Neuro-scouting and Mookie Betts

CPT Neuron

Got Pitching?
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2001
3,515
Biddeford, ME
When I was a resident, I tried to build a study design looking at different evoked potentials and looking for a performance correlation. Unfortunately, I wasn't near enough to a team to get it of the ground.
 

drbretto

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SoSH Member
Apr 10, 2009
12,073
Concord, NH
I remember when this first came out. There was another article on exactly this and it similarly used Mookie as an example. That was before Mookie had any real time up in the majors, and that was what convinced me that Mookie would end up being something special. I was using Mookie as an example to follow to see if there might be anything to this type of testing in the first place. It's lookin' pretty good so far!
 

stp

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Jul 19, 2005
396
Cape Ann
Interesting, but it seems odd that the Red Sox as early adopters of this technology haven't found anyone since Mookie Betts. I guess Mookie's gifts (talents) are just rare to begin with, and that players who have these abilities are already showing them on the field for everyone to see. It would be interesting to see all major league players tested to see if the best hitters (players) score the highest.
 

bgo544

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SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
876
East Bay
I have been using EEG/Event-related potentials for over 20 years as a research tool. It is hard to tell exactly what this company is doing based on the descriptions, but I have some skepticism about the utility of this approach. It is not that these techniques cannot tell you useful things about processing speed, etc., it is just that well-designed behavioral experiments using just reaction time can tell you the same things. The veneer of science (brain waves!) leads people to be more credulous than they might be otherwise. See this study for example.
 

bgo544

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SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
876
East Bay
Also, CPT Neuron, I'd be curious to hear your research idea. I have two 32-channel EEG systems at the ready...