Soccer Dad

The Angler

David Pinto of Baseball Musings graciously credited me with pointing him to a fascinating article from the New York Times about how Mike Cameron patrols centerfield. David noted the same thing that occurred to me:

As a safety on the LaGrange football team, Cameron could watch a quarterback wind up to throw and guess within about a 5-yard radius where the ball would land.

Coming up in the White Sox organization, he played alongside Michael Jordan, and tested better in almost every category. But Cameron failed to reach some flies because he was trying to watch the ball while in full stride.

Cameron has since learned to trust his football instincts. When the ball leaves the bat, he immediately estimates where it may end up. Then he puts his head down and takes full advantage of his speed. Cameron appears faster on the field than on the basepaths because, unlike many center fielders, he hardly worries about tracking the ball when it's in flight.

"I just know where it's going to be," he said. "I have developed a sense of the trajectory of the baseball. The sound of the bat can sometimes be a mirage, but the trajectory gives you an exact sense of where the ball is headed."

The article is written as if it's a primer how to field. I was surprised to read this because my own judgment is that the ability to anticipate where a fly ball will land is not common. It hardly seemed liked good advice.
Apparently, my unscientific judgment was on target. David noted:

The interesting thing is, that's not how it's done normally. There was a very interesting study done that was published in Science in 1995 showing how players follow fly balls. (I believe they attached cameras to the fielders heads.) The summary of the article is here. Cameron appears to be able to figure out this trajectory without looking, which would be a great advantage.

My own experience comes from some 20 years of Sunday morning softball pickup games. During that time I noted that there were no more than three outfielders who could judge where the ball would land right off the bat. It's amazing watching someone take 2 or 3 steps and wait.
True the skill level in our games nowhere approaches the level of major league talent.
Then there's the case of the Orioles' longtime voice Fred Manfra. Presumably his job, like that of an outfielder, is enhanced if he can judge fly balls right off the bat. Over time his skill hasn't improved. I suspect that the skill is not easy to learn and possibly has an innate element to it.
The research that David mentioned, confirms my feeling.

Posted by SoccerDad at March 2, 2004 10:52 PM