Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations
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Brandman University Brandman Digital Repository Dissertations Spring 4-21-2020 Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations Joshua Rosenthal Brandman University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.brandman.edu/edd_dissertations Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Sports Sciences Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Rosenthal, Joshua, "Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations" (2020). Dissertations. 328. https://digitalcommons.brandman.edu/edd_dissertations/328 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Brandman Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Brandman Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations A Dissertation by Joshua Rosenthal Brandman University Irvine, California School of Education Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership April 2020 Committee in charge: Philip O. Pendley, Ed.D. Committee Chair Jonathan L. Greenberg, Ed.D. Walt Buster, Ed.D. Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations Copyright © 2020 by Joshua Rosenthal iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I consider myself a passionate educator and sports fanatic. I was fortunate to meet the right people who were able to help me marry these passions into a career where I am able to educate student athletes both amateurs and professionals. As leader of an education program for an MLB team, I began learning from experienced coaches and mental skills trainers. I grew fascinated by their teachings. I studied their work and was often called upon to use my Spanish skills to translate their teachings to our Latino players. I realized in order to teach mental skills to professional athletes I must become an expert, not only academically but physically. During my doctoral studies I began to expand my distance running and completed a marathon, giving me an in depth look into the physical and mental dedication and sacrifice needed to be an world class athlete. At the same time, I was researching and teaching emotional intelligence and sports psychology. As an education department we began teaching our professional student athletes emotional intelligence skills to help them become successful both on and off the field. I became fascinated with the correlation I could see between emotional intelligence and our most successful athletes on the baseball field. I began researching the topic and found that others had also been interested in the correlation and was excited to find academic studies which verified the relationship. Finding quantitative research that highlighted the relationship between emotional intelligence and sports performance was exciting however I still did not understand exactly what successful athletes were doing to be successful. To me it wasn’t enough to recognize a correlation between emotional intelligence scores and success on the field, I needed to understand exactly what superior athletes were doing to utilize their emotions to be successful. Further, I recognized my iv unique situation given my personal connections within the business of Major League Baseball, having access to all-time great closers who had performed well under pressure. As I pursued the best closers to participate in the study, I was excited and amazed by the willingness of some of the all-time great closers to contribute. The closers were humble, honest, and forthright. They happily discussed their routines, sacrifices, struggles, and successes. They were articulate and insightful. As a baseball fan and professional, it was both a thrill and an honor to dive deep into the mechanics of what made these athletes fantastic in their execution, performing in some of the most pressure filled situations in sports. I am grateful to them for participating and the excellent group we were able to put together. It has long been my dream to contribute a lasting positive impact on sports, especially baseball. I hope, that through this study, I was able to help current and future athletes become more successful both on and off the field. Similarly, it is my belief that this research will not only help athletes, but anyone who desires to perform better in high pressure situations. I thank my soon to be wife and step son for their love and support. They displayed patience, support, love, tough love, and understanding of my desire to accomplish this dream. I thank my family for their belief in me and the high expectations they not only set, but for giving me the tools to reach such lofty goals. I am blessed with parents and siblings who push me to maximize the tools I was given in life. I want to thank my closest friends for their encouragement. This study would not have begun nor been completed without the club, coaches, front office, trainers, and of course our student athletes. A huge thank you to the closers for their participation. After learning from them, it is obvious why they were so successful and would have been regardless of the v profession they chose. Finally, I thank my fellow doctoral students and professors for their enthusiasm, insights, and patience. I thank my doctoral dissertation committee. This committee encouraged me to shoot for the stars, as I attempted to interview an incredible sample of all-time great baseball players. Their guidance, feedback, encouragement, and support were crucial to my success. Dr. Phil Pendley deserves my tremendous gratitude for believing in me and sharing the enjoyment of the process. His passion for students, learning, and sports helped push this study into existence. Dr. Walt Buster was not only a committee member but my cohort mentor. Dr. Buster was there for me from day one, through the thick and the thin of my doctorate and I am honored to complete this journey with him by my side. Finally, Dr. Greenberg provided incredible energy and excitement, encouraging me to pursue a study so closely intertwined with my passions. My committee was the heart of my batting order and are all Hall of Famers in my book. vi ABSTRACT Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized by Successful Major League Baseball Closers to Perform Successfully in High Pressure Situations by Joshua Rosenthal Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the similarities that exist in the descriptions of emotional intelligence methods utilized by retired successful Major League Baseball closers to appraise, express, regulate, and utilize their emotions to perform successfully in high pressure situations. Methodology: The dissertation was a qualitative case study. Twelve of the top 50 retired save leaders in Major League Baseball were interviewed to understand the similarities in the descriptions of emotional intelligence methods used to perform successfully in high pressure situations. This study attempted to understand what exactly elite closers did to utilize emotional intelligence to perform in high pressure situations. Findings: A total of eight common themes emerged from this study. At least two-thirds of all closers interviewed identified that laser focus on the moment and a short-term memory for emotional regulation, adrenaline utilization of emotions, reflection to appraise emotions, remaining even keeled for emotional regulation, preparation for emotional control, playing for teammates for utilization of emotions, breath for emotional control, and celebration for emotional expression as emotional intelligence methods utilized to perform successfully in high pressure situations. Conclusions: Eight conclusions were derived from the study’s findings. Successful closers had an honest and regular appraisal routine. The closers celebrated in some form to express their emotions. The closers maintained detailed focus on the moment with a short-term memory. The closers utilized breath to regulate their emotions. The all-time vii great closers developed world class preparation and work ethic to prepare themselves for their performances. In order to utilize their emotions, closers used their adrenaline to their advantage and used their teammates as a primary motivation for preparation and performance. Recommendations: High pressure performers must develop routines that include the eight primary strategies used by the elite closers. Though each individual will address the eight routines differently, it is important for those who desire high performance in HPS to develop and maintain these strategies. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Background ......................................................................................................................... 3 Choking Under Pressure in Sports ...................................................................................... 4 Causes for Choking Under Pressure .............................................................................. 4 Emotional