Page 25 - Way Out to the Old Ballgame

Framing the Pitch

“All right, Doc.” He sat down heavily, automatically leaning
forward with elbows on knees, the image of an everyday position
player miserably benched. “I just hate to admit I have nothing to lose
but my sanity.”
“Oh, well, you’ve little chance of losing that,” said Fort, proffering
the document on a clipboard for the outfielder to steady on one
substantial thigh while he scrawled his name as carelessly as if it were
a souvenir program. “Now, sit up straight, Luke. The first step is to
determine a baseline.”
“The first-base line,” mused Luke Matthews. “That’s where I’m
going to start my victory trot after I take Lefty McGraw deep on the
first pitch I see from him again.”
“That’s the attitude,” nodded the professor. He handed Luke a
small device with a pistol grip and placed virtual-reality goggles on his
head. “Comfortable? You’re a right-handed hitter: try squeezing that
a couple of times to get the feel. Don’t worry about breaking it—it’s
rated for 400 psi. Fine.” He turned to the table on his right and
clicked through a series of menus on a computer screen. “The
connection is wireless, so you can put your hand wherever you want.
You will see a series of pitches thrown at you, the batter, by a
generated image in front of your eyes simulating the actual
movements of a major-league left-handed pitcher and his pitch. What
you will do then is decide whether or not to swing at the ball. I have
adjusted the imaginary strike zone for your approximate height. You
have already developed the neurological and kinesthetic sense,
proprioceptively speaking, through tens of thousands of swings, to
know when you can successfully connect with what is coming at
you—no matter what kind of pitch. This trial will include fastballs,
curves, change-ups, sliders and forkballs, all at randomly determined
speeds. It will take about fifteen minutes, about the length of a good
batting practice session. Then you will rest for five minutes, and we
will repeat the exercise. Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir. Hey, that looks better than any video game. Oops! That
guy is really bringing it. How fast was that on the radar gun?”
“This is science,” said Dr. Fort, no longer the sympathetic coach.
“We cannot influence the outcome with external clues. I will not
speak again until the sequence has ended.”
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