Ltlabner
08-22-2007, 10:28 PM
Have there been any serrious studies or discussions about the psychological aspects of baseball? We all have opinions on these subjects, but I'm currious if any real research has been done in these areas.
For example, (totally hypothetically, of course) if you are playing in a double-header and you get killed 30-3 in the first game, how does that effect your performance in the second game (if at all)?
Other questions that come to mind....
- Are there really guys who own another team and how does it effect the peformance of the opposing team when, say, Bill Hall, comes to the plate at GABP?
- Do brush-back pitches really move the batters off the plate and result in reduced perfromance by the opposing team or that batter in subsequent at bats?
- Are players really motivated by "walk years" in their contracts and somehow perform better on the field in an attempt to pad their numbers and get a better deal the next go-round?
- Does having a drill-sargent manager who has occasional (or regular) freak outs really motivate players into sustained performance improvements?
- Can players psyche (and subsequently performance) be effected by demotions, whether they be from the starting rotation to the pen, the regular line up to the bench or the MLB club to the AAA club?
These are just a few examples. I'm sure there are many other questions that could be asked relative to the psycological aspects of the game.
For example, (totally hypothetically, of course) if you are playing in a double-header and you get killed 30-3 in the first game, how does that effect your performance in the second game (if at all)?
Other questions that come to mind....
- Are there really guys who own another team and how does it effect the peformance of the opposing team when, say, Bill Hall, comes to the plate at GABP?
- Do brush-back pitches really move the batters off the plate and result in reduced perfromance by the opposing team or that batter in subsequent at bats?
- Are players really motivated by "walk years" in their contracts and somehow perform better on the field in an attempt to pad their numbers and get a better deal the next go-round?
- Does having a drill-sargent manager who has occasional (or regular) freak outs really motivate players into sustained performance improvements?
- Can players psyche (and subsequently performance) be effected by demotions, whether they be from the starting rotation to the pen, the regular line up to the bench or the MLB club to the AAA club?
These are just a few examples. I'm sure there are many other questions that could be asked relative to the psycological aspects of the game.