Baseball pitching accuracy: an examination of various parameters when evaluating pitch locations

This study evaluated baseball pitching accuracy using a variety of parameters to quantify pitching errors and analysed the validity of the accuracy measurements by comparing the outcomes of two small groups of pitchers. Several professional (n = 5) and high school (n = 8) pitchers threw 30 pitches each, including 20 fastballs and 10 breaking balls. To assess pitching accuracy, pitch locations relative to the catcher’s mitt (as the target) were evaluated with various parameters, including major/minor radius, an area of 95% confidence ellipse, absolute error, constant error and pitch location trajectory. Compared to the high school pitchers, the professional pitchers exhibited shorter major and minor radii in their 20 fastball pitches (p < 0.05), more accurate control in the lateral direction (p < 0.05), and shorter pitch location trajectories (p < 0.05). The evaluation methods presented in this study can objectively assess pitching accuracy and may thus provide useful coaching feedback with visual information.     

The continuous measurement of the springboard reaction force in gymnastic vaulting

A new method was established for the continuous measurement of force applied from a springboard to a gymnast in vaulting (board reaction force). Male gymnasts performed a handspring vault using a springboard mounted on force platforms. A high-speed video camera sampled the springboard motion at 500 Hz. The springboard was initially partitioned into 29 segments. The force due to the accelerative motion of the springboard was determined by summing the forces of the individual segments. The board reaction force acting on the gymnast was calculated by subtracting the force due to the accelerative motion of the springboard and weight from the force recorded by the force platform. The new method succeeded in illustrating transient changes of the board reaction force. The horizontal and vertical components of the peak values of the board reaction force were three and two times greater respectively than the average values. A series of tests was conducted to determine whether the number of segments of the springboard model could be reduced without affecting accuracy. A model consisting of only four segments produced almost the same accuracy as the 29-segment model. The simplified model is recommended as a more efficient method to measure board reaction force.     

Pitching form determines probabilistic structure of errors in pitch location

According to recent motor control studies, it is important to know probabilistic structure of his/her own motor errors to choose an optimal motor plan (i.e., where you aim at) to maximise the expected gain. In this study, we questioned if pitching form determines the probabilistic structure of pitching errors in baseball pitchers. Eighteen collegiate baseball pitchers with various pitching forms including right- and left-handed overarm, sidearm and underarm throwers threw 100 pitches aiming at a target located 90 cm above the ground. Two dimensional distribution of pitch location was fitted by using bivariate normal distribution and 95% confidence ellipse was calculated. In order to quantify the pitching form, the direction of the throwing arm trajectory in frontal plane was calculated. The direction of the long axis was dependent on each participant’s pitching form (e.g., right overarm pitchers pitched along a right-up–left-down ellipse and left overarm pitchers pitched along a left-up–right-down ellipse). This was confirmed by circular correlation analysis (P = 0.98). These results suggest that different mechanisms, potentially errors in pitching mechanics and errors in ball release timing, might contribute to errors along the long axis and those along the short axis.     

The effect of muscle fatigue on instep kicking kinetics and kinematics in association football

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of leg muscle fatigue on the kinetics and kinematics of the instep football kick. Fatigue was induced by repeated, loaded knee extension (40% body weight) and flexion (50% body weight) motions on a weight-training machine until exhaustion. The kicking motions of seven male players were captured three-dimensionally at 500 Hz before and immediately after the fatigue protocol. The significantly slower ball velocity observed in the fatigue condition was due to both reduced lower leg swing speed and poorer ball contact. The reduced leg swing speed, represented by a slower toe linear velocity immediately before ball impact and slower peak lower leg angular velocity, was most likely due to a significantly reduced resultant joint moment and motion-dependent interactive moment during kicking. These results suggest that the specific muscle fatigue induced in the present study not only diminished the ability to generate force, but also disturbed the effective action of the interactive moment leading to poorer inter-segmental coordination during kicking. Moreover, fatigue obscured the eccentric action of the knee flexors immediately before ball impact. This might increase the susceptibility to injury.     

Effects of forced movements on learning: Findings from a choice reaction time task in rats

To investigate how motor sensation facilitates learning, we used a sensory–motor association task to determine whether the sensation induced by forced movements contributes to performance improvements in rats. The rats were trained to respond to a tactile stimulus (an air puff) by releasing a lever pressed by the stimulated (compatible condition) or nonstimulated (incompatible condition) forepaw. When error rates fell below 15%, the compatibility condition was changed (reversal learning). An error trial was followed by a lever activation trial in which a lever on the correct or the incorrect response side was automatically elevated at a preset time of 120, 220, 320, or 420 ms after tactile stimulation. This lever activation induced forepaw movement similar to that in a voluntary lever release response, and also induced body movement that occasionally caused elevation of the other forepaw. The effects of lever activation may have produced a sensation similar to that of voluntary lever release by the forepaw on the nonactivated lever. We found that the performance improvement rate was increased by the lever activation procedure on the incorrect response side (i.e., with the nonactivated lever on the correct response side). Furthermore, the performance improvement rate changed depending on the timing of lever activation: Facilitative effects were largest with lever activation on the incorrect response side at 320 ms after tactile stimulation, whereas hindering effects were largest for lever activation on the correct response side at 220 ms after tactile stimulation. These findings suggest that forced movements, which provide tactile and proprioceptive stimulation, affect sensory–motor associative learning in a time-dependent manner.