Information Processing as a Predictor of Offensive Ability in Baseball

Abstract

It has become very popular to view the human as a processor of information, with reaction time (RT) used in various ways to measure the speed of information processing. In many sports quick decisions are essential to success. It is tempting to study reaction time, infer information-processing ability, and use the results to make predictions about success. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between various RT and movement time (MT) measures [simple RT, simple MT, simple total response time (TRT), choice RT, choice MT, choice TRT, and information-processing ability as determined by the increase in RT from simple to eight-choice conditions] with batting average, slugging percentage, and total average. 40 varsity baseball players from Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, University of Utah, and Brigham Young University were given 24 practice attempts followed by 48 experimental attempts for both simple and choice RT and MT. These scores were then correlated with batting averages, slugging percentages, and total averages. This research demonstrated no relationship between the various measurements of reaction and movement times and offensive ability in baseball.