How fast is Wong? How hard did Peralta hit the ball? How salty was Lackey? Statcast tells us

The MLB Network was in St. Louis on Friday night to broadcast the Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game. But this wasn't your normal, run-of-the-mill national broadcast. It was a Statcast broadcast.

For those who haven't heard about Statcast, there's a Statcast 101 primer available on MLB.com as well as a glossary of terms. From the primer:

What is Statcast?

What is Statcast? Statcast, a state-of-the-art tracking technology, is capable of gathering and displaying previously immeasurable aspects of the game.

Statcast collects the data using a series of high-resolution optical cameras along with radar equipment that has been installed in all 30 Major League ballparks. The technology precisely tracks the location and movements of the ball and every player on the field at any given time.

For additional information, you can read Joe's post on our first look at Statcast from earlier in the season.

That first Statcast broadcast didn't have a lot of fun plays to showcase the technology. It was a pitcher-dominated contest without too many hard-hit balls, extra-base hits, or spectacular fielding plays. Last night's game was a different story. MLB.com has posted some of the videos online, so I thought I'd share them with you.

How fast does Kolten Wong run?

Wong's double:

Wong's stolen base on the would-be pickoff:

How hard did Jhonny Peralta hit the ball on each of his doubles?

How salty were John Lackey's strikeout pitches?

Okay, so Statcast doesn't measure saltiness, but it does measure movement, velocity, perceived speed, spin rate, etc. And there is a lot to digest on the highlight reel of Lackey's offerings from his stellar outing against the Dodgers on Friday night.