For the present study, an experiment that measured the eye movement of baseball pitchers was conducted to examine what kind of visual search behaviors take place during their pitching motion. As a result, the following characteristic visual search behaviors were identified. Before and after starting their pitching motion, the pitchers placed their line of vision within the area of the backstop relatively more frequently. In the latter stages of the pitching motion, they placed their line of vision in whatever direction was natural for their eyes to be turned (to the right, in this study) when delivering a pitch from a set position, and they used their peripheral vision rather than their central vision to capture the target at which they would be throwing the ball (catcher or batter). In addition, experienced pitchers held a longer average gaze duration. Both before and after starting the pitching motion, these pitchers showed a higher tendency to place their line of vision in the opposite direction from where they would naturally turn their eyes during the pitching motion.
