Date of Award
4-2013
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Anthropology
First Advisor
Dr. Robert Anemone
Second Advisor
Dr. Linda Borish
Third Advisor
Dr. Jon Holtman
Keywords
baseball, ethnicity, race, culture, sport
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis project is to examine the effect of culturally derived game strategies on the success level of players in the game of baseball. Specifically, I look at both the influence of how various Latin American cultures teach the game in order to better ensure success of players at the MLB level versus how the game is taught in the United States and Japan. In this way I develop a feedback model in which these game strategies perpetuate a cycle of enculturation that further reinforces cultural/ethnic identities. In order to accomplish this goal I look at the factors that led Latinos to adopt baseball in their culture and how game strategies have been adapted to best get noticed by MLB scouts. In this study, I use advanced statistics referred to as sabermetrics to evaluate player impact, performance, and playtime. These statistics are then used to explore a number of variables such as ethnicity, nationality and age in order to come up with a multi-factorial analysis of the effects of culture on player success.
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Derek, "American Beisbol: How Cultural Differences Help Explain Different Approaches to Game Playing" (2013). Masters Theses. 126.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/126