of dollars in video equipment to help the players. Cameras are stationed in center field and high above the baselines, sending feeds to a bank of computers inside a video room the clubhouse.
Batting coach Hensley Meulens used none of that Wednesday as he watched Denard Span take early batting practice. Instead, Meulens stood behind the cage and recorded the session with a device anyone can get for free with the right text and data plan: an iPhone.
As Span took his cuts, Meulens stood behind the cage and recorded them with the smartphone, then moved to the left side of the cage and shot some more.