Deception is one of the more ambiguous topics in the public baseball analysis space.
This video takes a shot at breaking down deception into a few different categories and piecing together the puzzle of making things appear as something they're not.
We'll talk occlusion, stride direction, pitcher height, what hitters see, pitch interaction, arm angles, and more.
Driveline's research on Gaze Tracking: https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2020/07/visual-approach-pre-pitch-gaze-behavior-of-baseball-hitters/?srsltid=AfmBOop0kmXJs4N5dRoQkwOkLg_isZumVvilq86Byunhv4MjYSATzuhB
An excellent article on what hitters look at by Rob Gray: https://perceptionaction.com/softfocus/
Max Bay's Twitter Account: https://x.com/choice_fielder
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Video and images: MLB, USA Today, Associated Press, MLB.tv, FanGraphs
0:00 What is Deception?
0:55 Hiding the Ball (Occlusion)
2:39 What Do Hitters Look At?
3:41 Stride Direction + Pitcher Height
5:46 Pitch Interaction
7:29 Arm Angle
8:53 What Matters Most?