MA, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

Only six batters have been caught by Major League Baseball (MLB) for corking a baseball bat since 1970. With the common perception that a corked bat allows a batter to hit a baseball farther, one might assume that corking violations would be a common occurrence in Major League Baseball (MLB), which suggests that either corking is not that common, or that many batters have simply not been caught. Of those that have been caught, many were discovered when a bat broke during the game. While we believe that a corked baseball bat increases a batter's swing speed due to the decrease in weight in the barrel of the bat, the durability of the bat could suffer in result. In our study we test both a possible advantage to corking a bat in bat swing speed and a possible disadvantage in bat durability. Both corked bats and unmodified, solid wood baseball bats were put through testing for durability and bat swing speed. Tests for bat swing speed were conducted using a high-speed camera, and tests for durability were conducted using the department's Instron Universal Materials Tester.

Committee: Metin Eren (Advisor); Richard Meindl (Committee Member); Michelle Bebber (Committee Member) Subjects: Archaeology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2013, Vision Science

The purpose of this experiment was to observe and classify the head and eye movements of experienced baseball players when they are trying to hit a baseball. More specifically, it was designed to determine if players track deep into the pitch trajectory when attempting to hit, and if they use a similar tracking strategy when taking a pitch. We hypothesized that the batsmen would utilize two separate tracking methods, one for taking and another for swinging. Subjects were tested using a pitching machine called the Flamethrower under two separate conditions, in one condition they were instructed to “track the ball like you are taking a pitch”, and in the second condition they were instructed to “swing at the pitches like you would in batting practice”. Tennis balls were pitched from a distance of 56.3 feet from the batter at a measured velocity of approximately 75 miles per hour. Eye movements were recorded with the ISCAN infrared eye tracker and horizontal head rotations were recorded with the 3DM-GX1 head tracker and the Flock of Birds head tracker. All head and eye recordings were temporally synchronized with each other and with ball position using software. Two subjects were enrolled in the study. Each subject viewed 50 pitches under the “take” condition and 40 pitches under the “swing” condition. A total of 180 pitches were successfully recorded and both subjects were able to track a tennis ball in both testing conditions. Thus, 180 pitches were analyzed. Mean gaze errors for both trials indicated that the subjects were able to accurately track the pitched tennis balls for a majority of the ball's flight path under each testing condition. Inter-subject comparison revealed the subjects exhibited similar tracking strategies in each condition, although one subject appeared to have less variability with his head and eye movements. Both subjects utilized different tracking strategies for taking versus swinging. In the “take” condition, the subjects u (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nicklaus Fogt O.D., Ph.D. (Advisor); Andrew Hartwick O.D., Ph.D. (Committee Member); Heather Chandler Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Kinesiology; Ophthalmology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Vision Science

The purpose of this study was to survey baseball batters for the following reasons. First, the survey was performed to understand the cues to pitch trajectory that players use or believe that they use. The second purpose of the survey was to compare gaze, eye, and head tracking and gaze fixation behaviors of players as reflected in the survey responses to these behaviors measured in laboratory studies. The third purpose was to assess players' recollections of coaching advice. Finally, the fourth purpose of the survey was to determine whether players had received an eye examination while playing, and to determine whether players had ever discussed vision therapy/eye training with anyone. Fifty-nine current or former baseball players who played at the college level (55) or above (4) answered questions on an online survey after providing informed consent. The highest level at which most of these individuals had played was the Division 3 (or equivalent) college level. Fifty-eight of the 59 respondents answered all of the questions. One individual answered all but 4 of the questions. In terms of cues to pitch trajectory, positive answers to survey questions regarding whether batters predicted the pitch type and pitch trajectory prior to pitch release suggested that contextual cues were used by batters. In addition, survey answers to questions regarding gaze tracking and seam identification suggested that batters also use post-pitch release cues. Answers to questions regarding gaze, eye, and head tracking behaviors were similar to those predicted by measurements of these variables in laboratory-based studies. However, the answers to a number of questions regarding these behaviors revealed that batters did not employ these behaviors on every pitch or at least throughout the entire trajectory of a given pitch, and this variability was greater than that expected from laboratory studies. This difference in the survey answers and laboratory studies may be the result of t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nicklaus Fogt (Advisor); Aaron Zimmerman (Committee Member); Andrew Toole (Committee Member) Subjects: Optics; Sports Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1996, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1959, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Economics

Master of Science in Exercise and Health Studies, Miami University, 2014, Exercise and Health Studies

Smokeless tobacco has grown to become a popular substance in the sports industry.Smokeless tobacco is a way to get nicotine without smoking a cigarette. Baseball has become a popular sport for using smokeless tobacco. In this research study, I will examine collegiate baseball players to see whether the Social Cognitive Theory determines the use of smokeless tobacco. Determining if the environments, either social or built, and their personal beliefs influence them to use smokeless tobacco. Also, whether knowledge about smokeless tobacco influences them to use smokeless tobacco. Participants are 45 collegiate baseball players who use smokeless tobacco and will take a Smokeless Tobacco Survey for Collegiate Baseball Players to see what influences them to use smokeless tobacco. The results showed that built environments influences the majority of the collegiate baseball players to use smokeless tobacco. Social environment twas high but not as significant as built environment.

Committee: Valerie Ubbes PhD (Advisor); Karly Geller PhD (Committee Member); Mark Walsh PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Health; Health Education; Sports Medicine

Bachelor of Science of Journalism (BSJ), Ohio University, 2011, Journalism

The Appalachian League is oftentimes the starting point for minor league players in their journey to Major League Baseball. It is also a new backdrop for the merging fields of journalism and media relations. This piece features an extensive analysis on the ethical dilemmas involved with covering teams in the Appalachian League. It also includes a three-part radio series that details the Appalachian League's style of play. The three radio programs discuss how the game of baseball is played at this level, why winning is not necessarily the main motivation, and who competes in this league.

Committee: Thomas Hodson (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism

MFA, Kent State University, 2010, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

This thesis explores the development of a series of illustrated portraits of current African American baseball players. It documents the artistic process and research necessary to make a narrative painting. In a world of instant communication and trash celebrity gossip photos, there exists an opportunity to surprise the viewer and gain attention with a well-conceived illustration. By advertising for baseball and the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program with art, it could gain new life in an African American community that has abandoned the game.

Committee: Jerry Kalback (Advisor); Douglas Goldsmith (Committee Member); David Middleton (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Communication; Design

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1960, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Vision Science

The task of predicting the vertical location of an object when it arrives to an observer may be based on a combination of visual ball-flight cues and internal models of projectile motion, incorporating gravity, advance cues, and kinematic cues associated with a thrower's motion. The time required to efficiently process these visual cues to predict the ball's trajectory is unknown. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether viewing an approaching ball for a longer period of time can improve estimates of the passing height of this ball when only visual cues from ball-flight are provided. A second goal was to determine whether heuristic information predominates over visual cues to object trajectory in estimating the passing height of approaching objects, and whether heuristic information is more likely to be used early in the ball's flight. Twenty subjects (12 males and 8 females, mean age 23.7±1.69) who had played baseball or softball at the high school level or above within the past 10 years participated. Subjects stood 40 feet from a pneumatic pitching machine that propelled tennis balls toward them at 3 speeds (76mph, 61mph, and 52mph). The subjects' vision was blocked with occluding spectacles at 100ms (duration 1) or 250ms (duration 2) after pitch release. Each combination of speed and viewing duration was randomly used 10 times. Subjects then indicated on a 2-meter ruler the height they expected the ball to arrive had they been able to view the entire duration of the ball's trajectory. The balls arrived at heights of about 99cm (fast speed), 59cm (medium speed), and 21cm (slow speed). The mean height responses at the fastest speed were 109cm (duration 1) and 100cm (duration 2). At the medium speed the mean responses were 98cm (duration 1) and 80cm (duration 2). At the slowest speed the mean responses were 88cm (duration 1) and 65cm (duration 2). Paired t-tests between the mean responses for the two viewing durations at each speed all showed s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nicklaus Fogt OD, PhD (Advisor); Andrew Toole OD, PhD (Advisor); Jennifer Fogt OD, MS (Committee Member); Teng Leng Ooi PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Optics; Sports Medicine

Undergraduate Honors Program, Malone University, 2023, Honors Thesis

Pitchers with higher spin rates generally see higher swing and miss rates when pitching. The goal of this study was to find out how to improve spin rates without cheating (using foreign substances like pine tar). The hypothesis was that an increase in grip strength would show a positive correlation to spin rate. The study split 37 athletes into two groups. Both groups went through preliminary testing. The test group received extra grip strength exercises while the control group did the normal lifting routine for a three-month period. At the end of the study, post-testing data was collected for both groups. The data proved to be inconclusive, as there were no significant differences in grip strength between the test group and the control group.

Committee: Kylene Boka (Advisor) Subjects: Biomechanics

Bachelor of Science, Walsh University, 2023, Honors

Currently, there is limited information for the public sector of Major League Baseball on the processes regarding data analytics and statistics in MLB. Prior to the release of Moneyball, there was an imperfect understanding of success in professional baseball. After the developments which created sabermetrics in baseball, it remained to be seen which statistics were valued by baseball organizations. It was the goal of this analysis to determine which offensive metrics could be used to predict whether an MLB team makes the playoffs. A binary logistic regression analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 28) was used to create the model. Sabermetric statistics used were wins above replacement (WAR), runs created (RC), batting average on balls in play (BABIP), and on base percentage plus slugging percentage plus (OPS+). These predictor variables were compared to a measure of success, whether a team made the postseason. These team statistics were used for all 30 MLB teams over the years 2015-2019 to create the regression model. Upon completion the model was significant in predicting whether a team made the playoffs. A further study found that WAR and RC were the two variables that correlated most closely with making the postseason.

Committee: Steven Harris (Advisor); Kai Brunkalla (Other) Subjects: Sports Management; Statistics

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

The purpose of this investigation was to investigate whether age, anthropometric characteristics, and athleticism of NCAA D3 collegiate baseball players were related to their playing status (starter versus backup). In the two weeks prior to the start of their championship season, 144 participants from three universities in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States completed an assessment protocol consisting of standing and seated height, wingspan, weight, body composition, grip strength, countermovement vertical jumps on force plates, and 20yd sprints. Upon conclusion of their season, their year end statistics were evaluated to determine whether they met the criteria as a starter or a backup. Independent samples t-tests were then performed to determine if statistically significant differences in performance were observed on the assessment protocols by starters and backups. Overall, starters were significantly older than backups, and performed significantly better on all of the metrics related to performance on countermovement vertical jump. When investigating playing status by position (pitcher or hitter) different relationships existed. Starting pitchers were significantly older and produced significantly higher peak concentric power than their backups. Starting hitters were also significantly older than their backups, in addition to being better than the backups on assessments of grip strength, and several metrics derived from the countermovement jumps (flight time to contraction time ratio, relative peak concentric power, and jump height).

Committee: Jacob Barkley (Committee Chair); Mark Lyberger (Committee Member); Andrew Lepp (Committee Member); Adam Jajtner (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Sciences; Sports Management; Sports Medicine

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 1965, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: J. Russell Coffey (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education; Physical Education

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 1963, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Robert J. Keefe (Advisor) Subjects: Secondary Education

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2022, Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine how an organization's public communication like a website helps visitors understand its culture. Sports organizations were chosen for analysis because of their inclusive nature of the past, present, and future aspects of the game as well as its importance and strong presence in society. The goal of this paper was to apply Organizational Culture Theory to four sports halls of fame's websites to analyze how an organization's public communication illustrates its culture. Based off the assumptions of OCT, three research questions were developed to dive deeper into the concepts of the theory. From there, a code book was developed, and the websites of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, and National Baseball Hall of Fame were individually analyzed. Research Question 1 focused on how a public website communicates an organization's values by specifically analyzing the mission statements, community involvement, visitor information, and official press and media reports found on the organizations' websites. Research Question 2 was based on how a public website communicates an organization's inclusive criteria of who is and who is not a member. The coding and analysis focused on organization information, employee information, and nominee and inductee criteria which are the factors as to how inclusive criteria determine who is a member. Research Question 3 questioned how a public website's use and interpretation of symbols communicate and market an organization's culture. Through the analysis of symbols and performances coded from the websites, the results express that organizations can communicate their culture and market it through the symbols of videos, photos, explanations of induction processes, and slogans, and the performances of explanations of election processes and use of metaphors.

Committee: Kelly Dillon (Advisor); Tim Bode (Committee Member); Sheryl Cunningham (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Sports Management

BA, Oberlin College, 2022, Gender Sexuality and Feminist Studies

In this paper, I set out to understand how women have been successful as coaches of men's sports at the Division III college level and above. This is important because despite a national increase in women playing sports after the passage of Title IX in 1972, there continues to be a glaring lack of women in coaching positions, especially within men's sports. Existing scholarship highlights social barriers to reaching these positions, however there is very little information about the women who do achieve success in this field. Four coaches from men's baseball, basketball, and football teams were interviewed in order to gain perspective on what has been crucial to their success, as well as the structural issues within athletics that present barriers to women being successful coaches. I found that mentorships and support systems are crucial in order to access opportunities in coaching, and that there are several physical and cultural environments within sports that hinder these opportunities. The final chapter explores how to move forward in order to create more opportunities for women to coach men's sports at the highest levels. This research is necessary as athletics move forward in the name of progress, and as we begin to see higher numbers of women involved in positions of power in men's sports.

Committee: Christie Parris (Advisor); Al Evangelista (Committee Member); Greggor Mattson (Advisor) Subjects: Gender; Gender Studies; Physical Education; Social Research; Sociology; Womens Studies

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Stadia consume extremely high amounts of energy in short periods of time, yet some sit idle for more than half a year and are only used to their full potential as little as one day a week. Given the precious nature of energy, this is an egregiously inefficient use of energy over the lifecycle of the stadia. A stadium can draw enough energy in one game day as it would take to power twelve homes for an entire year, and these extreme spikes in draw and lack of production create a negative balance in energy consumption with limited operations throughout the year. Situated between sustainability and athletics, this project explores the design of a stadium to develop an envelope design that produces more energy than it uses making it an energy-plus building, allowing the surrounding community to benefit from its presence. In addition to adopting the most current sustainable energy technology this thesis also focus on integrating the site with renewable energy resources while creating an opportunity for people to use the buildings on non-game days, further engaging the public in a new form of public space. By developing and integrating an envelope that addresses renewable energy resources and materials appropriately selected to benefit the surrounding community, the project specifically takes on the role of harnessing the sun's energy. The envelope will be site and climate specific to Scottsdale, Arizona,- but the core concept of the envelope will be transferable to a variety of sites and climates around the world. Scottsdale, Arizona is known as a winter vacation destination as well as a one of the two homes for major league baseball spring training. This project also explores the creation of public use other than attending sporting events in such stadia, expanding the program to function not only during game days, but every day. A stadium design will be produced for this specific site presented in architectural drawings and models and described in a critical essay which (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joss Kiely Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Vincent Sansalone M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Masters of Science in Kinesiology and Health, Miami University, 2020, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health

Background: Hitting a baseball successfully requires a multitude of complex segments and movements to be in perfect sync. Objective: The current study aims to determine if the impulse of the lower extremity is implicit in the development of maximum baseball velocity during a typical baseball swing. Methods: Fifteen healthy male collegiate baseball players were recruited from the Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) baseball team. All participants completed 10 trial swings off a stationary tee stand while standing on a pair of force plates. A motion sensor was placed on each subject's bat to track velocity data. Results: Impulse type (X, Z, XZ) was correlated with exit velocity for each individual subject though only a select few showed significance. However, when an overall analysis was taken of every hitting trial combined, all three impulse types were significantly correlated to exit velocity.

Committee: Mark Walsh Dr. (Advisor); Dean Smith Dr. (Committee Member); Kevin Ballard Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Kinesiology

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2020, Geography

Over the past three decades, the use of public dollars to fund the creation of professional sports stadiums has been a polarizing subject. Early research papers hypothesized the possible effects on the environment and through their analysis found that generally these stadiums have negative effects on the region economically. However, as the conversation has continued throughout the new millennia, new evidence has mounted suggesting that under the right circumstances these stadiums can have a positive impact on the community. This analysis will examine the impact of two sports stadiums in Toledo, Ohio on the sales value of parcels in Lucas county and within one mile of the sports facilities. Using data collected from the Lucas County Auditor's Office, a series of linear regressions are produced to analyze the impact of the introduction and spatial effect of stadiums on the parcel sales environment. Based on the results, the inconsistency of statistically significant variables makes it difficult to say that the facilities had a positive or negative effect on the community. However, there is some evidence to suggest that these stadiums did impact parcel sales amounts under specific circumstances. 

Committee: Daniel Hammel (Committee Chair); Yanqing Xu (Committee Member); Sujata Shetty (Committee Member) Subjects: Geographic Information Science; Geography; Urban Planning