Abstract
The contribution of visual information about a pitched ball to the accuracy of baseball-bat contact may vary depending on the part of trajectory seen. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between hitting accuracy and the segment of the trajectory of the flying ball that can be seen by the batter. Ten college baseball field players participated in the study. The systematic error and standardized variability of ball-bat contact on the bat coordinate system and pitcher-to-catcher direction when hitting a ball launched from a pitching machine were measured with or without visual occlusion and analyzed using analysis of variance. The visual occlusion timing included occlusion from 150 milliseconds (ms) after the ball release (R+150), occlusion from 150 ms before the expected arrival of the launched ball at the home plate (A-150), and a condition with no occlusion (NO). Twelve trials in each condition were performed using two ball speeds (31.9 m·s-1 and 40.3 m·s-1). Visual occlusion did not affect the mean location of ball-bat contact in the bat’s long axis, short axis, and pitcher-to-catcher directions. Although the magnitude of standardized variability was significantly smaller in the bat’s short axis direction than in the bat’s long axis and pitcher-to-catcher directions (p < 0.001), additional visible time from the R+150 condition to the A-150 and NO conditions resulted in a further decrease in standardized variability only in the bat’s short axis direction (p < 0.05). The results suggested that there is directional specificity in the magnitude of standardized variability with different visible time. The present study also confirmed the limitation to visual information is the later part of the ball trajectory for improving hitting accuracy, which is likely due to visuo-motor delay.
Highlights
Interceptive actions in sports, such as hitting or blocking a target, require accuracy in both decision-making and body movement
The hitting accuracy of college baseball batters under conditions of visual occlusion was examined to clarify the relationship between visual information and hitting accuracy
Standardized variability of the ball-bat contact location in the Zbat directions was significantly larger during the R+150 condition than during the A-150 or no occlusion (NO) condition
Summary
Interceptive actions in sports, such as hitting or blocking a target, require accuracy in both decision-making and body movement. Once a decision to swing is made, the batter accelerates the barrel end of a 0.9 kg (31.75 ounces) bat to a speed of approximately 31 mÁs-1 (70 miles per hour [MPH]) during the final 300 ms or less [1]. Visual Information and Hitting Accuracy length of time from the initiation of bat acceleration to ball-bat contact is approximately 180 ms [2]. Batters need to hit a ball within an acceptable range of contact area in the bat’s long and short axis directions while a bat is moving at high speed. One reason why hitting a baseball is considered “one of the most difficult skills in sports [4]” is the difficulty in identifying the arrival time and location of a pitched ball before the batter becomes unable to change the motion of the swung bat. Batters with a good success rate (batting average ! 0.300) can be categorized as elite players
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