Batter Up!

I can already smell the grass, taste the food, hear the snap of the gloves and see my favorite players swinging the bat. It is opening day for major league baseball. It seems like only yesterday I was watching the Astros play the Braves at Minute Maid Park. I was bummed out that Chipper had been injured the night before and McCann was resting (My two favorite players at the time). All was not lost though, McCann pinch hit in the 9th with the bases juiced and hit a grand slam to seal the victory! How did he do it? The pressure, the speed of the pitch, the split-second decision to swing, years of practice all factored into the moment. In working with elite level athletes, we know that the best players in the world tend to have superior visual skills and for baseball that leads to something many now call “plate discipline.”

Researchers at Duke University have recently published some exciting findings in regard to MLB players and how their sports vision abilities relate to the plate discipline statistics of “on base percentage, walk rate and strike out rate.” They found that those players who performed better with specific visual tasks on a sensory station, also performed better in the areas of plate discipline. These findings guide my approach to evaluation and customization of training programs for hitters looking to improve their decision making at the plate.   

We are now in a digital world where new tools allow us a modality for training with virtual reality, perceptual learning video games and brain training through the visual system. We are able to link visual skills to on-field performance and provide information to athletes that can give them an edge in training and performance. How do you rank against other athletes of your sport, skill level and position? Come find out!

Link to the scientific report mentioned in this blog post. Vision, Sensory and Motor Testing Could Predict Best Batters in Baseball