Behavior of college baseball players in a virtual batting task

Rob Gray
2002 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance  
A baseball batting simulation was used to investigate the information used to hit a baseball. Measures of spatial and temporal swing accuracy were used to test whether batters (a) use speed to estimate pitch height, (b) initiate a constant swing duration at a fixed time to contact, (c) are influenced by the history of previous pitches and pitch count, and (d) use rotation direction. Batters were experienced college players. Pitch speed variance led to predictable spatial errors, and spatial
more » ... racy was worse than temporal accuracy. Swing duration was generally variable. The history of the previous 3 pitches and the pitch count had significant effects on accuracy, and performance improved when rotation cues were added. There were significant effects of expertise on hitting strategy.
doi:10.1037//0096-1523.28.5.1131 pmid:12421060 fatcat:kzdd64rqbjhcfklfmtxlbxaity