Baseball Brains: Pitching into the World Series

From: Sports Are 80 Percent Mental

With the MLB League Championship Series' beginning this week, 26 teams are wondering what it takes to reach the "final four" of baseball, which leads to the World Series. 

The Red Sox, Rays, Phillies, and Dodgers understand it's not just money and luck. Over 162 games, it usually comes down to the fundamentals of baseball: pitching, hitting, and catching. That sounds simple enough. 

So, why can't everyone execute those skills consistently? Why do pitchers struggle with their control? Why do batters strike out? Why do fielders commit errors? 

It turns out Yogi Berra was right when he said, "Baseball is 90 percent mental, and the other half is physical." In this three-part series, each skill will be broken down into its cognitive subtasks, and you may be surprised at the complexity that such a simple game requires of our brains.

First up, pitching, or even throwing a baseball, seems effortless until the pressure is on and the aim goes awry. Pitching a 3" diameter baseball 60 feet, six inches over a target that is eight inches wide requires an accuracy of one-half to one degree.

Throwing it quickly, with the pressure of a game situation makes this task one of the hardest in sports. In addition, a fielder throwing to another fielder from 40, 60, or 150 feet away, sometimes off balance or on the run, tests the brain-body connection for accuracy.

So, how do we do it? And how can we learn to do it more consistently? In his book, The Psychology of Baseball , Mike Stadler, professor of psychology at the University of Missouri, addresses each of these questions.

There are two dimensions to think about when throwing an object at a target: vertical and horizontal. The vertical dimension is a function of the distance of the throw and the effect of gravity on the object. As a result, the thrower's estimate of distance between himself and the target will determine the accuracy of the throw vertically.

Basically, if the distance is underestimated, the required strength of the throw will be underestimated and will lose the battle with gravity, resulting in a throw that will be either too low or will bounce before reaching the target.

An example of this is a fastball which is thrown with more velocity, so it will reach its target before gravity has a path-changing effect on it. On the other hand, a curveball or change-up may seem to curve downward, partly because of the spin put on the ball, affecting its aerodynamics, but also because these pitches are thrown with less force, allowing gravity to pull the ball down.

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