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Relationship between sports and culture
Relationship between sports and culture
Relationship between sports and culture
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Baseball Magic, by George Gmelch, revised pages 25-46 of "Superstition and ritual in American Baseball" is a great example of traditions that players repetitively do, believing that it will give them luck or help them perform better. Anthropologist
Bronislaw Malinowski compared Trobrianders open sea fishing, and their traditions to help ensure a safe journey and increase their catch, to America's national pastime, Baseball, in which professional athletes battle day in and day out to be crowned at the end of the year the World Champions. After retiring from baseball and taking an anthropology course called “Magic, Religion, and Witchcraft.” Gmelch realized that his old traditions and his teammate's traditions for luck weren't so different from
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Humans naturally try to control everything around them, and when something is so uncontrollable such as baseball where there are only three primary activities- pitching, hitting, and fielding, and each of these have many uncontrollable aspects, in which almost every player on the field has a ritual or tradition they will follow before the game or during the game. I especially like this because I played baseball and was a pitcher and has many rituals when I was doing well, and even had more when I was doing worse because the pitcher has the least control on the field because after they throw the ball they have usually no impact on the rest of the play, and their best pitch can be hit for a home run or get a called third strike on the outside corner. The worst part is that the pitcher can be having an amazing game, but your team has no run support and you still lose. For example in 1990 when Sir Fernandez lost twice as many games as Dwight Gooden his teammate who allowed more runs per game then Fernandez. Unfortunately, the pitcher can't rely on himself, he relies on his entire team, his coaches, and even the other
Many cultures ascribe to some kind of superstition, magic, or faith. Merriam-Webster defines superstition as “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation” ("Superstition”). This definition makes superstition sound like it belongs in a lower developed country that lacks the ability to have scientific knowledge. However, magic and superstition are alive and well in developed countries, such as the United States. Sports are rife with superstitions. Many players use “ritual, taboos, and fetishes to manage the anxiety generated by unpredictable events that challenge human control” (Gmelch 266). Superstitions are entirely psychological; a way to create a reason for an event that has occurred. In his article “Baseball Magic,” George Gmelch examines the rituals, taboos, and fetishes of American baseball and how they compare to the magic of the Trobriand Islanders.
Baseball statistics are meant to be a representation of a player’s talent. Since baseball’s inception around the mid-19th century, statistics have been used to interpret the talent level of any given player, however, the statistics that have been traditionally used to define talent are often times misleading. At a fundamental level, baseball, like any game, is about winning. To win games, teams have to score runs; to score runs, players have to get on base any way they can. All the while, the pitcher and the defense are supposed to prevent runs from scoring. As simplistic as this view sounds, the statistics being used to evaluate individual players were extremely flawed. In an attempt to develop more specific, objective forms of statistical analysis, the idea of Sabermetrics was born. Bill James, a man who never played or coached professional baseball, is often credited as a pioneer in the field and for coining the name as homage to the Society of American Baseball Research, or SABR. Eventually, the use of Sabermetrics became widespread in the Major Leagues, the first team being the Oakland Athletics, as depicted in Moneyball. Bill James and other baseball statisticians have developed various methods of evaluating a player performance that allow for a more objective view of the game, broadly defined as Sabermetrics.
In terms of racial inequality in baseball there have been many eras of integration. Baseball originally is seen as America’s national game belonging to the white men of America. However, throughout history there have been steps taken in recognizing and integrating those groups deemed “less favorable” by the American community. These groups include German immigrants, Irish immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, Native Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Asians. America used the game of baseball as a tool to indoctrinate the American ideals and values of teamwork, working hard, and collaborating for the greater good into the cultures of the “uncivilized world.” These groups used baseball as a medium to gain acceptance into the American community as racially equal counterparts.
Baseball has been of the longest living sports in our world today. The game started with the idea of a stick and ball and now has become one of the most complex sports known in our society. Several rules and regulations have been added to help enhance the game for everyone. Although baseball has endured several issues during its history and development of the game the game has still been a success throughout the world.
These are mainly associated with pitching and hitting because these activities have the highest degree of chance, and fielding does not. When a player has a great home run, he will try to do the same thing he did prior to that home run. He may eat a taco or wear a long sleeve blue shirt, or wear dirty underwear. Clearly the rituals and superstitions of baseball do not guarantee anything in reality. However they do provide their believer a sense of control, and the added confidence they may need to
Mental preparedness separates the average baseball players from the elite ones. A dedicated baseball player shows up ready to play and succeed in whatever situation may arise. Baseball is a mental game, and concentration is key to keeping a player mentally prepared. Baseball is both a fast and slow sport, for it is slow between pitches, but very intense during them. During pitches, it is a players time to regroup himself and think of all the situations that could arise during the next pitch. During the play, everything happens fast, and there is no time to think about what to do, it is all instinct, so the ability to avoid mental errors is crucial. Mental mistakes often lead to physical mistakes, which is when everything goes sour. Mental confidence plays such a critical role in how a person physically plays. When a player is mentally down on himself, it is extremely hard to raise his confidence back up, and most of the time he cannot. A determined baseball player’s mind is totally different, an error is a learning experience,
"Lady, I'm not an athlete. I'm a professional baseball player" (John Kruk). Saying that baseball takes no athleticism is like saying Michael Jordan was bad at basketball, it is false. For example, have you ever seen Addison Russell, the Chicago Cubs shortstop, lay out for a ground ball and capture it, then bounce up from the ground and make a ridiculous throw to first? Making a play like that takes athleticism from another world, Addison needed to possess the hand eye coordination to snag the ball while parallel to the turf and he had to get up and make an acrobatic throw to first. Incredible. Not only does it take this kind of athleticism to make top ten plays, but even on the routine ground ball. Even though people might say baseball is
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the American nation and its principles of nationalism. This is a particularly important issue because baseball seems to be a perfect representative system having many comparative analogies to the larger system of development, America. Since the sport first emerged, baseball and America have shared the same values, responded to the same events, and struggled with the same social and economic issues. To learn of the ideals concerning the sport of baseball in America, is to know the heart and mind of America.
With about 83 players currently to in the MLB, 682 players since 1950, and so far 2 players in the Hall of Fame with much more to get inducted, it’s clear that the Dominican Republic dominates the game of baseball. In the Dominican Republic, baseball is the country’s pastime and official sport. Baseball doesn’t discriminate, regardless of gender, race, and economic status. In my personal view, baseball runs in the blood and embedded in the genetic coding of Dominicans. As a person whose mother and father are Dominican and born and raised in Miami, there seems to be little to nothing that connects me to their culture. Nonetheless, this Miami-born Dominican- American is proud to say that the sport I love the most can connect me to the Dominican
Baseball is one of the hardest sports to play. Baseball, unlike every other sport, does not have a certain location to bring the ball to or a goal to put the ball in. The team, not only one player, has to work together to win every single game. On average every player has an at-bat three
Baseball develops hand eye coordination, as you swing the bat, you predict where the ball is going to be and you work from there. If hit you should feel a little jolt. That jolt is your brain telling you what to do next, after you hit the ball you have to run and watch your coach to know what to do next. This can help you with writing and becoming a surgeon because you have more control over your hand.
For most sports fans there is nothing like opening day and a baseball field. In recent years I have over heard several people say Baseball is not the National Pastime or National Game any longer. When I query these people the typical response is Football is our new National pastime/game. Frank Deford (Nov 7, 2012) a writer for Sports Illustrated said, "Baseball is what we used to be. Football is what we have become." I refuse to believe this based on my knowledge of both games. In this paper we will exam the facts and I would submit to you that Baseball is still the National Pastime/Game and it cannot be disputed.
Ever since the creation of Major League Baseball (MLB), baseball has always been considered part of America’s pastime. A crucial role of American society was also included in baseball, segregation. The color barrier in baseball was broken on April 15, 1947 by the Brooklyn Dodgers when Jackie Robinson stepped on the field for his first at bat. With such a large part of American society now becoming integrated, many Americans were questioning their emotions, some were inspired by such an act of courage and others were filled with hatred towards a minority. “Professional baseball has become the laboratory to test American principles of equality and fairness.” , with this being said, baseball was a way for American’s to test the limits and their
Many people don't understand the point in playing baseball. Why would someone swing a stick, hit a ball, and try to get back to where they started before the ball returns? What pleasure is there in that? Why not participate in a sport like wrestling or track where there is an obvious level of individual improvement and therefore pleasure. Well, I play baseball because of the love I have for the sport, and because of the feeling that overwhelms me every time I walk onto a baseball field. When I walk onto a field I am given the desire to better myself not only as an athlete, but also as a person. The thoughts and feelings I get drive me to work hard towards my goals and to be a better person. The most relevant example of these feelings is when I stepped on the field at Runyon Complex in Pueblo, Colorado during our high school state playoffs in 2003. This baseball field will always be an important place to me.
Finally, baseball fans are insanely loyal to the team of their choice. Should the home team's players lose eight in a row, their fans may begin to call them "bums." They may even suggest that the slumping cleanup hitter be sent to the minors or the manager fired. However, such reactions only hide their broken hearts. They still check the sports pages and tune in to get the score. Furthermore, this intense loyalty can make fans dangerous, for anyone who dares to say to a loyal fan that some other team has sharper fielding or a better attitude could risk permanent, physical harm.