The Importance of Vision in Sports and Performance | Daniel Laby | TEDxBeaconStreetSalon
Summary
TLDRDr. Daniel Abbey, a sports vision specialist, explains the critical role of vision in baseball, highlighting how legendary players like Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez used their exceptional vision to excel. Abbey delves into the science behind predicting a baseball's trajectory, the limitations of traditional vision tests, and the development of advanced methods to enhance players' visual and motor skills. He shares anecdotes of how vision training and interventions, like contact lenses and hand-eye coordination drills, have significantly improved player performance, even influencing World Series outcomes.
Takeaways
- ποΈ The script discusses the significance of Fenway Park's unique features like Pesky's Pole and the Green Monster, and how they impact the game.
- π It highlights the exceptional vision of baseball players, particularly Ted Williams, and how it contributed to his ability to hit a 502-foot home run.
- π Dr. Daniel Abbey, a sports vision specialist, explains the importance of prediction in baseball and the rapid processing required for a batter to hit the ball.
- βΎ The challenge of hitting a baseball is underscored, emphasizing the small window of time available for a batter to react to a pitch.
- π Vision is critical in sports, not just for seeing the ball but also for processing visual information quickly enough to make a successful play.
- πΎ Sports vision is applicable beyond baseball, with implications for basketball, soccer, football, and other sports requiring quick reactions and decisions.
- π The average vision of Major League Baseball players is 20/12, which is better than the normal vision of 20/20, giving them an advantage in seeing the ball clearly from a distance.
- π The traditional Snellen eye chart is critiqued for its inadequacy in testing vision for sports and driving, where quick reaction times are necessary.
- π± A new vision test using iPads has been developed to better assess the vision needed for sports, presenting targets for a brief time to simulate real-world conditions.
- ποΈ Stephen Drew's vision was improved with contact lenses during the 2013 World Series, leading to a significant upturn in his performance at the bat.
- π€ΉββοΈ Manny Ramirez's hand-eye coordination was fine-tuned using a specially designed ring with balls representing different pitches, enhancing his batting skills.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Dr. Daniel Abbey's talk at Fenway Park?
-Dr. Daniel Abbey's talk focuses on the importance of vision in sports, particularly baseball, and how it enables players like Ted Williams to make accurate predictions and decisions in the split-second moments required to hit a baseball.
Why is prediction so crucial for a baseball player, according to Dr. Abbey?
-Prediction is crucial for a baseball player because it allows them to anticipate where the ball will be and when to swing the bat. This involves processing visual information rapidly and accurately, which is essential for making contact with a fast-moving baseball.
How does the time it takes for a baseball to reach home plate impact a batter's decision-making process?
-A 90 mph baseball takes 400 milliseconds to reach home plate, but the batter has less time to see and react due to the 150 milliseconds required to swing the bat and another 150 milliseconds to initiate the swing. This leaves only about 100 milliseconds to visually process and decide on the swing.
What is the significance of Ted Williams' 502-foot home run at Fenway Park?
-Ted Williams' 502-foot home run at Fenway Park is highlighted as an example of exceptional vision and prediction ability. His ability to accurately judge the pitch and make contact with the ball was a result of his superior vision, which Dr. Abbey discusses in the context of sports vision.
How does Dr. Abbey's approach to testing vision differ from traditional methods?
-Dr. Abbey's approach to testing vision involves using modern technology like iPads to present dynamic and challenging visual tasks that mimic real-life scenarios, unlike traditional Snellen charts, which are static and less applicable to situations like hitting a baseball.
What role did vision testing play in Stephen Drew's performance during the 2013 World Series?
-Vision testing revealed that Stephen Drew needed contact lenses to improve his vision. After receiving the lenses, his batting performance improved significantly, contributing to the Red Sox's victory in the 2013 World Series.
What innovative method did Dr. Abbey use to help Manny Ramirez with his hand-eye coordination?
-Dr. Abbey used specially designed rings with rotating balls that mimicked the spin and movement of different pitches. Manny Ramirez practiced catching these balls to improve his hand-eye coordination, which contributed to his success as a batter.
Why is the traditional Snellen chart deemed insufficient for sports vision testing?
-The Snellen chart is deemed insufficient for sports vision testing because it does not replicate the fast-paced, high-stress environments athletes face. It also tests static vision rather than the dynamic vision required to react to fast-moving objects like baseballs.
How does the brain process visual information during a baseball game?
-During a baseball game, visual information is processed by the eyes and transmitted to the brain's visual cortex, which then sends it to the decision-making areas and motor areas. This rapid processing allows a player to make quick decisions and execute precise motor actions, like swinging a bat.
What does Dr. Abbey suggest could have changed the outcome of 'Casey at the Bat'?
-Dr. Abbey humorously suggests that if Casey from the poem 'Casey at the Bat' had worked with a sports vision specialist, he might have improved his visual and motor skills enough to avoid striking out, potentially leading to a happier ending for Mudville.
Outlines
ποΈ The Science of Baseball Vision
This paragraph introduces Dr. Daniel Abbey, a sports vision specialist, who discusses the critical role of vision in baseball. He explains how players like Ted Williams were able to predict and hit long home runs, emphasizing the importance of quick and accurate vision in the sport. The summary touches on the physical limitations of human reaction times and the technical aspects of baseball, such as the speed of pitches and the size of the ball and bat. Dr. Abbey highlights the complexity of the task, comparing it to the time it takes to blink, and introduces the concept of sports vision as it applies to various sports beyond baseball.
π Vision Testing in Sports
The second paragraph delves into the specifics of vision testing for athletes, contrasting traditional Snellen charts with the dynamic and challenging conditions faced by players on the field. Dr. Abbey critiques the effectiveness of the Snellen chart for assessing sports vision and introduces a new testing method using iPads. This method presents targets for a brief time to simulate real-world sports conditions. The summary outlines a case study of a player named Stephen Drew, whose performance improved dramatically after being fitted with contact lenses following the new vision test, illustrating the impact of proper vision correction on sports performance.
π€ΉββοΈ Enhancing Hand-Eye Coordination
In the final paragraph, Dr. Abbey recounts his experience working with Manny Ramirez to improve his hand-eye coordination despite having good vision. He describes the creation and use of various training tools, including rings with balls of different colors and patterns representing different pitches. The summary explains how these tools were used to help Ramirez identify and react to pitches, ultimately contributing to his success as a player. The paragraph concludes with a humorous reference to the poem 'Casey at the Bat,' suggesting that sports vision training could have altered its outcome.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Sports Vision
π‘Prediction
π‘Ted Williams
π‘Snellen Chart
π‘Reaction Time
π‘Hand-Eye Coordination
π‘Visual Acuity
π‘Manny Ramirez
π‘Visual Processing
π‘Fenway Park
Highlights
Introduction of Fenway Park's history, including the longest home run ever hit at the park by Ted Williams.
Introduction of Dr. Daniel Abbey, a sports vision specialist with 27 years of experience, discussing the importance of prediction in baseball.
Explanation of how a baseball player's ability to predict the ball's trajectory is crucial for making contact with the ball.
Discussion on the time constraints in hitting a baseball, including the breakdown of milliseconds required to see, decide, and swing at a 90 mph pitch.
The challenge of hitting a baseball is emphasized, noting that the entire process takes less time than a blink, making it one of the most difficult tasks in sports.
Insight into how vision and reaction time are critical for athletes, not just in baseball but across various sports.
Example of Manny Ramirez, a former Red Sox player, and how his vision and reaction time played a crucial role in his performance.
Explanation of how the Snellen chart, a traditional vision test, is inadequate for testing the vision needed in sports or real-life scenarios.
Introduction of a new vision test developed using modern technology that better simulates the conditions athletes face on the field.
Example of Stephen Drew, a player who improved his performance in the 2013 World Series after receiving contact lenses based on the new vision test.
Discussion of how vision alone isn't enough; hand-eye coordination and reaction time are also vital for athletes like Manny Ramirez.
Development of a training tool involving rings and balls to help Manny Ramirez improve his hand-eye coordination.
Manny Ramirez's use of the training tool before every game, contributing to his successful performance, including being named the MVP of the 2014 World Series.
Overview of the various skills tested and trained for athletes, including vision, reaction time, anticipation, and concentration.
Reference to the classic poem 'Casey at the Bat,' suggesting that with sports vision training, Casey might not have struck out.
Transcripts
thank you and welcome everybody look at
this ball park you spin around the block
a few times from the Green Monster over
it's a Pesky's Pole to that little red
seat way out there in right field 502
feet away the longest home run ever hit
at Fenway Park great people have played
here call your MC Bobby do or Joe Cronan
Babe Ruth as we heard have all been on
this field here but what was it that
made the special major vision of Ted
Williams special how was he able to hit
that 502 foot homerun well my name is
dr. Daniel Abbey I'm not phonologists
I'm a sports division specialist I've
been working in sports division for the
past 27 years I want to share with you
this afternoon some of what I've learned
and some of what we've been able to use
to help ballplayers perform on this
field as well as others at a higher
level to do that we have to think about
what's the underlying main point for a
baseball player and that's the word
prediction a baseball player has to
predict the batter especially has to
predict where the ball is going to be
any moment in time if he can predict
that accurately he's gonna be able to
hit the ball make contact with it and
the balls not that big we're talking
about a three inch ball a two and a
quarter inch bat you got to make contact
with that to drive that ball 502 feet
like Ted Williams did what was there
about his vision they'll let him predict
exactly when the ball was gonna Strasse
the plate and when he was gonna put the
bat on the ball to drive it and that's
really what comes down to the vision the
need for vision of baseball
how much would take for a baseball pitch
90 miles an hour to reach home plate it
takes 400 milliseconds that's less than
half a second well you don't have 400
milliseconds to hit it or to see it
because it takes about 150 milliseconds
to actually swing the bat from your
shoulder back around to the front where
the ball is 400 minus 150 leaves a
quarter of a second 250 milliseconds
well you know we can't just thinking
that the bat moves we have to think
about it decide to swing we have to send
a neural signal down through the nerves
the muscles to get them to contract to
make that bat move well that takes time
too that's about 150 milliseconds to do
that so we do the math you're left only
with about a hundred 250 milliseconds of
seeing this ball from maybe 50 feet away
60 feet away to know what the spin is to
decide what pitch it is to start that
decision process to swing that's not
very easy you know how long it takes to
blink it takes 300 milliseconds to blink
that's twice as long as you have to look
at the ball before you have a chance to
decide to swing or not this is a tough
thing to do
hitting a baseball has been turned one
the most difficult things to do in all
of baseball and all of sports in general
right well we're interested in sports
division how that happens how is it that
a batter can actually make that visual
information relevant and swing and hit
the ball we're interested in not only
what the eyes are doing we're interested
in all the way the process of that
information through the eyes through the
brain to the vision part of the brain
which is back here then how that visual
information moves forwards the decision
areas to the motor areas to connect with
an action that's gonna be successful as
we saw with Ted Williams that's what
sports vision is about and it's not just
relevant to baseball it's relevant to
any sport think about a basketball
player a soccer player a football player
a quarterback Tom Brady's got a look at
the whole field he's got to react he's
got a C he's got to make decisions he's
got to move this isn't just trivial this
is based on ability and skill and talent
hopefully a little bit of magic
from us for sports vision specialists
one great example of that is when we
look at a picture here of a player of
the graceless field Manny Ramirez back
several years ago and what I want you to
look at in this picture is where the
ball is and where his bat is and where
his eyes are you see the ball is about
to hit the bat but his eyes are far off
in the distance his eyes are looking to
the last piece of point of information
after 100 milliseconds of the ball being
thrown that he can still get information
at that point it doesn't matter anymore
after that because he can't react to
that can't think about it can't make a
muscle movement fast enough to make any
difference in where the bass gonna be
placed so he knows and he's probably one
of the best hitters as ever sat in this
field and I said sat on purpose he's one
of the one of the people that knows that
by looking at the distance that's all
the information eat in fact he gonna
close his eyes and he could you imagine
if manny has closed his eyes when he was
swinging what people would have said he
would have heard Maddie being Manny all
day he would have been ridiculed but the
truth is he didn't even have his eyes
open because there's no more
formation with the real fact is he
couldn't even have time to close his
eyes because it takes 300 milliseconds
to blink so he had no chance to do that
so who knows maybe they close his eyes
but Manny Ramirez his vision is critical
Ted Williams his vision was critical in
fact in 20 in 1996 we published a paper
about the basic visual abilities of
baseball players and we demonstrated we
showed through hundreds of players that
we did in Major League Baseball that the
average vision is 20 over 12 now normal
vision is called 20 over 8 the best
vision humanly possible is 20 I'm sorry
no vision is 20/20 the best vision
possible is 20 over 8 well 20 over 12
means that these ballplayers can see
from 20 feet what US average people had
to be 12 feet away from to see so they
can see things farther away and that's
one of the keys when the difference is
in vision of these athletes ability to
hit the ball now we measured that vision
using a chart just like this you've
probably seen this in doctors office
this is called a Snellen chart and this
chart spin around for quite a while
we'll talk about that in a minute
but it starts with the Big E and works
its way down and remember that each of
these letters is black on white and you
have as long as you need to look at it
to try to figure out what the answer is
you've probably sat in the office and
said well I think it might be an F no
maybe it's an e an O or Q who knows what
you go back and forth until you finally
get it right doctor says great and you
got 20/20 vision and you're out the door
well that doesn't work over here at
Fenway Park doesn't work at any major
league ballpark because this isn't what
vision is like this is a chart that was
actually developed invented in 1862
that's 150 years ago there was no
electricity there were no telephones and
this test was black on white you can
look at it for as long as you wanted to
and give an answer well that's not what
goes on in the field on the field what
goes on is you have a split second as we
mentioned to see something you got to
react quickly it's small it's not black
on white it's red on red on white it may
be a little bit dusty and maybe fingers
are necessary black and white or white
on white contrast is an issue it's much
harder than the selling chart in truth
this selling chart is not very useful
it's not useful for baseball it's not
useful for driving and the truth is this
is what we should do with this melon
chart it's not necessary it's not the
way to test people's vision on everyday
lives whether that has to do is hitting
a baseball whether it has to be driving
a car how many of you have driven on a
foggy day near dusk where the lighting
is not so good
in a place you don't know where you have
to try to read the sign look at all
those hands go up we have to read the
sign and you have a split second to do
it because you're driving you have to
decide what to do and it's not easy it's
not like doctor's office where you have
forever look the chart so we recognize
that in driving in sports in life that's
not the best way to test vision so we
developed a test that's based on
technology currently it's based on iPads
it's based on computing ability of these
devices to present targets that are very
different than that our targets that we
present our circles that have some bars
around them and they're open at the
bottom so the only difference in one
circle to the next is where the opening
is is it the bottom open is a top open
left open or right open and this is a
big one this is easy this is for us
folks well we give the ball players is
one that's much smaller it's much gray
or it's grey I'm white it's not black on
white like this and we only show it for
we only show it for 100 milliseconds or
200 milliseconds a very short time and
by using math based on the ACE SATs the
a CT a CT s we can calculate a score and
that score is what we use to decide
whether a baseball player has a vision
they need to hit this baseball let me
give you an example that I'm going to
talk to you about two players and all
this information has been in the public
domain already so you're not hearing any
big secrets but hopefully you're putting
in context that makes it more
interesting 2013 World Series if you
remember that against the Cardinals team
was away they came back one afternoon
and I got a phone call the phone call
was from the the head trainer there's a
player who was playing for the
postseason he was batting for 440 that's
not so hot that's about a 100 batting
average in the World Series he's batting
one for 15 that's even worse he was
great in the field so they won that they
wanted on the field they don't take him
off the field but they wanted not to
have an out they wanted to score his
name was Stephen Drew and Stephen Drew
came to my office we took a look at them
we gave him that test there and we found
that he needed contact lenses him
contact lenses that next day we apply
contact lenses the next day he came to
the dugout over here and actually
between he didn't want to play in the
field with them because he wasn't sure
how that was gonna be but he wants to
bat with them so he ran off onto the
into the dugout in this little tunnel
there they put the contact lenses on his
eyes he came back down the field and in
that game where he had been for for
forty and one for fifteen that game he
went two for four
when was a home run that basically
sealed the 2013 series for the Red Sox
if you remember and he would have been
three for four but the first base when
the Cardinals made an amazing catch and
took away that third hit but two for
four five hundred is a whole lot better
than one for 15 so that made a
difference for Steven he talked about it
in the press after that but the testing
him on a test that's critical that's not
easy like that selling shark that we
disposed of a test that shows a
difference it shows a deficiency and
then intervening is what sports vision
is all about let me give you another
example this one's a fun example because
it's not just about how sharp your
vision is it's a matter of what you do
with that information you don't have to
just see it you have to be able to react
to it you have to have the hand-eye
coordination to make the move the bat in
the right place at the right time I got
a call in I guess it was probably mayor
June 2014
about another player you've already seen
the picture of him over here Manny
Ramirez I got a call from Jim Roe who at
that point was the head trainer for the
Red Sox and said you know Manny's not
seeing the ball and I said I'm sure Jim
he's seen the ball I just saw him a
month ago six weeks ago went for Meyers
he's seen the ball really good no no
Daniel understands he's not seen seeing
the ball okay what are you talking about
ends up being that the problem was he
wasn't reacting to it didn't feel
comfortable and this is Manny Manny had
great hands Manny was a wonderful batter
he could use a shower once in a while
when he hugged me on his sweaty but he's
a great guy and he just wasn't feeling
comfortable so the gym said you got to
do something here because we need this
guy to perform so what we did was try to
figure out how can we help Manny well
how can i he was seeing fine but he
wasn't reacting and the hand-eye
coordination wasn't good so I knew about
these rings these this is a ring that
had been out in the in available
commercially prior to it but I thought
about this this task and this task is
the wiffle ball on the ring and we throw
this ball this ring and the ball rotates
and you have to catch the ball now any
of you think this is easy I can
guarantee you it's really hard but they
say you know Manny is Manny Manny is
pretty good so one ball is probably not
gonna be good enough so let me make
another ring where we had four balls so
we had four were footballs four
different colors I threw that and we
could tell you what happened on that in
a minute but then I say you know Manny
still Manny he's pretty good I better
another ring so then we invented
actually a new ring and that's this ring
and this ring is a little different as
you can tell this ring has four
baseball's on it that are painted kind
of strange well this painting is
specific because these these patterns of
paint represent different pitches when
the baseball is thrown at 90 miles an
hour their spin the spin and the effect
of the seams on the surface of the ball
is what creates air currents basically
like a wing of an airplane to make the
ball move in different directions and
depending how you throw that spin it
moves one way or you throw it's been
different weight goes a different light
and those spit those seams look
different depending on how they're
thrown so each of these different
stripes these different red dots on here
represent a different pitch so now what
I figured I would do is I go to Manning
I say I'll throw you this and I'm going
to call it the word fastball when the
thing is halfway to you and you got to
identify which one's the fastball you
got to catch it so now we got to do is
identify the pitch make a motor movement
to intercept the pitch just like he does
with his bat to hit the ball well I went
to Fenway Park over here went down to
the clubhouse in in 20 in 2014 and
remember 2013 was it was a tough season
right they lost in New York at the end
of the end of the series against the
Yankees and it was pretty it was pretty
charged in 2014 that we got to do better
there's a manager in town we got to do
better so I went down there with these
my three rings and we a couple of guys
were down the clubhouse couple other
players a couple of old-timers threw him
this first ring over here no one could
catch it at all no one caught not even
the easy one so then Jim Annie comes
over Manny used to like to play hide and
seek in the in the in the in the
clubhouse and I had to try to find him
but we finally found him he came over
and I threw this to him and he every
single time first time he caught it
the single ball nailed it every time he
said doc this is too easy this is not
what I want to do I said okay Manny luck
they got choice number two I pulled out
the ring with the four balls through
that to him doc - easy got it every time
what else he got doc very short on the
patient's part so I brought up my ring
over here and I threw this ring and this
actually was challenging because I
called out the pitch I called out the
ball halfway to him and he had to make
that that catch to catch it and he did
this is every game prior to every game
for the rest of the season the rest of
his career he taught it to some other
players if you read Terry Francona's
book about that season he'll
a section that talks about the Rings in
there as well and this seemed to help
Mattie kind of fine-tune his hand-eye
coordination he had great vision but
fine-tune the hand-eye coordination in
order to hit the ball well end up being
if remember the MVP of the World Series
that year in 2014 and Manny was Manny
and is a great he's a great guy
I think he's misunderstood B's a great
guy so that that's kind of there you
have it you know we have this we have
these these skills not just a vision not
just hand-eye coordination which is
reaction time there's there's
anticipation ability there's a whole
series of concentration tests that we
perform on these - on these players here
to try to make sure they have what they
need in terms of their visual function
their visual motor function to perform
on the field and hit those home runs at
502 feet remember seven out of ten times
if you make it mistake you're an
all-star right that's pretty good well
there's one person that may have may
have been able to benefit from what we
do if you think back on the classic
American poem Casey at the bat and you
know potentially if Casey had spent some
time with sports business specialist
they may not have been any any they may
have been actually joined Mudville that
day and Casey may not have struck out
thank you for your attention
[Applause]
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