My sons batting average has taken a dip. Can video games be to blame?

Question

My son has always been a great baseball player. Recently, his average has suffered, and we have noticed a disproportionate amount of strike outs. Around the start of this "slump", I also noticed, he had been playing PS2 NCAA baseball almost non stop. Is it possible the swinging action of the video game has affected his timing or "trigger" mechanism at the plate in real life?? I thought I recall Tony Gwynn mentioning he wouldn't play video baseball during the season? Any educated opinions would be appreciated..

Answer 1

It can cause him to lose a little concentration in his peripheral vision. During video games his brain blocks out anything in his vision that is not coming from that direct area on the screen. This will cause a slower reaction to live action because hitting does have elements collected from peripheral as well as direct vision. Slower motor skills will cause him to be behind on pitches or having his hands lower than before looking for only low pitches (when you are having timing and vision problems low pitches are easier to see).

But since you mentioned Tony G, take a chapter from Charlie Lau and change his stance and timing.
Have him take a normal hard swing and mark where his front foot landed. Then move his front foot back 3 to 4 inches, don't let him talk you into anymore than that. Then take his stance to address the pitch with about 90% of his weight on his back leg. Don't let him move the front foot back before the swing. The idea is to take the step almost out of the swing, he will naturally take a small step (the 3 inches you took away). When he takes a swing, with no step, his head and shoulders should remaining in the hitting position throughout the swing and should not raise or lower. The small step he does take will naturally push his body and weight back into the power position behind the ball. By doing this he should pick up the ball faster (because his head doesn't move) and his hands will be quicker because he starts in the hitting zone. Even though at first he may like he is losing power he will actually become a more powerful and consistant hitter as long as he is put into the hitting zone.
There are several MLB players who use this method - some guy name Albert Pujols, for what ever that is worth... Even his wife has pointed out to him that when he starts to slump his stance narrows and his weight is too far forward.

But going back to the video games, if you do it right up to game time your brain is on overload and it will be difficult to focus on real life. Video happens at 30 to 36 frames per second and real life comes at you at 48. (think about those OmniMax theatre experiences that can actually make you motion sick watching them - it's because they use more frames per second to simulate real life vision input. And video games don't even use the same speed as a regular movie). In other words, you will be brain dead trying to operate at real speed. I wouldn't go out ban him forever or even from baseball season, but definitely not on the day of or before a game.

Answer 2

Video games cannot be blamed for this recent dip in your son's average unless he is substituting them for practice time. The only thing that can fix a slump is practice, practice, practice. Also, don't become to obsessed with statistics and keep in mind that baseball is a game and is meant to be fun. Each bad at-bat in a game can subtract about 7 points from a batting average so take advantage of practice time so bad at-bats can be avoided.

Answer 3

First - I hope you're not asking this because you're one of those out of control sports parent.

Have his eyes checked.
Does he still enjoy playing baseball? Maybe he's lost some enthusiasm for the game and really doesn't care if he plays well. I'd find out if he's playing for you, for his friends or if he's playing because it's still fun.
Maybe the other kids are starting to catch up to his ability level and it's beginning to show.
Hang a tire on a rope agains a wall. Have swing a bat against the tire. If he hits it correctly he'll improve the bat coverage of the plate. If he hits the tire incorrectly he'll learn in a hurry how swing should be because that hurts the wrists when done incorrectly. This will also help strengthen his wrists and forearms.

Answer 4

It can affect his timing a bit. In the game, you've got a couple more fractions of a second to decide if you want to swing or not. And the game will compensate for you if you start to swing a touch later than you might need to. Remember, the game is going to be easier than real life so that regular people can play it.
So if your son is swinging late, I'd say that the game may be affecting him. If he's missing above or below the pitch, then it's probably something else.

Answer 5

I seriously doubt it. My son plays baseball and PS2 baseball games all the time. My son had a slump in his batting average for a semester but his fielding stats were great, and so were his pitching stats. I got him some contacts and his batting averages leveled out. Even the slightest vision problem could effect it.
My best to him this season.

Answer 6

i play video games frequently, and more and more i notice i am actually a lot slower mentally after having had played them when i try to focus on "REAL LIFE SITUATIONS". it's much harder to adapt to a conversation with people when your zoned in to electronic sights and sounds because of it's ability to manipulate the mind. i'm an antagonist against video gaming in general and i've played them all my life, but the new systems are TOO PHOTO-ELIPTICALLY SENSITIVE TO USERS and kidZZ have a hard time realizing that they are doing them no good whatsoever. they are not educational in the least bit, and that comes with a lot of experience in playing them, no matter what anyone says. I'd listen to Tony Gwynn, his batting average was statistically excellent! i played baseball and sports as well and video games are pathetic!

Answer 7

You're kidding, right? Unless your son is playing disproportionate amounts of time on his butt playing video games, his gaming hobby has directly no effect on actually playing baseball. Plus, for much of Tony Gwynn's career, the most advanced baseball games on any console were games like "RBI Baseball"...

If it means anything, I have plenty of friends that have been drafted or have played ball professionally that enjoy the same hobby as your son. So, like with anything that involves sitting around, it should be done in moderation and should not affect the time spent training for baseball season.

Answer 8

Yes, they can actually take most of the blame. Without him practicing and playing video games, he has broken rhythm which is actually big in sports. Without practice also, he has thrown off his timing and ability to catch up to pitches and realize that a curve is coming in instead of a fastball and so on. The guy above me is also correct, if you have tape of a game before the slump, look at what he is doing there and compare his mechanics and then go from there.

Answer 9

It has been proven that video games improve hand-eye coordination, but that alone is not enough to counteract the negative effects of video games. Actually taking BP is far more important that taking virtual BP. I doubt that his "trigger" has been affected because of the video game itself, instead, the hours spent in front of a television and not exercising or practicing have led to your sons sluggishness.

Answer 10

The video game could be a factor. It might be making him over aggressive at the plate. Although I doubt his actual mechanics are suffering because of what he does with his thumbs. Another factor could be the pitching is getting better as his age group progresses.