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Behavioral Biases In Daily Fantasy Baseball: The Case Of The Hot Hand, Jeremy M. Losak, Andrew P. Weinbach, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

Despite mixed evidence, sport participants and fans heavily believe in the existence of the hot hand. Prior literature examining NBA and NFL betting markets found betters were biased toward hot teams. Using a unique market and data set, this study identifies if the hot hand is prevalent in daily fantasy baseball contests, if there is a profitable hot hand selection strategy, and if consumers believe in its existence. Results show that while there is no evidence of a hot hand effect, and no evidence of a profitable hot hand strategy, consumers believe in and incorporate it in their lineup decisions.

Does Smart Money Believe In The Hot Hand? Evidence From Daily Fantasy Baseball, Jeremy M. Losak, Andrew P. Weinbach, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

The behavior of informed traders, or 'smart money,' in sports betting markets has long been f interest to researchers. In this paper, we focus specifically on the behavior of smart money in Major league Baseball (MLB) daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests to determine if they avoid cognitive behavioral biases to increase their expected earnings. Specifically, we investigate whether smart money avoids the hot hand bias, where individuals tend to overestimate the likelihood of success for players on a hot streak. Using a dataset of MLB DFS contests, we find that winning lineups have lower usage rates for players exhibiting the …

Drive Leg Ground Reaction Forces And Rate Of Force Development Over Consecutive Windmill Softball Pitches, Erin R. Pletcher, Kenzie B. Friesen, Gretchen D. Oliver, Mita Lovalekar, Keith Gorse, Takashi Nagai, Chris Connaboy

Department of Exercise Science Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Windmill softball pitching is a highly skilled movement, combining whole body coordination with explosive force. Successful pitching requires sequential movement to transfer energy produced by the lower extremity to the pitching arm. Therefore, drive leg ground reaction force (GRF) and the time over which a pitcher can develop force during push off, defined as rate of force development (RFD), is essential for optimal performance. The aim of this study was to examine GRF and RFD in the drive leg during the windmill softball pitch, as well as pitch velocity, throughout a simulated game.

METHODS: Fourteen softball pitchers (17.9±2.3 years, …

More Elevated Fastballs Associated With Placement On The Injured List Due To Shoulder Injury, Austin V. Stone, Brooks N. Platt, Brandon S. Collofello, Aaron D. Sciascia, Timothy L. Uhl, William B. Kibler

Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose

To evaluate whether impending shoulder injury was associated with changes in pitch location or velocity immediately preceding injury.

Methods

Pitchers placed on the injured list (IL) due to a shoulder injury between 2015 and 2020 were identified in the Major League Baseball transactions database. Four-seam fastball velocity and frequency of pitch location for each pitch type was collected for each player in the season before placement on the IL and within 1 month of placement on the IL with a minimum of 55 pitches thrown of 1 type. Pitch locations were collected as identified by Baseball Savant’s Game-Day Zones. …

Association Between Pitch Break On The 4-Seam Fastball And Slider And Shoulder Injury In Major League Baseball Pitchers: A Case-Control Study, Brooks N. Platt, Anthony J. Zacharias, Caitlin Conley, Lindsay Hockensmith, Nicholas Stockwell, Aaron Sciascia, Austin V. Stone

Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Few specific risk factors are known for shoulder injury in professional pitchers. New pitch-tracking data allow for risk stratification based on advanced metrics.

Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between shoulder injury, pitch frequency, and pitch metrics (velocity, total break, break angle, and spin rate) for the 4-seam fastball, curveball, and slider. We hypothesized that more frequent use of the 4-seam fastball would be associated with shoulder injury.

Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: The Major League Baseball (MLB) database was queried for pitchers who had been placed on the injury …

A Nation-Wide Survey Of High School Baseball Coaches’ Perceptions Indicates Their Arm Care Programs Play A Role In Injury Prevention, Kyle A. Matsel, E. E. Weiss, R. J. Butler, Matthew C. Hoch, Philip M. Westgate, Terry R. Malone, Timothy L. Uhl

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background
Arm care programs consisting of upper extremity strengthening and stretching have been recommended for injury prevention for pitchers of all ages. There has been no investigation into high school baseball coaches’ usage and perceptions of arm care programs to mitigate physical impairments associated with injuries in baseball players.

Hypothesis/Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the current usage of arm care programs by high school baseball coaches. The primary objective was to determine if coaches use group-based or individualized arm care programs. The secondary objective sought to determine if the use of arm care programs is influenced …

Injury Rates In Major League Baseball During The 2020 Covid-19 Season, Brooks N. Platt, Timothy L. Uhl, Aaron D. Sciascia, Anthony J. Zacharias, Nicole G. Lemaster, Austin V. Stone

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was drastically altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes included an extended layoff between March and July as well as a shortened preseason.

Purpose/Hypothesis: To determine the incidence and epidemiology of MLB injuries in the abbreviated 2020 season compared with prior seasons. We hypothesized that there was an increase in the overall injury rate in the 2020 season compared with the 2018-2019 seasons and that it equally affected all body regions.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: The MLB transactions database was queried to find players who had been placed on …

Baseball Home Field Advantage Without Fans In The Stands, Jeremy M. Losak, Joseph Sabel

Sport Management - All Scholarship

Home field advantage is universally accepted across most major sports and levels of competition. However, exact causes of home field advantage have been difficult to disentangle. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique, natural experiment to isolate elements related to home field advantage since all 2020 regular season Major League Baseball games were played without fans. Results provide no statistically significant evidence of a difference in home field advantage between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, evidence that home crowd support is not a driver of home field advantage. There does appear to be a statisitcal advantage by the home team batting …

Return-To-Play And Competitive Outcomes After Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Among Baseball Players: A Systematic Review, Stephen J. Thomas, Ryan W. Paul, Adam B. Rosen, Sam J. Wilkins, Joseph Scheidt, John D. Kelly Iv, Ryan L. Crotin

Department of Exercise Science Faculty Papers

Background: Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction (UCLR) is very common in baseball. However, no review has compared the return-to-play (RTP) and in-game performance statistics of pitchers after primary and revision UCLR as well as of position players after UCLR.

Purpose: To review, synthesize, and evaluate the published literature on outcomes after UCLR in baseball players to determine RTP and competitive outcomes among various populations of baseball players.

Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A literature search including studies between 1980 and November 4, 2019, was conducted for articles that included the following terms: ulnar collateral ligament, elbow, …

Investigating Major League Baseball Pitchers And Quality Of Contact Through Cluster Analysis, Charlie Marcou

Honors Projects

This paper investigates the quality of contact that a pitcher allows. Not much is currently known about quality of contact, but if factors determining quality of contact could be determined it could assist teams in identifying and developing pitching talent. There are many problems that come with investigating the control pitchers have over contact allowed, but one area to investigate is whether quality of contact is a repeatable skill. Furthermore, if it is a repeatable skill, then it is important to investigate what kind of benefit controlling contact allowed brings a pitcher. Along with this, groundball and flyball tendencies, and …

The Impact Of Whoop Technology On Sleep, Recovery, And Performance In Naia Baseball Players, Nolan Harms

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Many key factors – including but not limited to – sleep, nutrition, travel, stress, and practice influence the optimization of athletic performance. Although previous studies have investigated the use of wearable technology in sport to track several such factors, peer-reviewed research specific to WHOOP technology is limited at best. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of WHOOP technology on sleep, recovery, and batting performance in healthy NAIA baseball players. Data was collected over the course of 4 weeks of in-season play on 10 varsity NAIA baseball players (20.40 ± 0.97 years). All games – 18 total …

Stress Sonography Of The Ulnar Collateral Ligament Of The Elbow In Professional Baseball Pitchers: A 10-Year Study., Michael G Ciccotti, Alfred Atanda, Levon N. Nazarian, Christopher C Dodson, Laurens Holmes, Steven B. Cohen

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: An injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the elbow is potentially career threatening for elite baseball pitchers. Stress ultrasound (US) of the elbow allows for evaluation of both the UCL and the ulnohumeral joint space at rest and with stress.

HYPOTHESIS: Stress US can identify morphological and functional UCL changes and may predict the risk of a UCL injury in elite pitchers.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS: A total of 368 asymptomatic professional baseball pitchers underwent preseason stress US of their dominant and nondominant elbows over a 10-year period (2002-2012). Stress US examinations …

Delivery And Pitch Type Alter Ground Reaction Forces In Baseball Pitching, Garrett Kass

Featured Research

Ground reaction forces (GRFs) exerted on a pitcher in reaction to the push of their legs against the ground create torques about the center-of-mass (CM) and generate the angular momentum necessary to rotate the body, including the segments of the throwing arm. Thus examination of GRFs provides insight into the causal mechanisms responsible for segmental rotation in baseball pitching. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of delivery [wind-up (WU) vs. stretch (ST)] and pitch type [fastball (FB) vs. change-up (CU)] on GRFs in pitching. METHODS: Eight collegiate baseball pitchers (4 right-handed and 4 left-handed) provided voluntary informed consent and threw maximal …

2011 Baseball All-Americans Announced, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

Segmenting Motivation: An Analysis Of Fantasy Baseball Motives And Mediated Sport Consumption, Brendan Dwyer, Stephen L. Shapiro, Joris Drayer

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

Fantasy sport consumer behavior research is a burgeoning area of inquiry as this growing segment of sport fans exhibits unconventional, yet robust media consumption habits. In addition, consumer motivation and market segmentation represent core principles within the study of marketing, yet the integration of these two essential concepts with regard to sport consumers is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore fantasy baseball motives, develop a motive-based taxonomy of users, and quantify the differences between segments through an examination of mediated sport consumption. An exploratory hierarchal cluster analysis with a subsequent K-means analysis was conducted to determine the …

Convertini Named Nccaa Region Player Of The Year, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2010 Division I Baseball Awards, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2010 All-Amc Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2010 Daktronics-Naia Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2009 All-Amc Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2009 Daktronics-Naia Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2009 Division I Baseball Awards, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2008 Daktronics-Naia Baseball Scholar Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2008 All-Amc Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2008 Nccaa Division I Baseball Awards, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2007 Division I Baseball Awards, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2006 Baseball Daktronics-Naia Scholar Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2006 Division I Baseball Awards, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2006 Daktronics-Naia Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.

2006 Amc Baseball Scholar-Athletes, Cedarville University

Baseball News Releases

No abstract provided.