Athletics' Chapman, Olson use VR headsets before back-to-back homers

Matt Chapman and Matt Olson both hit homers for the Oakland Athletics against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, and it seems they received help from technology before going deep.

Chapman and Olson studied Indians starter Adam Plutko on virtual reality headsets 30 minutes before hitting homers off him in back-to-back at-bats during the first inning, their teammate Jake Diekman told MLB.com's Martin Gallegos.

"Them boys can hit 45 homers a year," Diekman said. "They were in (the clubhouse) doing simulation stuff and 30 minutes later, 'Whack!' That's not even fair."

Diekman said he's only used a virtual reality headset to play pingpong, but he'd love to utilize it more to help with his pitching.

MLB players have used VR technology to train since 2016, but it became more common during last season's pandemic-induced shutdown, according to Dell Technologies.

"We're trying it out," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Some of the other teams are using it extensively. We're just trying to keep up, technology-wise.

"Anything that benefits our hitters. If other teams are using it to their advantage, then we should as well."