Pitch Selection Ability and Spatial Executive Function Independently Predict Baseball Batting Performance

Pitch selection-the ability to discriminate balls from strikes-is fundamental to baseball batting success. This study examined whether this ability relates to executive function and batting performance in collegiate players. Furthermore, this ability may be supported by brain functions such as executive functions, and the importance of Pitch Selection has long been considered. However, this ability has not yet been quantified, and there are no training methods for pitch selection. 14 male collegiate baseball players (age: 20.6 ± 1.0 years, first division university league) completed a virtual reality pitch selection task and spatial Stroop task. Methods included virtual reality pitch selection assessment, spatial Stroop task, and official batting statistics from league play. The results showed a significant positive relationship between the pitch selection task and hitting performance, such as the on-base percentage (r = 0.57, p < 0.05) and walk percentage (r = 0.82, p < 0.05). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between the vertical Stroop task reaction time and the percentage of correct strikes among the pitch selection ability tasks (r = -0.67, p < 0.05). Our mediation analysis revealed that both pitch selection ability and executive function independently contribute to batting performance metrics, particularly the walk percentage, rather than executive function influencing performance by enhancing pitch selection ability. These results suggest that pitch selection ability is related to the hitting performance of baseball players and that executive function may play an important role in the performance of pitch selection.