Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the visual search strategies between expert and novice batters during the sequential phases of the pitcher's motion under the field condition. In particular, we focused on how they utilize peripheral vision properties to pick up visual information. Members of college baseball team (expert group) and ordinary college students (novice group) participated in this experiment. The subjects stood in an actual batter's box, viewed 10 types of pitches thrown by real pitcher, and their eye movements were measured. Eye movements of subjects during the preparatory phase of batting, during which a batter should gather visual information from the motion of the pitcher, were analyzed. The distribution of experts' viewing points was smaller than that of novices. In particular, experts set their visual pivot on the pitching arm and utilized peripheral vision to pick up important movement information for batting such as movements of the pitcher's arm or his whole body. Therefore, experts used a systematic visual search strategy, utilizing peripheral vision properties to evaluate visually the pitcher's motion efficiently and anticipate the ball's trajectory.
