Search

I seek to demonstrate the extent to which meaningful truth(s) can be extracted from a work of memorable literary fiction. This evocative autoethnography employs elements of Creative Analytical Practice (CAP) within a trilogy of short stories (episodes) each inspired by 'Shoeless Joe', the fictional novel that provided the inspiration for the fantasy baseball movie 'Field of Dreams'. Whether consumed individually or altogether, the three-part production offers the opportunity to experience the power and potential of producing personal narratives. Episodes One, Two and Three are piece of creative non-fiction that incorporate the aspects of personal narrative, ethnodrama and autobiography. The principles and practices of occupational devotion and heritage sports tourism are explored and exploited throughout, providing a platform for new learning and a potentially a new way of seeing the world(s) we inhabit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As there are multiple sports that depend on the use of the upper extremities of the body, and are using the high ability of the shoulder to spin around such as baseball, it was found crucial to study issues related to it, specially that different injuries were occurring within athletes' groups playing these games, specifically shoulder injuries and its different forms. This research was qualitative adopting the review form for displaying data which was extracted from articles published in Medline (Pubmed) database. This article focuses on the shoulder injuries within the overhead athletes, their types, treatment and the impact of the treatment on the stability of the shoulder among the long-term. Imaging findings were displayed for several types of injuries as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an instrument developed and used with an experimental methodology in a pilot study of stacking in football and baseball. The instrument was a positional profile purporting to represent an evaluation of young athletes on a number of position-relevant traits. Respondents were asked to assign each player to a position solely on the basis of this written evaluation. The race of the profiled player was systematically varied in order to measure the impact of race on positional assignment. Preliminary results showed that coaches achieve a high degree of consensus when making assignments on the basis of the written evaluations alone, and players who have been identified as white are significantly more likely to be assigned to the quarterback position than are players identified as black. No other evidence of racial differences in positional assignment was indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study replicated Christiano's inquiry on race and salaries in major league baseball in 1987. However, instead of merely dichotomizing the independent variable into black and white, the data were trichotomized into white, black, and Hispanic categories. Unstandardized regression coefficients (after disaggregating the observations by race I ethnicity, position, and free agency status) revealed several instances of salary inequities but no systematic patterning. The conclusion: The salaries of baseball players varying in race / ethnicity were not consistently different even while holding other theoretically relevant variables constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the mechanical properties of baseballs. Comparison of static and dynamic properties between traditional and modified baseballs; Increase of peak force with increased ball model stiffness; Usefulness of static parameters in reducing the complexity of static testing.

This study examined the relationship between selected mechanical characteristics of aluminum baseball bats and sensations on the hands resulting from impacts. Sixteen skilled male Little League baseball players held each of two bats while they were impacted at the following locations by baseballs at speeds of approximately 27 m/s: near barrel end, center of percussion (COP), distal node of the fundamental mode, and 4 in. toward the hands from the COP. Results of a questionnaire regarding annoyance and discomfort were correlated with selected bat characteristics and vibrational characteristics associated with each impact condition. Results indicated that perceptions of annoyance and discomfort were related to the level of excitation of the fundamental mode and first overtone mode and that annoyance and discomfort were less with impacts on the COP and fundamental vibrational node. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study examining the role of the seams of a baseball in the process of pitch recognition during baseball batting. The study found that baseball seams give baseball players visual information that seems to assist in the pitch discrimination process. The article discusses perceptual skills, the difference in skills between college-level baseball players and novice players, and the motor aspects of batting.

Experiments are done by colliding a swinging bat with a stationary baseball or softball. Each collision was recorded with high-speed cameras from which the post-impact speed, launch angle, and spin of the ball could be determined. Initial bat speeds were in the range 63-88 mph, producing launch angles in the range 0º-30º and spins in the range 0-3,500 rpm. The results are analyzed in the context of a ball-bat collision model, and the parameters of that model are determined. For both baseballs and softballs, the data are consistent with a mechanism whereby the ball grips the surface of the bat, stretching the ball in the transverse direction and resulting in a spin that was up to 40% greater than would be obtained by rolling contact of rigid bodies. Using a lumped parameter contact model, baseballs are shown to be less compliant tangentially than softballs. Implications of our results for batted balls in game situations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]