Dynamic visual acuity in baseball players is due to superior tracking abilities.

PURPOSE: Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) is defined as the ability to discriminate the fine parts of a moving object. DVA is generally better in baseball players than that in nonplayers. Although the better DVA of baseball players has been attributed to a better ability to track moving objects, it might be derived from the ability to perceive an object even in the presence of a great distance between the image on the retina and the fovea (retinal error). However, the ability to perceive moving visual stimuli has not been compared between baseball players and nonplayers.
METHODS: To clarify this, we quantitatively measured abilities of eye movement and visual perception using moving Landolt C rings in baseball players and nonplayers.
RESULTS: Baseball players could achieve high DVA with significantly faster eye movement at shorter latencies than nonplayers. There was no difference in the ability to perceive moving object's images projected onto the retina between baseball players and nonplayers.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the better DVA of baseball players is primarily due to a better ability to track moving objects with their eyes rather than to improved perception of moving images on the retina. This skill is probably obtained through baseball training.