PDFE #3

On Sunday, September 19, 2010, I watched the Atlanta Braves play against the New York Mets

Reaction Time in baseball is very important. The baseball players have a reaction time from when the pitcher releases the ball to when the player up to bat hits the ball. The player up to bat has a few seconds to react to the ball and they can either get a good hit like Derek Lee to win the game or a bad hit and strike out. The participants even have a reaction time from when the batter hits the ball to catching it in the field. If a player catches the ball in the air after it has been hit by the batter, the batter is out but if the player misses the ball then the batter could get a base or a few bases.

While watching the baseball game I saw several examples of Hick's Law. When batters hit the ball they have to run to first base. Another example would be when base runners are on base and then try to steal the next base. The players have to think about their decisions when they run, for instance should they steal the base or not and this reaction time is known as Hick's Law. Anohter example of Hick's Law is when a player catches the ball they have a slower reaction time to throwing the ball to another player because they have to think of which play would be most beneficial in the game.

An example of a psychological refractory period is when the pitcher first winds up to throw one type of pitch so the batter gets ready for that one pitch but at the last minute before the pitcher releases the ball he can change the type of pitch he is going to throw, therefore possibly messing up the way the batter is going to hit.

An example of anticipation can be when an outfielder goes to catch a fly ball. The outfielder almost always accurately predicts where the ball is going to land and catches the ball before it hits the ground, therefore getting the batter out.