Keep Your Eye On The Ball: The Science and Folklore of Baseball

Evidence for a generic interceptive strategy

“…Because use of the LOT is not tied to the target's origin, multiple LOTs may be used if there are perturbations midflight that cause the catcher to change speed and direction (Shaffer et al, 2004). Whereas baseball trajectories are somewhat predictable once initiated-even though aerodynamic drag and ball spin cause them to deviate from perfect parabolic motion (Brancazio, 1985;Watts & Bahill, 2000)-Frisbees may dramatically change direction and speed, depending on such factors as how they are thrown, gusts of wind, and the Frisbee angle during flight (Bloomfield, 1999).…”

“…Whereas both models have evidence that support that these strategies are used within baseball McLeod et al, 1996McLeod et al, , 2003McLeod et al, , 2006Shaffer, McBeath, Roy, & Krauchunas, 2003), testing their viability in Frisbee catching provides a good test of the robustness of the strategies across domains and with a target that moves in a different manner than a baseball. Although the movement of baseballs is not simple (e.g., Brancazio, 1985;Watts & Bahill, 2000), it is fairly predictable. In contrast, Frisbees have a completely different flight pattern, and they may dramatically change speed and direction midflight.…”

Hitting a moving target: Perception and action in the timing of rapid interceptions

“…A major aim is to reconsider preprogrammed control as an account of how people time manual hitting actionsactions typically executed rapidly (MTs Ͻ 500 msec; e.g., Bootsma & van Wieringen, 1990;Brenner, Smeets, & De Lussanet, 1998;Watts & Bahill, 1990). In recent years, preprogrammed control has been widely rejected as an account of rapid interceptive actions; continuous, on-line control models have been preferred (Bootsma, Fayt, Zaal, & Laurent, 1997;Dessing, Bullock, Peper, & Beek, 2002).…”

“…On-line adjustment of movement direction in this task may be facilitated by two factors. (1) Slow target speeds were used (0.06 Յ target speed Ͻ 0.25 m/sec), as compared, for example, with speeds an order of magnitude greater (1.0 m/sec Յ target speed Ͻ 2.5 m/sec) in Tresilian et al (2004) and two orders of magnitude greater in baseball, cricket, and tennis (Regan, 1992;Watts & Bahill, 1990). (2) In Brenner and colleagues' task, the person is free to move in the direction of target motion, allowing approach to interception to be a combination of the pursuit and the perpendicular geometries ( Figures 1E and 10).…”

Mechanics of Baseball Pitching and Batting

“…This force, commonly called the Magnus force, operates when a spinning object (like a baseball) moves through a fluid (like air) which results in it being pushed sideways. Two models explain the basis of this Magnus force: one is based on conservation of momentum and the other is based on Bernoulli's principle [10][11][12]. We will now apply the right-hand rules to the linear velocity vector and the angular velocity vector in order to describe the direction of the spin-induced deflection of the pitch.…”