Influence of a Baseball Glove on the Nature of Errors Produced in Simple One-Hand Catching

Abstract

The influence of a baseball glove on the positioning and grasping components of one-hand catching was studied under both vision impaired and unimpaired conditions. Skilled softball and baseball players (N = 20) caught tennis balls barehand and softballs with a fielder's glove. In half of the trials, a screen positioned alongside the subject's head blocked vision of the catching hand. All trials were videotaped and errors were categorized by type (position or grasp). Results indicated that with the glove performance was essentially perfect, regardless of the screen condition. Barehand grasping performance, however, was affected by the subject's inability to see his hand to a much greater extent than barehand positioning. We argue that the baseball glove functions to reduce both the positioning accuracy requirements and the grasp timing requirements in simple catching. Peripheral vision of the limb, however, is necessary for controlling the barehand grasp phase.