Sensorimotor abilities predict on-field performance in professional baseball

Abstract

Baseball players must be able to see and react in an instant, yet it is hotly debated whether superior performance is associated with superior sensorimotor abilities. In this study, we compare sensorimotor abilities, measured through 8 psychomotor tasks comprising the Nike Sensory Station assessment battery, and game statistics in a sample of 252 professional baseball players to evaluate the links between sensorimotor skills and on-field performance. For this purpose, we develop a series of Bayesian hierarchical latent variable models enabling us to compare statistics across professional baseball leagues. Within this framework, we find that sensorimotor abilities are significant predictors of on-base percentage, walk rate and strikeout rate, accounting for age, position, and league. We find no such relationship for either slugging percentage or fielder-independent pitching. The pattern of results suggests performance contributions from both visual-sensory and visual-motor abilities and indicates that sensorimotor screenings may be useful for player scouting.

Static and dynamic visual acuity and refractive errors in elite football players

“…In baseball, clear vision seems to be important in identifying the pitched ball and making optimal contact for the best chance to gain a hit. Burris et al suggest that performance contributions from both visual‐sensory and visual‐motor abilities are important, and that sensorimotor screenings may be useful for player scouting.…”

Dynamic Vision Training Transfers Positively to Batting Performance Among Collegiate Baseball Batters

“…These tasks were derived from the Nike LLC (Beaverton, OR) Sensory Station device, which has been used extensively to develop sports specific normative data. These authors, and others, have studied variability associated with psychometric performance on these tasks [50] and shown predictive relationships with batting [5,32] and hockey performance [51].…”

“…With such extreme demands placed on vision, it is natural to conclude that visual abilities may serve as a limiting factor in batting performance. In fact, recent literature has shown a growing body of evidence that demonstrates visual, perceptual, and oculomotor abilities are enhanced in baseball batters [1–4] and contribute to batting performance [5–9]. A strong interest thus lies in developing training programs that can produce positive transfer of visual-skill learning to on-field batting performance.…”

“…lower propensities to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone) and increased the highest league level attained [32]. Similarly, another recent study linked superior visual-motor skills to higher on-base percentage, and lower walk and strikeout rates in professional baseball players [5]. Other reports have demonstrated superior baseball statistical production is correlated with better eye-hand reaction times [6], more precise dynamic stereoacuity [33], and quicker visual reaction and recognition times [20, 34], thereby adding to the evidence that visual skills contribute to batting performance.…”

“…Skills likely to contribute to baseball batting performance were identified from past correlational and training evidence, including dynamic vision (object-tracking, accommodation, and vergence), oculomotor speed/accuracy, anticipatory timing, and visual attention [5, 32, 46, 47]. These represent the targeted skill elements, and collectively possess a high correspondence between training and sports-defined skillset according to MPTF.…”