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Purpose Sensorimotor variables have been shown to predict performance in professional baseball players. However, cardinal gaze speed in baseball players has received only limited attention. This study tested the hypothesis that the cardinal gaze speed in Major League Baseball (MLB) players would be faster than in amateur prospects and non-athletes. Method Seventeen MLB athletes, 160 amateur prospects, and 128 non-athletes were tested using an eye-tracking test (i.e., the RightEye CGP test) designed to measure cardinal gaze speed. Results MLB players had significantly faster cardinal gaze speed than either amateur prospects or non-athletes. Moreover, there were significant differences in cardinal gaze speed across different directions. Conclusions This was the first study to examine the speed of gaze in the cardinal positions in an athletic context. The results highlight the significant difference in cardinal gaze speed between MLB players, amateur prospects, and non-athletes. People always told me that my natural ability and good eyesight were the reasons for my success as a hitter. They never talk about the practice, practice, practice. —Ted Williams As Ted Williams noted, visual characteristics work together with practice as important determinants of performance in baseball. Two groups of studies have examined the relationship between visual characteristics and performance in baseball. The first group of Kubitz_174710.indd 1 5/26/20 9:44 AM J Sports Perf Vis Vol 2(1):e17–28; May 28, 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. © Kubitz et al. A Comparison of Cardinal Gaze Speed e18 studies showed that visual characteristics differ between professional baseball players and non-athletes. The second group of studies showed that visual characteristics predict performance in baseball. Among the studies that have examined the relationship between visual characteristics and performance in baseball, some operationalized performance as level of play (e.g., professional versus recreational) and others operationalized performance as game statistics (e.g., batting average, etc.). Four studies showed that visual characteristics differ between professional baseball players and non-athletes. First, Hoffman et al compared 25 college baseball players and 30 optometry students and reported that the baseball players had higher levels of contrast sensitivity than the students. Second, Boden et al compared 51 youth ballplayers and 52 non-ball players and found that young baseball players had better static stereo acuity than non-ball players. Third, Uchida et al compared eight college baseball players and eight non-athletes and reported that the baseball players had better dynamic visual acuity than the non-athletes. Fourth, Hunfalvay et al compared 52 professional golfers, 265 professional baseball players, and 107 non-athletes and found that the professional athletes had better static stereo acuity than non-athletes. Two studies showed that visual characteristics predict performance in baseball. First, Hoshina et al assessed 102 professional baseball players and reported a significant difference in kinetic visual acuity between pitchers and fielders. Second, Burris et al. assessed 252 professional baseball players and identified several visual characteristics that predicted on-base percentages, walk rates, and strikeout rates. Visual characteristics that were strong predictors of performance included visual clarity, contrast sensitivity, depth perception, near-far quickness, target capture, eye-hand coordination, and perception span. Thus, research has shown that visual characteristics are related to performance in baseball. More skilled/ professional baseball players have better visual characteristics than less skilled/ non-professional baseball players; and better visual characteristics (e.g., better contrast sensitivity and depth perception) predicted better performance. There is a visual characteristic, the speed of the eye movements in the CGPs, which has received only limited attention. The CGPs are “positions of gaze which reflect the primary action of the six extraocular muscles.” The extraocular muscles, the lateral rectus, the medial rectus, the inferior rectus, the superior rectus, the inferior oblique, and the superior oblique, work in synergy with one another to move the eye up and down, side to side, and to rotate the eye. These muscles work either individually or in combination to produce the full suite of different movements of the eyes. The six extraocular muscles of the eye are striated muscles and they adapt to the stresses and demands placed on them, such as exercise and training. The ability to move to the CGPs is routinely assessed in clinical settings as an indicator of the functioning of the extraocular muscles and of cranial nerves III, IV, and VI. The most commonly used clinical test of the ability to move to the CGP involves a vision specialist drawing an “H” in the air with their finger (or another object) in front of an individual’s face and asking them to follow the tip of the finger or object with their eyes without moving their head. When conducting the H test, vision specialists examine the client’s eye movements to determine whether they are smooth and coordinated. A similar test for the ability to move to the CGP is conducted from a center target, moving the clinician’s finger out to the eight peripheral CGPs in a “star-like” fashion. The H and star-like tests require the vision specialists to detect the salient characteristics of oculomotor abnormalities based on clinical experience, that is by using the naked eye to observe movement. Unfortunately, reliability is low for the H and star-like tests irrespective of the experience level of the vision specialist conducting the exam. Over the past several decades, the use of eyetracking devices linked to algorithmic analysis has become increasingly common. Eye-tracking devices have been used to examine eye movements for visual health, wellness, and peak performance. Eye trackers provide highly specific, objective eye movement recordings by examining the eye many times per second (i.e., from 120–1000 hz ) and they have been shown to produce high levels of measurement accuracy. Kubitz_174710.indd 2 5/26/20 9:44 AM J Sports Perf Vis Vol 2(1):e17–28; May 28, 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. © Kubitz et al. A Comparison of Cardinal Gaze Speed

A Comparison of Cardinal Gaze Speed between Major League Baseball Players, Amateur Prospects, and Non-athletes