Examination of Pitching Parameters Affecting Recognition of Pitched Ball in Baseball Using Virtual Reality

Abstract

The word “rise” is used to describe the texture of pitching in baseball. In order to clarify the factors by which the batter perceives “rise” for pitching, we analyzed the parameters such as the physical features of the ball and the tempo of the pitching form in relation to the batter's subjective evaluation. We conducted a Two-alternative forced choice(TAFC) experiment using stimuli that changed the ball speed and the pitching motion time. There were two questions, “Which ball has risen more?” And “Which has the faster ball speed?” In order to achieve both conditional control and a sense of reality, we used a virtual reality baseball system that was originally developed. As a result, it was found that when the tempo of the pitching form is fast, the experiment participants feel that the ball speed is high and the ball is rising. A positive correlation was found between the ball speed and “rise”, but it was confirmed that not only the ball speed but also the pitching form affects the recognition of “rise”.