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http://www.businessinsider.com/science-major-league-fastball-brain-reaction-time-2016-4

Thought this was a neat video as I thought batters can't really explain why they swing at pitches.

 

[McDougles]

There's a reason they say the most difficult thing to do in sports is hit a rounded ball with a rounded bat.

 

[Mortemis]

Makes you appreciate Bartolo Colon's dinger even more, if that's even possible.

 

[Xe4]

Yeah, that's why the best of the best only hit around a third of the pitches at their peak. Shit is HARD.

 

[norm9]

I can barely hit 50 at the batting cages. Can't imagine a 90 mph fastball.

 

[Sulik2]

That is crazy. I wonder how that compares to the time a hockey goalie has to react.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The batter is more or less predicting (guessing) what the pitcher will throw and swinging before he knows.

When the batter guesses wrong is when you see him swinging wildly through a chest-high fastball. When the batter guesses right is when he hits the same fastball into orbit.

 

[G-Fex]

batters can tell some pitches by glimpses of the seams on the ball heading toward them

 

[norm9]

The batter is more or less predicting (guessing) what the pitcher will throw and swinging before he knows.

When the batter guesses wrong is when you see him swinging wildly through a chest-high fastball. When the batter guesses right is when he hits the same fastball into orbit.

Just like MLB The Show.

 

[OpticalPrime]

There is something to be said about practicing and training too. Batters have seen hundreds of thousands of pitches of all kinds and it has trained their eyes and minds on what to look for to be able to tell of a pitch will be of a certain type.

Yeah someone walking up to a Batters box for the first time is basically swinging at the air. But a trained batter with a dozen years experience will see the twist of the wrist or the spinning of the seems, just a few ticks of the spin and boom its a curve. When batters are hitting well you always hear one phrase " I'm seeing the ball well "

 

[Sanjuro]

Out of the major sports, hitting a baseball consistently is absolutely the hardest feat.

 

[Madness]

Makes you appreciate the greats. I used to play little league and even growing up have played on adult rec leagues. I can never hit a fastball over 70 cleanly. I am just too slow and my reflexes and eyesight are down. It is tougher than it looks. And guys in the pros routinely hit over 80 mph regularly, even 90.

 

[kavanf1]

I can barely hit 50 at the batting cages. Can't imagine a 90 mph fastball.

I'm not American, don't really know anything about baseball, but while I was visiting I went to the cages for a go. I had a lot of fun on the 30mph and 50mph cages, but holy shit when I tried the 70mph. I think I only connected three or four times in 20 tries, and when I did the shock of the impact travelled up my arms and through my body...I'm reasonably strong but holy crap that made me feel utterly puny. I don't know how the pros do it routinely, and with enough power to smash the ball hundreds of feet in the other direction. I think my bones would be shattered.

 

[Ishan]

Twitch reflexes do hit the 100 mill mark in extreme cases but it's a prediction on the arm swing of the pitcher etc . This is a very obvious phenomenon in sports cricketers can't react to reverse swing quick enough etc etc you read the person not just as a ball but as a player pitching/bowling to you . This is very well known ...

 

[Ishan]

I'm not American, don't really know anything about baseball, but while I was visiting I went to the cages for a go. I had a lot of fun on the 30mph and 50mph cages, but holy shit when I tried the 70mph. I think I only connected three or four times in 20 tries, and when I did the shock of the impact travelled up my arms and through my body...I'm reasonably strong but holy crap that made me feel utterly puny. I don't know how the pros do it routinely, and with enough power to smash the ball hundreds of feet in the other direction. I think my bones would be shattered.

It's not power at that stage it's "timing" when your bat is at it's best at deflecting the ball . You use the momentum and collision response to your advantage .its hard . But that's why ppl get paid millions to do it

 

[unholyrevenger72]

I'm not American, don't really know anything about baseball, but while I was visiting I went to the cages for a go. I had a lot of fun on the 30mph and 50mph cages, but holy shit when I tried the 70mph. I think I only connected three or four times in 20 tries, and when I did the shock of the impact travelled up my arms and through my body...I'm reasonably strong but holy crap that made me feel utterly puny. I don't know how the pros do it routinely, and with enough power to smash the ball hundreds of feet in the other direction. I think my bones would be shattered.

1. you weren't holding the bat tight enough, which is why you felt the reverb.
2. A good batter just uses a nice controlled swing, the pitcher delivers the power necessary to send the ball flying. Obviously the batter is much stronger than you and has better technique, but his swing is just a swing to him

 

[bjork]

I wish there was a batting cage near me. I haven't been to one in years, but that's always great fun, when you do a few rounds and you can finally feel like you're in the groove and contacting. I remember not having trouble on 70s, but higher than that was about 50/50.

 

[Chichikov]

Makes you appreciate Bartolo Colon's dinger even more, if that's even possible.

Well he is a super athlete.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I can hit 80 mph when it's a softball.
Makes you appreciate someone like a Harper or trout who make it look so damn easy.

 

[Trey]

That is crazy. I wonder how that compares to the time a hockey goalie has to react.

playing goalie is basically best guess and intuition. NHL slapshot is easily over 100mph. throw in players screening the play, deflections, shorter time to react - shit ain't easy.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Telling the positioning of the ball has a lot more to do with reading the body shape of the pitcher than pure reflexes.

Which is impossible to test with a pitching machine.

 

[darkace]

Twitch reflexes do hit the 100 mill mark in extreme cases but it's a prediction on the arm swing of the pitcher etc . This is a very obvious phenomenon in sports cricketers can't react to reverse swing quick enough etc etc you read the person not just as a ball but as a player pitching/bowling to you . This is very well known ...

I remember one test where they put the batsmen in the net against a bowling machine they couldn't see and not even the best of the best could play it above 135 km/h.

 

[amanset]

Telling the positioning of the ball has a lot more to do with reading the body shape of the pitcher than pure reflexes.

Which is impossible to test with a pitching machine.

Indeed. It is the same with fast bowling and cricket. A fast bowl is typically slightly slower than a baseball pitch (wiki says they are typically 85-95 mph and the fastest ever have been around 99 mph), but the area a legal bowl can go through is much larger and there is the randomising of the bounce to take into account as well. Oh and the ball can be manipulated in certain legal ways to aid swerving in the air.

I've no idea how they do it.

ETA:
The pitcher's mound is slightly closer to the batter. 60'6" as opposed to 66' in cricket between the stumps.

 

[Dead Man]

Indeed. It is the same with fast bowling and cricket. A fast bowl is typically slightly slower than a baseball pitch (wiki says they are typically 85-95 mph and the fastest ever have been around 99 mph), but the area a legal bowl can go through is much larger and there is the randomising of the bounce to take into account as well. Oh and the ball can be manipulated in certain legal ways to aid swerving in the air.

I've no idea how they do it.

ETA:
The pitcher's mound is slightly closer to the batter. 60'6" as opposed to 66' in cricket between the stumps.

Yeah, played both, sucked at batting in both. It's a black art.

 

[Frozenprince]

Out of the major sports, hitting a baseball consistently is absolutely the hardest feat.

I still got $50 on being able to strike you out in the cages bruh.

OT: It's why hitting is more of a mental game, "Okay he threw me a fastball in now he'll come at me with a sinker under my hands, I'll eat that then swing at his change away and low" and you can grasp your general swing timing from the pitchers release point, it's why having off-speed pitches are so important.

 

[Dali]

Out of the major sports, hitting a baseball consistently is absolutely the hardest feat.

Which probably contributes to it being the most boring sport in existence.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

That is crazy. I wonder how that compares to the time a hockey goalie has to react.

playing goalie is basically best guess and intuition. NHL slapshot is easily over 100mph. throw in players screening the play, deflections, shorter time to react - shit ain't easy.

It's definitely not easy and a goalie preferably wants to control the puck after a save, but it's still a lot closer to "throwing your body in front of a speeding object" than hitting a baseball is.

 

[bjork]

Which probably contributes to it being the most boring sport in existence.

I think you have it mixed up with football.

 

[sangreal]

There is something to be said about practicing and training too. Batters have seen hundreds of thousands of pitches of all kinds and it has trained their eyes and minds on what to look for to be able to tell of a pitch will be of a certain type.

Yeah someone walking up to a Batters box for the first time is basically swinging at the air. But a trained batter with a dozen years experience will see the twist of the wrist or the spinning of the seems, just a few ticks of the spin and boom its a curve. When batters are hitting well you always hear one phrase " I'm seeing the ball well "

That's pretty much what the video says

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Hey guys, no "this sport is more <adjective> than this sport" BS or other such snide remarks.

Stop it.

 

[Zaptruder]

To be fair, it's not like pitchers have complete control of the ball just before the ball leaves their hands.

They're already in motion - and all that movement information is providing the batter with some information on the motion and trajectory of the ball.

Still, ball is fast and small - you gotta be practiced to the point where none of your higher cognition can engage. It's just gotta be the shortest path between vision and muscle activation possible.

 

[Frozenprince]

To be fair, it's not like pitchers have complete control of the ball just before the ball leaves their hands.

They're already in motion - and all that movement information is providing the batter with some information on the motion and trajectory of the ball.

Still, ball is fast and small - you gotta be practiced to the point where none of your higher cognition can engage. It's just gotta be the shortest path between vision and muscle activation possible.

Traditional wind-ups are designed to eliminate tells until you reach the point of release.

Occasionally you see an outlier like Alex Wood who shows the ball twice before releasing, but for the most part you're trained to keep your arm slot, wind-up, and ticks the same for each pitch with only minute variances at release.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Yeah that crap is insane.

 

[Brannon]

Hey guys, no "this sport is more <adjective> than this sport" BS or other such snide remarks.

Stop it.

But Calvinball vs Blernsball!

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

That is crazy. I wonder how that compares to the time a hockey goalie has to react.

Hockey players have a much larger tell (their windup for slap/wrist shot).

Their entire bodies give up the trajectory of the puck. That's why a lot of hockey players try so hard to shorten their windup.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

But Calvinball vs Blernsball!

...

I'll allow it.

 

[gamz]

No doubt. It's a game that is built on you will fail far more then you succeed. It's not so much the fastball it's the offspeed and breaking ball.

 

[Meier]

That 20/12 vision stat was pretty interesting. I wonder if most players get LASIK now even if they don't "need" it just to ensure their vision is better than average?

 

[Zaptruder]

Traditional wind-ups are designed to eliminate tells until you reach the point of release.

Occasionally you see an outlier like Alex Wood who shows the ball twice before releasing, but for the most part you're trained to keep your arm slot, wind-up, and ticks the same for each pitch with only minute variances at release.

Sure, but that doesn't eliminate the tells completely.

If it were literally impossible to tell the trajectory based on the motion of the pitcher, baseball wouldn't be playable.

 

[Beerman462]

 

[smokeandmirrors]

I played baseball somewhat casually (rec leagues) as a kid through 18 and there was a hard limit of what I was able to hit. I just couldn't react quick enough. I think 70-75 was consistently my limit on what I could regularly hit and even then.

 

[Choomp]

Out of the major sports, hitting a baseball consistently is absolutely the hardest feat.

I try and tell people this all the time and they don't believe me. Now what about when pitchers can pump 90s and drop a a curveball in if they need to as well. There's a big mental aspect that makes it really hard too.

 

[snacknuts]

I'm still not sure how something so unbelievably difficult can simultaneously be so dreadfully boring.

 

[T-0800]

Twitch reflexes do hit the 100 mill mark in extreme cases but it's a prediction on the arm swing of the pitcher etc . This is a very obvious phenomenon in sports cricketers can't react to reverse swing quick enough etc etc you read the person not just as a ball but as a player pitching/bowling to you . This is very well known ...

Disagree with that. Have you played cricket?

 

[gamz]

I'm still not sure how something so unbelievably difficult can simultaneously be so dreadfully boring.

Because it's not. For me it's the most intense sport. The more you watch and learn the better it gets. I'm at the edge of my seat watching pitch counts. LoL.

Everyday is a different game. It's unique in that regard.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I'm still not sure how something so unbelievably difficult can simultaneously be so dreadfully boring.

It's fun to play. (if you're any good at least)

 

[jellies_two]

How do tennis players connect with 250kmh tennis serves. Half the reaction time vs a fastball ?

 

[vikki]

I can barely hit 50 at the batting cages. Can't imagine a 90 mph fastball.

90 at the batting cage is difficult because you can't read a wind up. There is no prep for that metal arm other than the second that you can tell it's getting close to the top. It makes a yuge difference.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

How do tennis players connect with 250kmh tennis serves. Half the reaction time vs a fastball ?

Generally because the surface of the racket is larger and there is a better anticipation of where the ball is going to be. Problem with a fastball is that the location isn't always where a batter expects it to be. Middle of the plate, inside, outside, at the knees, in the dirt, up at the chest...and on and on.

 

[JigglesBunny]

Back when I played (not in the Major Leagues of course but in a league after high school with some buddies) there were guys throwing 70-80mph heat to me and I could crush it about 6 out of 10 times. A lot of it is being able to analyze the pitch in the few seconds before it contacts your swing. You have to judge a lot of different factors to even have a chance.

It's really difficult to hit a good pitch when it's barreling at you at that speed. I should mention I was a pitcher and I threw an average of around 70-ish at my peak and I'd strike out some real heavy hitters.

A good, hard, fast pitching game is unstoppable.