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This study examines minor league baseball players' future-oriented labor by interviewing 44 baseball players and collecting data on 8,000 minor league baseball players' careers. Minor league baseball players' expectations of reaching Major League Baseball impacted how they evaluated their work in the present, leading them to tolerate unfair pay and working conditions. We show that players' expectations of reaching Major League Baseball were moderately unrealistic, partly due to managerial practices encouraging unrealistic expectations. This study contributes to labor research by showing that future-oriented labor ideology is based on unrealistic expectations that employers can promote to create opportunities for future status coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study examined the relationship between ball release points and pitching performance among professional baseball pitchers, with a focus on variability. Methods: We used open-source data to compare ball release point variability between Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. The relationship between pitching performance and variability was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results: MLB players exhibited smaller ball release point variability compared to MiLB players. The analysis showed that pitching performance was strongly related to ball release point variability, especially in the horizontal direction on the coronal plane. Horizontal ball release point variability was most strongly related to strikeout ability among pitching performances. Discussion: These results suggest that reducing horizontal ball release point variability may improve pitching performance, particularly by increasing strikeouts and reducing home runs allowed. This study provides a data-driven approach to understanding the mechanics of pitching and can be applied to the development of advanced training methods and technical solutions aimed at improving pitching performance in baseball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "North Carolina Bibliography, 2022-2023" compiled by John Blythe and Alison Barnett includes a comprehensive list of books categorized by topics such as art, music, autobiography, biography, children's books, young adult fiction, essays, literary criticism, fiction, foodways, genealogy, local history, statewide history, poetry, politics, social issues, science, nature, sports, and reprints. The bibliography primarily focuses on books with a North Carolina subject or setting, with some exceptions in certain categories. The document provides a valuable resource for individuals interested in exploring various aspects of North Carolina's cultural and historical landscape. [Extracted from the article]

On October 18, 2019, The New York Times reported that Major League Baseball was eliminating more than 40 teams from its minor league system. Fourteen months later, some teams permanently ceased operations when contraction became official. During those 14 months, fans and community members joined advocacy campaigns to save their teams. Given how minor league fans have unique, community-based identities, social media may help them communicate support for their teams during a threat. Using a framework of social media advocacy, the study sought to (1) understand the advocacy efforts present on social media and (2) the tone and emotions manifest in tweets related to contraction. Using quantitative methods, the study found that most discussions of contraction were negative in tone and contained emotions like anger. The most often used advocacy strategy was information, which may have been a lost opportunity for fans to rally support. As time moved on, tweets contained less negativity, more sadness than anger, and more use of the community advocacy strategy, providing evidence that fans found contraction inevitable. The study makes a contribution by bringing advocacy communication into the discussion of sport fandom and uses social media data to extract fan emotions during identity threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a century, labor disputes have tormented the relationship between American professional baseball players and management. Although Major League Baseball players unionized in the 19608, disagreements ouer workplace conditions and ever-growing profit allocations endured for decades. The first thirty years of collective bargaining between players and League post-unionization fostered notable improvements in players' labor conditions. However, those years were also plagued by acrimonious negotiations, grievances, lawsuits, lockouts, strikes, and eventually, the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. The story in Minor League Baseball is altogether different. Its players, despite their close nexus with the Major League game, did not unionize alongside their Major League counterparts sixty years ago, and the workforce has suffered the consequences. Further frustrating MiLB labor progress is the sport's long-standing exemption from antitrust law and its exclusion from minimum wage and overtime requirements at both the federal and state level. These harms perpetuated seuere working conditions, including long hours, grueling travel schedules, minimal job security, and fixed wages, placing Minor League players squarely in the throes of poverty, However, recent events signal change. Following a grassroots labor movement, Minor League players unionized in 2022 and signed their first collective bargaining agreement prior to the 2023 season. Nevertheless, the path ahead remains unclear for the blue-collar workers of baseball. as they must negotiate with a League that has been notoriously unwilling to make euen the minutest of concessions without intimidation, anticompetitiveness, and endless litigation. This Note employs lessons from the history of labor in the sport to detail the terms of equitable labor conditions and posits that collective bargaining, while imperfect, presents a vital opportunity for players in the Minor Leagues to hold accountable the cartel that is Mooor League Baseball and escape the century-old grasp of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a profile of Pat Jordan, a former baseball player turned writer. It explores his baseball career, which fell short of expectations, and his subsequent success as a writer. The article also mentions his memoirs, particularly one that focuses on his relationship with renowned pitcher Tom Seaver. The author of the article meets with Pat Jordan to seek guidance on writing a biography and describes their meeting and Pat's home. The text details the author's experiences spending time with Pat and his wife Susie, including conversations about writing, Pat's novels, and the author's own writing project on Gene Locklear, a baseball player and artist. Pat offers feedback on the author's writing and encourages him to enhance his descriptions. The author reflects on his time with Pat and writes an article about him in Pat Jordan's distinctive style. [Extracted from the article]

Pay fairness and human capital theories make different predictions about trainees' occupational turnover in situations where trainees perceive unfair pay but receive huge potential returns from training. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how pay fairness and human capital investment combined to explain why trainees are motivated to persist in employment when they perceive unfair pay. Cross-sectional survey data from 144 minor league baseball players showed that athletes perceived unfair pay but had low occupational turnover intentions because they perceived high learning achievement and expected to play in Major League Baseball eventually. Perceptions of unfair pay only increased occupational turnover intentions under certain conditions, such as when athletes had low expectations of playing at least one game in Major League Baseball in the next 3 years. The results support a framework that combines human capital theory and pay fairness theories to explain boundary conditions for trainee motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to understand how Latino Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players describe their cultural transitions to life in the United States (US) while pursuing baseball professionally. Moreover, through the lens of social identity theory (SIT), this article investigates how these players primarily identify themselves. To better understand the experiences these players have gone through to pursue their lifelong goals of being professional players, 24 current Latino MiLB players and one coach, who recently retired as a player, were interviewed. Interview questions asked about their early transitions, the main cultural differences between their home countries and the US, and how they identify themselves while in the US. It was concluded from the interviews that, while there were difficulties, the majority of their transitions were positive. It was also found that players primarily identify themselves in terms of personality traits and nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"One Season in Rocket City: How the 1985 Huntsville Stars Brought Minor League Baseball Fever to Alabama" by Dale Tafoya is a book that explores the impact of the Huntsville Stars' inaugural season in 1985. The book highlights the development of the team and its role in the renaissance of Huntsville, Alabama, which was experiencing a boom centered around the space shuttle program. Tafoya also delves into the stories of key figures, such as players Jose Canseco and Tim Belcher, as well as the challenges faced by minor league players. Despite initial doubts, the Stars became a sensation, winning a championship and uniting the community. [Extracted from the article]

"Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years" by Steven P. Gietschier is a comprehensive and well-researched book that explores the history of baseball from 1930 to 1960. The author focuses on key individuals who had a significant impact on the game during this period, such as Connie Mack, Branch Rickey, and Yogi Berra. The book also examines the influence of major historical events, such as World Wars I and II and the Great Depression, on the development of baseball. Gietschier provides extensive analysis of minor league baseball and labor relations within the sport. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of baseball during the mid-twentieth century. [Extracted from the article]

Due to a confounding decision by the Supreme Court in the 1920s, the sport of professional baseball was permitted to grow for over a century unconstrained by federal antitrust laws. As a result of this antitrust exemption, professional baseball players were forced to endure unique hardships in the area of labor relations, as compared to athletes in other professional sports. After decades of confusing litigation results and calls for legislation, Congress finally responded in 1998 through passage of the Curt Flood Act. However, despite broadly claiming to apply federal antitrust laws to the sport of professional baseball, the effect of the Act was far more limited. Therefore, Major League Baseball players have been forced to look elsewhere when seeking external influences to force concessions at the bargaining table. Unlike Major League Baseball players, Minor League Baseball players were unable to even approach the bargaining table until very recently. Thus, while Major League Baseball players spent decades achieving small victories to cumulatively improve their labor conditions, such opportunities were unavailable to Minor League Baseball players. However, recent years have seen this trend come to an end. Today, Minor League Baseball players possess union representation and a seat at the bargaining table. In light of these advances, legitimate questions have been raised as to the modern need for an antitrust exemption that places labor relations in baseball on an uneven playing field compared to other professional sports. Although the future of the exemption is unclear, recent history suggests that both the Supreme Court and Congress have taken note of these developments and are beginning to reexamine the modern justifications of an antitrust exemption for professional baseball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Chief Justice John Roberts' comparison of judges to umpires and the reactions it has received. It explores the role of umpires in baseball and how it has evolved over time, drawing parallels to trends in the judiciary. The article highlights similarities between umpires and judges in terms of behavior, composition, education, and decision-making processes. It concludes that the analogy made by Chief Justice Roberts is accurate, suggesting that baseball has influenced the understanding of the judicial system in American culture. The article also raises questions about the introduction of technology in umpiring and its potential impact on the legal system. [Extracted from the article]

"The Boys of Winter" is a document that explores the history of baseball in the Caribbean, with a focus on Cuba. The author explains that while baseball is typically associated with summer in the US, in the Caribbean it is played during the fall and winter due to more favorable temperatures. The Cuban Winter League, which included both local players and Americans, played a significant role in Latin American professional baseball until it was abolished by the Castro dictatorship in 1961. The document also discusses the early visits of American teams to Cuba, the influx of stars from the Negro Leagues, and the thriving Cuban Winter League in the 1920s and 1930s. It emphasizes the strong connection between Cuba and American baseball, with players and teams frequently traveling between the two countries. The document concludes by mentioning the competition faced by the Cuban Winter League from other Caribbean leagues and the continued popularity of baseball in the Dominican Republic. Additionally, the text provides a personal reflection by Roberto González Echevarría on his experiences as a fan of the Cuban baseball league in the 1950s. He reminisces about the players he admired and the stadiums where the games were played, highlighting the significance of the Cuban league for both American and Cuban players. The author expresses nostalgia for the games and players of his youth and reflects on the lasting impact of those memories. [Extracted from the article]

The article provides an overview of the Sanford Lookouts' successful 1939 season in the Florida State League (FSL). Led by manager Dale Alexander, the Lookouts had a dominant season, finishing with a record of 98-35 and winning the FSL championship. Pitchers Sid Hudson, Cleo Jeter, and Harry Dean played crucial roles in the team's success. The Lookouts' achievements earned them a spot in a best-of-seven series against the Albany Cardinals, where they emerged as the top Class D team in the southeast. The article also highlights the individual accomplishments of players like Sid Hudson, Cleo Jeter, and Joe Pinder. The Lookouts' remarkable season is considered a significant milestone in the history of the Florida State League. [Extracted from the article]

"Shoeless Joe" by W.P. Kinsella is a novel that explores themes of passion, risk-taking, and the power of dreams. The book follows Ray, the protagonist, as he builds a baseball field in his Iowa cornfield, attracting the spirits of deceased baseball players. The novel weaves together plotlines involving encounters with J.D. Salinger and a fictional character named Moonlight Graham, emphasizing the importance of hope and second chances. The book has inspired readers to pursue their dreams and reconcile with loved ones. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the role of sports in the assimilation process of Italian Americans. It discusses how sports provided visual lessons and reinforced American cultural values for second-generation Italian boys, who were attracted to American sports in schools. The article also highlights the achievements of Italian American athletes in various sports, such as baseball, boxing, and golf, and how their success contributed to the acceptance of Italian Americans as full citizens within American society. The article concludes by discussing the ongoing debate about the extent of assimilation among Italian Americans and the role of sports in acculturation. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Risk profiling and education are strategies implemented to help reduce injury risk; however, currently. there is little evidence on the effect of these interventions on injury incidence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of risk profiling and education on upper extremity injury incidence in minor league (MiLB) pitchers and to stratify by injury severity. Methods: A prospective natural experiment study was conducted from 2013 to 2019 on MiLB pitchers. Beginning in the 2015 season, pitchers were examined and risk profiled for upper extremity injury. Shoulder external, internal, total range of motion, horizontal adduction, and humeral torsion were measured. Organizational risk profiling and education was implemented starting in 2015, based on preseason assessments. Chi-squared test was performed to investigate potential differences between shoulder range of motion risk categories between 2013-2014 (pre) and 2015-2019 (post) seasons. Interrupted time series analyses were performed to assess the association between organizational risk profiling and education on arm injury in MiLB pitchers and were repeated for 7-27 and 28+ day injury severity. Results: 297 pitchers were included (pre: 119, post: 178). Upper extremity injury incidence was 1.5 injuries per 1000 athletic exposures. Pitchers in the 2015-2019 seasons demonstrated increased preseason shoulder injury risk for internal (P = .003) and external (P = .007), while the 2013-2014 seasons demonstrated greater horizontal adduction risk (P = .04). There were no differences between seasons for total range of motion risk (P =.76). Risk profiling and education resulted in an adjusted time loss upper extremity injury reduction for the 2015-2019 seasons (0.68 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.99)), which impacted 7-27 days (0.62 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.93)) but not for 28+ days (0.71 (95% CI: 0.47, 1.06)) time loss. There was no reduction in combined trunk and lower extremity injuries for the 2015-2019 seasons (1.55 (95% CI: 0.79, 3.01)). Conclusions: Organizational risk profiling and education appear to reduce professional pitching overall and 7-27-day upper extremity injury risk by 33%-38%. There was no difference in trunk and lower extremity injuries over the period, strengthening the reduction in upper extremity injury risk results. This suggests that while injury risk increased over time, organizational risk profiling mitigated the expected increase in upper extremity injury rates. Risk profiling and education can be used as a clinical screening and intervention tool to help decrease upper extremity injuries in professional baseball populations.

Approximately 90% of players in Minor League Baseball will be released at some point in their career. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the role of individuals' basic psychological needs during the release from professional baseball and throughout their subsequent transition to a new career. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 former Minor League Baseball players. Thematic analysis generated four themes: (a) The release resulted in immediate but temporary basic psychological need thwarting, (b) the "liberating experience" of the release allowed individuals to perceive autonomy in the transition out of affiliated baseball, (c) perceptions of competence served as the foundation for a positive transition to a new career, and (d) meaningful connections fostered individuals' perception of relatedness in the transition out of affiliated baseball. The findings suggest that need fulfillment might act as a buffer between potential stressors in the transition process and athletes' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of minor league demand is scant relative to major leagues, particularly at the game level. This presents not only a contextual gap in the research, but also a conceptual one related to demand externalities. Minor League Baseball differs from major professional leagues in that gate revenue sharing is not a fixture in league policy, and talent investment decisions are made by the parent club. Nonetheless, it may be the case that a host club benefits from characteristics of its opponent. Econometric examination of over 31,000 minor league games across multiple leagues and seasons finds proximity to an opponent's major league parent team increases attendance. Although the authors find evidence of increased demand for a top prospect from the home club, the presence of visiting top prospects is not associated with changes in attendance, prompting the question as to whether effective marketing efforts in this regard would increase home club revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic development practitioners often chase the next great idea to grow their economy, especially their downtowns. A project that many large cities have looked to as a panacea is the sports stadium. Smaller, mid-sized cities have also joined the stadium craze by poaching Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams via flashy downtown stadium developments, often using the same playbook that large cities have employed. Recently, the City of Wichita, Kansas, undertook a minor league stadium project as an economic development strategy. This paper uses an urban regime theory lens to track the political deal-making and financial engineering that made it possible for Wichita to lure the "Baby Cakes" MiLB team from New Orleans. This study demonstrates that mid-sized cities use the same backroom deal-making perfected by their larger peers to push a fragile form of development that frequently makes minimal economic sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was created during World War II, when many male major and minor league baseball players became soldiers. While the league achieved some success from various perspectives, the question remains: Was the AAGPBL able to create "a league of their own" with competitive balance comparable to the men's leagues of Major League Baseball (MLB)? We analyzed performance team data to determine whether the league had competitive balance comparable to MLB-American League (MLB-AL) and MLB-National League (MLB-NL), on three measures of within-season, three measures of across-seasons, and one measure of inter-seasonal competitive balance, for the 12 seasons of the AAGPBL. The results showed that AAGPBL created a league with competitive balance comparable to both MLB-AL and MLBNL on all seven measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding consumers' underlying motivation(s) for attending sporting events is vital in developing strategic marketing plans. A complete understanding of individuals' motivations to attend can be essential for sport organisations with lower budgets, limited staffing, and/or saturated markets. With this in mind, this study aimed to investigate Minor League Baseball (MiLB) spectator motivations, identifying spectator typologies using motivation-based segmentation. Data were obtained from 587 MiLB spectators using a modified version of Trail and James' (2001) motivation scale for sport consumption. Confirmatory factor analysis, two-step cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis were employed for classification purposes, resulting in four segments - family focused, baseball lovers, escapers, and general entertainment seekers. This study augments and extends the existing sport marketing literature, particularly with the use of motivation-based segmentation for sport spectator typology. Both theoretical and practical implications are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research regarding personality as predictors of objective physical performances has been limited and equivocal. We examined longitudinally whether personality predicted baseball pitchers' (n = 119) or hitters' (n = 115) performances after controlling for past performances. Through regression analyses, we determined that personality did not significantly predict the player' performances during their first year in Minor League Baseball (MiLB). Our results indicate that, at least in the short-term, personality may be a poor predictor of such performances. Research is needed to determine if personality's effects may occur over a longer period of time, such as through the development of psychological tools/strategies (e.g., motivation, coping) that are associated with improved performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional baseball players are often thought of as making multi‐million‐dollar salaries, but most professional baseball players have recently made under $15,000 a year. Minor league players toiled under an onerous system resulting from baseball's judicially created antitrust exemption and lobbying efforts that exempted them from minimum wage and overtime. These factors allowed teams to impose a uniform player contract (UPC) on players with numerous unconscionable provisions for years. However, a late‐night Tweet in August of 2022 sent shockwaves through the sports and labor world, announcing that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was sending out authorization cards to represent minor league players. After years of fighting to maintain the authority to impose conditions on minor league players, through lobbying and litigation, Major League Baseball (MLB) turned over a new leaf and recognized the unionization of minor league players under the MLBPA less than three weeks later. In light of this long sought‐after recognition, this article takes a novel approach. First, it provides historical context for baseball's unique ability to impose working conditions on minor leaguers without significant concern for legal ramifications. Second, it provides an overview of the doctrine of contractual unconscionability and analyzes the prior UPC as an unconscionable agreement. Finally, it details the historic unionization process and makes detailed recommendations to ameliorate the unconscionable conditions minor league players have faced when they negotiate with MLB owners to draft their initial collective bargaining agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]