Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game

I begin this review with a brief overview of the book itself, followed by a discussion of its pedagogical usefulness as a text in Philosophy of Sport and Philosophy of Religion courses. I then move on to discuss a few points in the book that I take to be especially interesting and/or problematic from a philosophical point of view     

Personality and its Relationship to Success in Professional Baseball

Purpose: The relationships among students' self-efficacy, 2 × 2 achievement goals (mastery-approach [MAp], mastery-avoidance [MAv], performance-approach [PAp], and performance-avoidance goals), and achievement performance remain largely unanswered. We tested a model of the mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between 2 × 2 achievement goals and cardiorespiratory fitness. Method: A sample of 276 middle school students (115 boys and 161 girls; 91 sixth graders, 87 seventh graders, and 98 eighth graders), aged 12 to 15 years (M _age = 13.34, SD = 0.96), responded to the Achievement Goals Questionnaire (Conroy, Elliot, &; Hofer, 2003) and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Gao, Newton, &; Carson, 2008) referenced to the fitness test. Their cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed via the Progressive Aerobic Cardiorespiratory Endurance Run (PACER) 3 days later. Results: Structural equation modeling demonstrated an acceptable model fit to the data, χ ² (2, N = 105) = 1.66. Self-efficacy had a statistically significant direct effect on the PACER after controlling for the effects of the achievement goals (γ _{self-efficacy-PACER}  = .21). MAv and PAp also had direct effects on PACER performance (γ _MAv-PACER  = ? .24, and γ _PAp-PACER  = .24, respectively). MAp failed to exert direct effect on the PACER. However, the indirect effect of MAp on the PACER via self-efficacy was small although it was statistically significant. Additionally, the indirect effects of MAv and PAp on PACER through self-efficacy were not significant. Conclusions: Students' self-efficacy fully mediated the effect of MAp on fitness performance, as well as partially mediated the effects of MAv and PAp on cardiorespiratory fitness performance. Study implications are provided for educators and practitioners.     

浅析棒球项目的供能特点和专项体能的训练方法

2006年12月4日至2007年1月4日,我们参加了由省体育局组织的高中级教练员培训班,学习期间有机会听了成都体院知名体育理论教授所讲授的课程,收获很大,主要有两方面;（1）观念的更新,（2）先进的训练方法。可是,教授给我们的只是理念和方法,如何吸收和消化并结合到自己所从事的棒球项目中才是关键。我们认为只有弄清楚自己所从事项目的供能特点,才能在今后的训练当中少犯错误、不盲目、训练更有针对性,这一点对自己的执教工作非常重要。以下是我们学习的体会和观点。     

论棒球的项目特征及其力量训练

通过对棒球项目的了解深入,本文从项目比赛特点、技术动作及能量代谢分析棒球项目力量训练方向,探讨棒球力量训练的内容和方法,以及中国棒球力量训练目前的不足。     

棒球比赛投手与击球手零和对策的全解

棒球赛最重要也是最激烈的环节发生在击球手与投手之间的较量。本文根据美国棒球大联盟部分统计资料,通过投手与击球手的对策局势表,用优化方法与图解法即期望值的计算出投手和击球手之间的最佳对策。     

棒球比赛投手与击球手零和对策的全解

棒球赛最重要也是最激烈的环节发生在击球手与投手之间的较量.本文根据美国棒球大联盟部分统计资料,通过投手与击球手的对策局势表,用优化方法与图解法即期望值的计算出投手和击球手之间的最佳时策.     

论棒球运动员初级选材与相关技术

通过文献资料法、结合实际棒球教学经验,总结出少年儿童棒球传统选材法、科学选材法及选材标准,棒球的相关进攻、防守技术知识,以及棒球运动相关技术知识,希望能对棒球运动员初级选材及相关技术有一定的帮助,同时对中国棒球事业的发展有一定的参考价值.     

棒球起源神话与美国例外主义

对于许多美国人来说,棒球不仅是一项单纯的球赛而已。棒球始终被美国人标志为专属于美国的运动,一方面,导因于其无分族群、宗教或政治立场,深受所有美国人的热爱,另一方面,则导因于其被视作美国精神的象征;然而,很少美国人能够真正知道,在棒球起源神话故事的建构过程背后,其实存在许多复杂的问题。透过美国例外主义的切入讨论,分析虚构棒球起源神话背后的驱动力量,并讨论主流棒球起源神话,即杜博戴与库柏镇神话对于美国大众棒球理解的重要影响。     

Standing Out from the Crowd: Imaging Baseball Fans through Sculpture

Sculptures of athletes that immortalize heroic feats have long been part of the sporting world. More recently, statues of sports fans have appeared, particularly at baseball stadiums across North America. Whilst athlete statues usually represent specific subjects, fan statues typically depict anonymous figures, giving commissioners and sculptors broader license to incorporate particular ideals. This paper investigates how the fan statuary's form reflects commissioners' motivations, values, and views of fandom, and whether fan statues promote a preferred (but often imaginary) narrative regarding the fan experience. A tripartite fan statue design typology is proposed: hero worship, family experiences, and the crowd. By examining an example of each type, with context provided by a unique database of baseball statuary, the fan statuary's predominant themes and tensions are illustrated. Fan statues are concentrated at Minor League ballparks, and all feature children. The majority are alloys of both real and imagined components of the idealized fan experience of the baseball organization's ‘ideal fan’, projecting inclusive, family-friendly, and timeless game day experiences, and evoking nostalgia for childhood. Crowd-type statues offer a more free-spirited and spontaneous aesthetic, with the crowd creating and becoming part of the spectacle – a reality that sports organizations may be less comfortable with.     

棒球运动与美国文化的价值认同及其对我国的启示

运用文献资料和对比分析等研究方法对棒球文化与美国文化的价值认同进行分析,认为:棒球运动所彰显的文化特质是美国文化和精神的缩影;棒球运动所创造的集体认同感为不同种族提供了社群想象与凝聚的基础;棒球文化以包容的态度建立了契合美国文化的身份认同;通过棒球项目的对抗特征隐喻美国文化和精神所在,促使棒球成为展示美国文化特征的理想方式是棒球运动与美国国家文化价值认同构建的经验之所在,对我们的启示在于,通过彰显民族特征与价值认同的体育项目实现蕴含政治和精神文化特性的"国家级消遣"进而实现族群凝聚值得借鉴;集体项目中所蕴含的社群想象和族群认同的精神本质值得深入发掘。     

中国普通高校棒球队的发展现状与对策研究

通过对出席2010年7月"全国棒垒球联赛"开幕式领导的访谈和对参加全国棒垒球联赛所有普通高校教练员及运动员调研,分析了中国普通高校棒球队经费、人才、场地与器材等因素,对制约中国普通高校棒球队发展的因素提出相应的对策。     

美国职业棒球的运作机制

在对美国职业棒球的发展历史、联盟体系、赛制以及商业模式等问题进行了探讨后,得出一些启示：职业体育的发展要经历一个漫长的、艰巨的演变过程,它的运行机制与当地的政治、经济、文化、法律等息息相关。     

普通高校棒球队的建设与管理研究--以桂林旅游高等专科学校棒球队为例

通过文献资料法、问卷调查法、实地考察法、专家访谈法等研究方法,对桂林旅游高等专科学校棒球队建设和训练管理进行调查研究,研究表明该队在建设与管理取得可喜成绩的同时,仍然存在一些不足;本文从师资队伍建设、球队管理、运动员选拔、运动员培养、经费管理、场馆建设、学校机制进行探讨,为我国普通高校棒球队建设和管理提供一些参考借鉴资料。