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Is the rising fastball a perceptual illusion?Modifying pitched ball perception by VR 
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Baseball batters sometimes feel that the pitched fastball rises as it approaches the home plate. While some physical parameters of the pitched ball, such as ball spin rate and axis orientation, can generate the rising perception, we propose that the pitching motion-related information can also cause the "rising" ball effect, since the batters are known to watch pitching motion to predict pitched ball behavior. We used a head-mounted display to evaluate the rising perception of fastballs in elite baseball players. A virtual reality (VR) system was developed that manipulated pitching motion duration with fixed ball behavior. Altering the pitching motion duration changed the rising perception, suggesting that the batters predict ball behavior based on the pitching motion dynamics and the prediction generate the "rising" illusion for fastballs. Our VR system will be useful not only in correcting athletic perception but also enhanced cognitive training in many sports.
[1] T. Fukuda, A. Endo, M. Sugimoto, T. Kimura, “How do elite baseball batters perceive a "rising" fast ball?,” in Proc. North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity 2022 Annual Conference, 2022.
Toshitaka Kimura/ Kashino Diverse Brain Research Laboratory
Email: cs-openhouse-ml@hco.ntt.co.jp