The Red Sox and Neuroscouting

[soxhop411]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/02/18/neuroscouting-may-give-red-sox-heads-prospects-potential/EFBHR3zNdThk1NboRpNMHL/story.html?event=event25

Really good article by none other than ALEX SPEIER

In simplest terms, neuroscouting reflects an effort to quantify the motor system’s response (swinging) to a cognitive function (seeing a pitch and deciding to swing). The importance of how the brain responds to the stimulus of a pitched baseball is obviously at the heart of offensive success, particularly when facing the higher velocities and sharper breaks of pitches at the big league level.

“We’ve seen that there’s this strong connection between the visual processing side of hitting a baseball and the motor side of deciding whether to swing or not to swing,” said Jason Sherwin, founder and CEO of deCervo, a New York-based neuroscouting startup. “The whole idea is that you can measure these expertise-level effects on a neural level."

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

This is insanely cool. Also frightening. What we are capable of quantifying at this point borders on mystifying.

 

[P'tucket rhymes with...]

Interesting model.  I tend to be wary of computer-to-real world projections, although it looks like something with at least face validity and the potential for predictive validity.
 
Ben said it wasn't cheap--I wonder how much he's paying for the privilege of supplying Sherwin with data to validate his system?

 

[soxhop411]

Here is more from the WSJ in September
http://www.wsj.com/articles/baseballs-science-experiment-1411135882

 

[joe dokes]

Maybe they can branch out and apply it to Glob sportswriters.

 

[EricFeczko]

Great article.
 
There's an enormous literature on how to measure processing speed (or investigate other properties of neural mechanisms) via behavior. I'd recommend reading "Chronometric Explorations of the Mind" by Mike Posner.
 
I'd be interested in whether the Red Sox are employing more traditional methods of measuring visual processing speed to see whether results from Neuroscouting is consistent with the broader literature.
 
As someone who has done some visual psychophysics in the past, I'd also be interested in a) how much they are spending just on the computer monitors, and b) the type of monitors used.