Citation

Gray R. Rev. Hum. Factors Ergon. 2009; 5(1): 114-139.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1518/155723409X448035

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The ability to intercept a moving object is critical to many workplace tasks. Human factors research on baseball has significantly advanced the understanding of how this skill is performed. Baseball batters routinely generate contact between a cylindrical bat and a spherical ball even though the ball travels the distance from the mound to the plate in less than half a second. Outfielders seem to run effortlessly to the location where a fly ball is headed even though its trajectory can be altered by wind, air resistance, and ball spin. This chapter addresses the question "How do they do that?" by exploring how visual cues are used to perform the amazing acts of object interception involved in baseball. I first review the visual cues to distance, speed, direction of motion, and time to collision available to a baseball player. It is demonstrated that in many cases, reliable visual information is not available for making these judgments, and therefore indirect information such as body language, event history, and situational context must also be used. I next examine research that has investigated how these sources of visual information are used to perform specific baseball skills, including hitting, catching a fly ball, and catching a line drive. Finally, I consider how the knowledge derived from baseball can be extended to nonsporting domains such as the workplace.

Language: en