Red Sox using Neuroscouting

[Seth Stohs]

Alex Speier of The Boston Globe wrote a very interesting article talking about "Neuroscouting." As Theo Epstein described it in the article:

 

 

 

 

Through further evaluations and some of the proprietary testing we developed over the years, it was really clear that this kid not only had the speed, not only had the athleticism, not only had the arm, not only had the feel for the game, but also was pretty elite in his hand-eye coordination, his reaction time, and the way his mind worked as well.”

 

Part of it is to measure hand-eye coordination. They have their area scouts have the potential draft picks use a computer program. Mookie Betts was one of the first to do it, and he described it here:

 

 

“I missed my lunch period because I was doing neuroscouting,” recalled Betts. “[Watkins] just said, ‘Do this, don’t think about the results.’ I did what I could. It was just like, a ball popped up, tap space bar as fast as you could. If the seams were one way, you tapped it. If it was the other way, you weren’t supposed to tap it. I was getting some of them wrong.

 

 

I happen to think that this is pretty cool. I think a lot of it is proprietary, but you can't help but wonder how many teams are doing this kind of thing with potential draft picks?

[Thrylos]

Hand-eye coordination?  Neuroscouting? (I would think that it would involve electrodes)  Just give the kids a bunch of quarters and watch them play pinball, packman or pong

[Brock Beauchamp]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--T15tPuhm--/18lq3gianriisjpg.jpg

[Brock Beauchamp]

Oh, sorry. I thought the title read "Neoscouting".

[gunnarthor]

Probably nothing wrong with it but calling it "neuroscouting" seems like something a D-Bag would come up with.

[HitInAPinch]

 (I would think that it would involve electrodes)  Just give the kids a bunch of quarters and watch them play pinball, packman or pong

Electrodes.  OUCH !    

[nicksaviking]

Probably nothing wrong with it but calling it "neuroscouting" seems like something a D-Bag would come up with.

 

You prefer "video game assesment" instead? 

 

Since game consoles have come out, the kids have always been saying that video games help their eye-hand coordination.  I guess perhaps at the very least this could help test that theory.

[ashbury]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--T15tPuhm--/18lq3gianriisjpg.jpg

I don't know why more players don't use this strategy.  The Gas-House Gorillas could have taken Bugs Bunny deep instead of striking out (on one pitch!), for example.

 

BTW I thought the title said Nerdscouting.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I don't know why more players don't use this strategy.  The Gas-House Gorillas could have taken Bugs Bunny deep instead of striking out (on one pitch!), for example.

Neo's pitch-framing statistics are off the charts.

 

Also spoon-bending.

[nicksaviking]

Neo's pitch-framing statistics are off the charts.

 

Also spoon-bending.

 

But somebody's got to talk to the pitcher about leaving too many bullets over the middle of the plate.

[Brock Beauchamp]

*groans*