Japanese Baseball Research Articles

Exploring factors associated with vitamin D nutritional status in Japanese baseball players.

Vitamin D is a nutrient necessary for conditioning athletes. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the nutritional status of vitamin D in farm-league professional baseball players to examine vitamin D requirements. This study included 35 players enrolled in farm team A of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization in the spring of 2022. The survey items included anthropometric measurements, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels as an indicator of vitamin D nutritional status, a simple questionnaire for predicting vitamin D deficiency in Japanese adults, mean daily sun exposure duration, and body surface area (BSA). The serum 25(OH)D level was 29.8±1.8 ng/mL, and 17 (49%) participants were vitamin D deficient (<30 ng/mL). The serum 25(OH)D levels showed positive correlations with body height (r=0.459, P<0.01), fat-free mass (r=0.347, P<0.05), muscle mass (r=0.341, P<0.05), and BSA (r=0.434, P<0.01). Furthermore, the consumption frequency of fish with high vitamin D levels in regular diets, BSA, and body fat mass were identified as predictors of the serum nutritional status of vitamin D. Athletes engaged in outdoor sports, such as the study participants, had inadequate vitamin D levels. In addition, the frequency of consumption of fish with high vitamin D levels in regular diets, BSA, and body fat mass were identified as predictors of the serum nutritional status of vitamin D. Further studies of the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and performance are needed.

Influences of sociocultural and historical constraints on athletes’ developmental experiences: a case study of baseball in Japan

Many observers have pointed out how baseball in Japan is narrated, taught, and played differently from its counterpart in North America. Hard-work, selfless behaviors, and defensive and collectivistic strategies are described as the basic tenets of Japanese baseball, often referred to as ‘Samurai Baseball’. This paper aims to investigate sports and non-sporting constraints that define this distinct way of perceiving the game. Ecological psychology, arguing individuals’ actions should be investigated at the level of interactions which happen between them and their environment, provides the epistemological foundation for this study, while the Skilled Intentionality Framework, proposing behaviours occur amid specific sets of promoted values, gives the ontological base for investigating proximal and distal influences on Japanese ballplayers’ development. Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model as a theoretical framework, this paper demonstrates how coaches’ strategies and training proposals, as well as players’ skill-acquisition processes, are constrained by socio-cultural-historical features of the culture of reference.

Characteristics of youth sports specialization among Japanese baseball players

Characteristics of youth sports specialization among Japanese baseball players

Low Back Pain and Lumbar Degeneration in Japanese Professional Baseball Players.

Background:Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Asia. It is known that baseball can easily lead to back pain. However, there has been no survey of low back pain (LBP) and lumbar disc degeneration in Japanese professional baseball players to date.Purpose:To investigate the cause of LBP and lumbar degeneration in professional Japanese baseball players.Study Design:Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of Japanese professional baseball players with LBP who visited our hospital. Data were collected from July 2018 to April 2021. We also investigated whether the results differed between players in their 20s and 30s or between pitchers and fielders. Data analysis was performed using the chi-square test.Results:We surveyed 32 professional baseball players. The most frequent causes of LBP among players in their 20s (n = 21) were lumbar disc herniation (LDH; 57%) and spondylolysis (24%). Of the players with spondylolysis, 50% had adult-onset spondylolysis. Players in their 30s (n = 11) most commonly had discogenic pain (55%) as well as LDH and facet joint arthritis (each 18%). The incidence of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration was significantly higher in players in their 30s (91%) than those in their 20s (14%), as was the incidence of Schmorl nodes and Modic type 1 changes. There was no significant difference in the cause of LBP or the incidence of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration between pitchers and fielders (P = .59).Conclusion:Among professional baseball players in their 20s, lumbar degeneration was less common, and they most frequently developed diseases less related to degeneration, such as LDH. However, among players in their 30s, lumbar degeneration was more advanced, and degenerative diseases such as discogenic pain occurred more frequently. Research on training methods could lead to the prevention of LBP. Our data may be applicable to other professional athletes and will contribute to diagnosis and treatment.

Classification of four pitching styles in Japanese baseball players

This study aimed to provide normative biomechanical data of baseball delivery styles and to verify an appropriate criterion for quantitatively classifying baseball pitches into four delivery styles. In total, 74 pitches were visually identified by seven coaches into 24 overhand (OS), 17 three-quarter (TS), 21 sidearm (SS) and 12 underhand (US) deliveries. The accuracies of the classifications of the pitches using the arm slot angle ( θAS) and using the combination of trunk lateral tilt ( θT) and upper arm elevation ( θA) angles at release were compared. Average values for θAS were 53.9°, 31.5°, 5.8°, and −34.8° in the OS, TS, SS and US; corresponding values for θT were 31.9°, 15.4°, −0.9°, and −40.1°; and for θA were 39.8°, 16.1°, −6.3°, and−43.0°. Both variables ( θAS and the average of θ'T and θ'A, which corresponded to the projection of each point on the regression line) correctly classified the delivery styles, but the accuracy of the classification using θAS (96%) was higher than that using the average of θ'T and θ'A (89%). There were fewer and smaller overlaps of the ranges of pitches classified using θAS (only 6 pitches between TS and SS (14.9° to 23.0°), which can be considered a buffer zone) compared to the average of θ'T and θ'A. Consequently, θAS seems the most appropriate for classifying baseball pitches into the four delivery styles. The separation points between the four styles were marked by θAS values of 45° (between OS and TS), 19° (between TS and SS) and −13° (between SS and US).

The Early Cultural Evolution of Baseball in Korea (1876–1945): Unilateral Product of Cultural Imperialism or Multilateral Process?

The dissemination of sports culture is not a unilinear or unilateral phenomenon. It depends on how the recipients perceive and react to it in the context of their lives. This study aims to shed light on the complex political, social, and cultural processes that led to the acceptance and popularization of baseball in Korea. In the era of imperialism, various modern sports cultures spread in the Korean society, but baseball emerged as the most popular. Baseball was initially introduced to Korea as a by-product of US and Japanese expansionism during the Korean Enlightenment period (1876–1910) and the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945). However, baseball’s germination during the Enlightenment period lay in the self-awareness of Koreans willing to embrace it as a cultural product of Western modernity, realizing its potential to meet the physical and cultural needs of their society. Additionally, during the Japanese colonial period, baseball functioned as a channel for expressing both nationalism and youthful masculinity, being popularized in the Korean society. The international exchange between US and Japanese baseball, which was developed with active recognition of baseball acceptance within the Joseon society during the Japanese colonial period, became the vital momentum driving the popularization of Korean baseball.

Characteristics of internal oblique muscle strain in professional baseball players: a case series

BackgroundInternal oblique muscle strains can develop in professional baseball players, rendering the players unable to continue playing for a certain period. However, the characteristics of this injury are not well known. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the details of the injury and the post injury course of internal oblique muscle strain in professional baseball players.MethodsThe subjects were members of a single Japanese professional baseball team with a total of 188 players (81 fielders and 107 pitchers) who developed internal oblique muscle strains from January 2012 to December 2021. The diagnosis of muscle strain was made on the basis of local pain and magnetic resonance imaging findings. The incidence of internal oblique muscle strain, the details of the site of the injury, and the time to return to play were examined.ResultsThere were 28 cases in 23 players (12.2%) of internal oblique muscle strain. The players were 16 fielders (24.7%) and 7 pitchers (7.5%), with a significantly greater incidence in fielders (p = 0.001). Although internal oblique muscle strain was more common on the side contralateral to the batting or pitching side, it occurred on either side. Most of the injury sites were at the region of the muscle insertion to the lower ribs. At a mean time of 36.5 months after the initial injury, 5 players (21.7%) developed another internal oblique muscle strain. The mean time to return to play was 27.7 ± 9.7 days (range, 4–53 days).ConclusionsBaseball players who have symptoms at the side of the trunk should be regarded as having possible internal oblique muscle strain, and proactive examination should be considered.

Age-related differences in glenohumeral internal rotation deficit, humeral retrotorsion angle, and posterior shoulder tightness in baseball players.

Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit is generally recognized as a risk factor for throwing disability in baseball players. However, the pathology, timing of onset, role in the onset of humeral retrotorsion angle (HTA) and soft tissue extensibility (STE), and the relationshipwith age remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate age-related glenohumeral internal rotation deficit, HTA, and STE in Japanese baseball players and determine whether these factors correlate with throwing disability. Participants were 172 male baseball players divided into a symptomatic group (n=68) and an asymptomatic group (n=104). The mean age at examination was 15.4±3.2 (range, 8-22) years. Measurement items were range of motion of bilateral internal and external rotation at 90° abduction (2ndIR and 2ndER, respectively), bilateral HTA, and posterior shoulder muscle elasticity. Correlations of age, symptom, and dominance with these measurements were investigated, and significant bilateral differences in HTA and STE by age and symptom were analyzed. HTA and 2ndER of the dominant side were significantly greater than those of the nondominant side in those over the age of 13 years in both the asymptomatic and symptomatic groups. In contrast, 2ndIR of the dominant side was significantly smaller than that of the nondominant side in those over the age of 13 years in both the asymptomatic and symptomatic groups. The difference in HTA between the dominant and nondominant sides increased and then plateaued at 12° after the age of 16 years. STE was observed only in the symptomatic group, and the value of STE was significantly greater in players aged >16 years compared with that in players aged <12 years (P=.001). Muscle elasticity did not differ significantly between sides and showed no correlation with STE. The difference in HTA between the dominant and nondominant sides increased with age until 16 years old regardless of symptoms. STE in the dominant side was observed only in symptomatic baseball players after the age of 13 years and increased with age, plateauing around the age of 16 years. Posterior shoulder muscle elasticity was not indicated as a cause of STE.

Ingroup cooperation among Japanese baseball fans using the one-shot prisoner’s dilemma game

ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine the external validity of social identity theory (SIT) and the bounded generalised reciprocity hypothesis (BGR) to generate ingroup cooperation in real groups. Previous research has demonstrated the existence of ingroup cooperation predicted by both theories in the minimal group, whereas neither theory was supported in real groups. However, ingroup cooperation predicted by both theories was revealed among Japanese baseball fans after controlling for confounding factors. Furthermore, previous research showed that ingroup cooperation was better explained by the BGR than by the SIT when the cost of cooperation was high. The limitation of these studies is that ingroup cooperation was measured in terms of behavioural intention (a vignette experiment). This study employed a one-shot prisoner’s dilemma game to measure ingroup cooperation among Japanese baseball fans. The results supported only BGR in that ingroup cooperation was enhanced in situations wherein participants could expect a reciprocal relationship with their game partner.

Large-Scale Fandom-based Gamification Intervention to Increase Physical Activity: A Quasi-experimental Study.

Gamification, the use of game design elements in nongame contexts, in combination with insights from behavioral economics, has been applied increasingly to behavior change interventions. However, little is known about the effectiveness or scalability of this approach, especially in the long term. We tested a large-scale smartphone-based intervention to encourage physical activity among Japanese baseball fans using gamification techniques that leveraged fandom and interteam competition inherent in sports. A quasi-experimental study was conducted among fans of the Japanese Pacific League. The app, Pa-League Walk, included gamification elements, such as competition between opposing teams' fans based on total daily step counts on game days (>60,000 free downloads since March 2016). We analyzed daily steps of 20,052 app users, supplemented by online survey data of 274 users and 613 matched controls. Difference-in-differences estimators evaluated change in daily steps before and after app installation in users versus matched controls. Users' daily steps increased by 574 (95% confidence interval, 83-1064) steps 3 months after installation, compared with controls. The increase was maintained for up to 9 months (559 (99-1018) more steps per day vs baseline), attenuating over a longer follow-up. Positive effect modification was found by high-frequency of the app use (P < 0.001) but not by other covariables (P ≥ 0.14) such as education or income. Days with 10,000-step achievement increased from 24.4% to 27.5% after the additional introduction of incentives (digital player photographs; P < 0.001). Using existing fandom and solidarity, the gamification app increased physical activity at scale among baseball fans, including people with lower socioeconomic status underrepresented in traditional health programs.

Teammates&apos; Support Behavior toward Japanese Baseball Players with Yips

Teammates&apos; Support Behavior toward Japanese Baseball Players with Yips

Longitudinal Change of Forearm-Hand Inertia Value and Shoulder Musculature Using Dual X-ray Absorptiometry in Youth Japanese Baseball Players: Implications for Elbow Injury.

It is important to understand the timing of the maximum increase of forearm-hand inertia value and lean body mass (LBM) of the shoulder girdle musculature when elbow injury frequently occurs. This study aimed to clarify the discrepancies of those in youth baseball players. Forty-three male baseball players (8- to 14-years-old) participated in this study. The forearm-hand inertia value and LBM of the shoulder girdle musculature were calculated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A cubic spline fit was applied to the annual increase forearm-hand inertia value and LBM of the shoulder girdle musculature for each chronological age and years from peak height velocity (PHV) age. As a result of cubic splines fitting, the peak timing for forearm-hand inertia value and LBM of the shoulder girdle musculature was 12.42 and 12.75 years in chronological age, −0.66 and −0.11 years in PHV age. Therefore, the peak timing of forearm-hand inertia value was about 4 months earlier in chronological age and half a year earlier in PHV age than LBM of the shoulder girdle musculature. Acquiring sufficient shoulder girdle musculature during the period when the growth of the shoulder girdle musculature cannot catch up with forearm-hand inertial value is necessary to reduce the elbow load while throwing.

Revenue Sharing and Collusive Behavior in the Major League Baseball Posting System

This paper uses auction theory to explain the unique design of the 1998–2013 posting system agreed to between Major League Baseball and the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League that allowed for the transfer of baseball players from Japan to the United States. It has some similarities and many differences from the transfer system used to obtain players in European football. The unique features of the posting system were a compromise between Major League Baseball clubs and Nippon Professional Baseball clubs with the understanding that the former was a collusive group of club owners. Revenue sharing is a method to enforce a system of side payments to collusive bidders. It is then profit-maximizing to have the bidder with the highest net surplus from the player win the auction. Changes to the revenue sharing system used in Major League Baseball reduced the ability of club owners to bid for Japanese players, hence changes to the bidding rules of the posting system coincided at the same time.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YIPS IN BASEBALL

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between the development of the yips in baseball, overcommitment to sport, and resilience. Participants: 482 Japanese baseball players who belonged to a university baseball team (mean age = 19.43 years, SD = 1.00) were included in the analysis. A face sheet, a questionnaire on the yips, the scale of overcommitment to sport, and the Bidimensional Resilience Scale. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the extent, to which overcommitment and resilience predicted the presence or absence of developing the yips in baseball. The results indicated the overcommitment was significant but the two factors of resilience, namely, innate resilience and acquired resilience were not significant. Thus, it is possible that the higher the tendency of overcommitment to baseball, the higher the possibility of developing the yips. It is recommended that a longitudinal study be conducted to examine what factors are involved in the process in depth. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between the development of the yips in baseball, overcommitment to sport, and resilience. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that while overcommitment was significant in the development of the yips, innate and acquired resilience were not. It is recommended that a longitudinal study be conducted to examine what factors are involved in the process in depth.

Managers’ experiences as recipients: impact on organizational change

PurposeDrawing on insights from change experience research, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of managers’ experiences, as change recipients, on organizational change implemented by the managers.Design/methodology/approachSince the Japanese sports context fits well with the aims of this research, longitudinal data of Japanese baseball are used to test the hypotheses. The data set was created using resources such as books published by Japanese baseball institutions. Following previous research, teams are regarded as organizations, and the number of changed players in teams per year is considered. The hypotheses have been tested using regression analysis on a yearly basis.FindingsManagers’ experiences as change recipients are an essential determinant of organizational change. The findings show that the amount of change these managers experience is associated with the magnitude of organizational change they implement. Past change experiences in each organization positively moderates this relationship.Originality/valuePrevious studies examined managers’ experience after their appointment, and showed its influence on organizational change. However, scarce research examines the effect of managers’ experiences as change recipients on the organizational change they implement. Thus, this is the first study to analyze and test the effects of such experiences on organizational change.

Christopher T. Keaveney, Contesting the Myths of Japanese Baseball: Japan’s National Pastime in Literature, Film and Manga

Christopher T. Keaveney, Contesting the Myths of Japanese Baseball: Japan’s National Pastime in Literature, Film and Manga

The influence of managers’ successful change experience on organisational change: performance crisis and managers’ tenure

ABSTRACT Change experience studies based on organisational learning research have focused on the change experiences of entire organisations and shown that previous change increases the likelihood of further change. This study extends the theory to examine top managers’ change experience, a topic overlooked by most research. Using original Japanese baseball data, this research examines the effect of the top manager’s change experience in each team, especially that of successful change, on the extent of further change. The findings show that the manager’s successful experience in implementing large change decreases the possibility of large change in the future, although change experience studies have little examined the influence of the results of previous change on further change, assuming instead that the results of prior changes do not influence further change, regardless of the degree of success. Furthermore, this study presents the moderating effect of the manager’s tenure on these associations.

Is “0.300” special for anyone?: round number effect in Japanese baseball data

Is “0.300” special for anyone?: round number effect in Japanese baseball data

Relationship Between Physical Fitness at the End of Preseason and the Inseason Game Performance in Japanese Female Professional Baseball Players.

Watanabe, Y, Yamada, Y, Yoshida, T, Matsui, T, Seo, K, Azuma, Y, Hiramoto, M, Miura, Y, Fukushima, H, Shimazu, A, Eto, T, Saotome, H, Kida, N, and Morihara, T. Relationship between physical fitness at the end of preseason and the inseason game performance in Japanese female professional baseball players. J Strength Cond Res 33(6): 1580-1588, 2019-This study examined anthropometric and fitness profiles of Japanese female professional baseball players and investigated the relationship between players' physical fitness and inseason game performance. Fifty-seven players who were registered in the Japan Women's Baseball League (JWBL) participated. Height, body mass, grip strength, back strength, knee extension and flexion strength, hamstring extensibility, vertical jump height, and horizontal jump distance were measured at preseason (February and March) in 2013. Game performance during the 2013 season (March-November) was obtained from official JWBL statistics. Vertical jump height showed significant positive correlations with individual performance records (e.g., total bases [r = 0.551], slugging percentage [r = 0.459], and stolen bases [r = 0.442]). Similar relationships were observed between horizontal jump distance and performance statistics in most cases. By contrast, grip, back, and lower-limb strength, as well as hamstring extensibility were not significantly correlated with game performance. Stepwise regression analysis selected vertical jump height as an independent variable, significantly correlating with several game performance measures (e.g., total bases: adjusted R = 0.257). Also, vertical jump height and body mass index were identified as independent variables significantly associated with stolen bases (adjusted R = 0.251). Maximal jump performance, rather than simple isometric muscle strength or flexibility, is a good performance test that can be used at the end of preseason to predict inseason batting and stolen base performance. Our findings demonstrate the importance of constructing preseason training programs to enhance lower-limb muscular power that is linked to successful inseason performance in female baseball players.

Kattobase: The linguistic structure of Japanese baseball chants

On the basis of extensive research, Tanaka (2008) develops a thorough and insightful analysis of Japanese baseball chants of the form kat to ba se X - X - X "let it fly, hit a homerun, X-X-X!"where "X-X-X" is a rhythmic adaptation of a batter's name (e.g., Kakefu (掛布) &gt; kaa-kee-fuu). The system is of surprising complexity since the kind of rhythmic adaptation a name receives depends in an intricate way on its length. Tanaka shows that a set of three rules is necessary where, for example, the rhythmic alignment of the right edge of the input sometimes targets the last mora (i), sometimes the last syllable of the input (ii, iii):(i) up to 3 moras: Etoo (江藤)&gt;ee-too-oo, *ee-ee-too, Baasu (Bass)&gt;baa-aa-suu, *baa-suu-uu(ii) 4 moras: Kiyohara (清原)&gt;kii-yoha-raa, *kiyo-haa-raa, Ichiroo (イチロー)&gt;ii-chii-roo, *ii-chiro-oo(iii) 5 moras and more: Makudonarudo (MacDonald)&gt;makudo-naru-doo, *maku-donaru-doo, Oosutin (Austin)&gt;oo-osu-tin, *oo-suu-tin, *oo-suti-nnThis paper develops a new analysis within Optimality Theory where the three distinct patterns emerge from a single and unified set of ranked and violable constraints: Depending on the length of the input, different input-output mappings are selected as optimal.Tanaka, Shin'ichi. 2008. Rizumu/akusento no "yure" to on'in/keitai-kouzou [fluctuation in rhythm and accent and phonological and morphological structure]. Tokyo, Japan: Kurosio Publishing.