title: Application of the matching law to pitch selection in professional baseball.
abstract: This study applied the generalized matching equation (GME) to pitch selection in professional baseball. The GME was fitted to the relation between pitch selection and hitter outcomes for five professional baseball pitchers during the 2014 Major League Baseball season. The GME described pitch selection well. Pitch allocation varied across different game contexts such as inning, count, and number of outs in a manner consistent with the GME. Finally, within games, bias decreased for four of the five pitchers and the sensitivity parameter increased for three of the five pitchers. The results extend the generality of the GME to multialternative natural sporting contexts, and demonstrate the influence of context on behavior in natural environments.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Department of Psychology and STE Consultants, LLC, Berkeley, CA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: STE Consultants, LLC, Berkeley, CA.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sosine
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dallery
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001484:Baseball / Q000502:physiology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts
keywords: baseball; choice behavior; matching law; translational research