The Psychology of Baseball: Inside the Mental Game of the Major League Player | 
 enlarge | Author: Mike Stadler
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $1.93
You Save: $13.07 (87%)
New (36) Used (16) from $1.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 1072169
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 1592403433
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357019
EAN: 9781592403431
ASIN: 1592403433
Publication Date: February 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW MAY HAVE A REMAINDER MARK. 100% money back guarantee.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Get inside the minds of the stars of the diamond in this phenomenal tour of brain power, psyche, and sheer will, now in paperback.
Yogi Berra once said, Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical. The Yankee great may have underestimated the feats of gray matter necessary for playing the game at its highest level. In The Psychology of Baseball, cognitive psychologist and researcher Mike Stadler takes you beneath the surface of the game and inside the heads of baseballs greatsfrom Aaron to A- Rodto reveal the intense mental game at the heart of baseball.
Stadler begins with the minds role in the games basic skills, explaining the rare and phenomenal brain power that lets a hitter turn on a 98-mph pitch (as well as the anticipatory thinking that can make a hitter see a rising fastball), the complex muscular coordination required to paint the corners with a major-league heater, and the intense spatial calculations the brain must perform in a split second in order for a fielder to catch a struck ball. Packed with cutting-edge information about the mental game, The Psychology of Baseball is a revolutionary new look at Americas pastime.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 What's in a Name? April 9, 2008
The title is a misnomer. Stadler spends more paper space discussing the Neurophysiological aspects of hitting, pitching, and fielding, or reviewing arguments for and against some of baseball's commonly held beliefs, than he does discussing psychology proper.
Although though the book fails to deliver on the title's promise, I did find it interesting, and I think most serious baseball fans will enjoy Stadler's analysis of the sport. I even think it is worth keeping in my library, although I am tempted to tape over the spine and write: The Neurophysiological and Statistical Analysis of Baseball
 Interesting and fun March 23, 2008
Book is interesting in that it gives further study to a game that has more complexity than what is generally understood as well as some occasional humor that probably isn't entirely intended by the author. At times the book gets a little lost in the technical beyond what is necessary but you can skim over such paragraphs without missing anything totally necessary.
For the Fan...or For the Classroom? September 14, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not embarrassed to say I quickly got lost and bored reading this book. I started out in earnest, then as Stadler got into the details of his LOT models and strategies, generalized optical acceleration cancellations, coarticulations, psychometrics, physics, even NASA (!)...and beyond, I started skimming pages, then skipping paragraphs and then jumping pages. When I began to skip chapters to "get to the good stuff," I decided to reach for another book.
I can't imagine the kind of baseball fan or player that would take the time to closely read the fatiguing analysis of catching wind-blown flyballs, hitting a monster curve ball, or throwing a tricky, rising (?) fastball, and more...although there must be lots of them who need/want this information. --But it's definitely more fun playing the game!
It's a good, solid work. There's no getting around that, and there are probably plenty of readers beyond psychologist types who would fully understand and enjoy author Stadler's effort. For me, however, a true "died-in-the-wool" baseball fan for over 30 years, it turned out to be quite over my head and beyond my sphere of interest.
 Very good August 6, 2007
Pros: Fascinating look at the mental intricacies of baseball. Includes a chapter on fan psychology, which was a nice, unexpected touch
Cons: Would have liked more mention of baseball superstitions, like not talking about a no-hitter in progress.
Grade: A-
A very good Psychology Textbook July 19, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The research and information present in this book is top notch. This author knows his stuff inside out.
On the flipside it's delivery "paints the corners" of becomming a bone dry Psychology textbook. Young readers curious for a mild read may lose their grip on this one. I found myself skipping pages upon pages of statistical analysis.
|
|
|
