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This study provides precise, quantitative measurements of the phenomenon confirming that it doesn’t matter that you can’t see the ball later in the pitch. It matters to see it early.
Batters learn more from seeing the early portions of a pitch vs. the late portions because of Angular Velocity. It’s farther away and seems “slower”. As the ball gets closer it is perceived as getting “faster” and when it gets close enough the speed and the batters visual angle makes it impossible to see. Think about standing next to the highway and you see cars in the distance. They are going 70mph but because of the distance you can see them easier and they don’t seem to be moving fast. But as they get closer and closer their speed becomes more obvious – they seem to get “faster” the closer they get. The same principle as a pitched baseball.
Physicist Peter Brancazio, author of Sports Science states "Batting is a matter of generating bat speed and guessing where the ball will be."
Visual Training A Must
One area that most baseball players neglect in their training regime is vision training. Just like every other muscle in the body, your eye muscles need to train and “workout”.
Effort and training needs to be placed on seeing the ball early. Either before the ball release (if the pitcher shows it) or in most cases seeing the ball as soon as possible after release.
Remember the batter has to make his decision to swing or not to swing by the time the ball is half way to the plate. This means the batter has to identify the speed of the ball, anticipated trajectory, and the type of pitch BEFORE the ball gets to the half way point. To do that, the batters eyes have to take in a lot of information. Therefore to be a good hitter you need good eye sight.
Players should improve their functional hand-eye coordination and visual processing. By doing so it strengthens the ability to think quickly and helps eye muscles move efficiently. There are different types of visual training. Some train spatial awareness, peripheral cognitive awareness and concentration. Another intriguing type of training is foveal vision. Dr. Bill Harrison, a vision specialist, trains foveal vision more than peripheral. Located in the center of the retinas, the foveae are what send sharp images to the brain. You can see a brief article on foveal vision and a graphic of different types of pitches and what their rotations look like here.
What Can You Do Now?
First and foremost make sure you have had an eye exam recently. If you need glasses/contacts – get ‘em. Other than an eye exam a few simple things a batter can do right now is to, one, make sure you can see the pitcher with both eyes at all times. Observe things like does the pitcher have a different arm angle or release point for a specific pitch? Does he grind the ball in his glove before he throws a specific pitch? Can you see during his wind up (or at delivery) the type of grip he has on the ball? Eventually you should strive to be able to see the rotation of the ball and identify what type of pitch that rotation represents.
Now go out there and work those eyes out so you can see the ball early.