The Training Background of NCAA Division I Baseball Players
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2013 Who's Got What It Takes? The Training Background of NCAA Division I Baseball Players LeQuez Tymarkee Spearman [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Spearman, LeQuez Tymarkee, "Who's Got What It Takes? The Training Background of NCAA Division I Baseball Players. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1781 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by LeQuez Tymarkee Spearman entitled "Who's Got What It Takes? The Training Background of NCAA Division I Baseball Players." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Kinesiology and Sport Studies. Joy T. DeSensi, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Lars Dzikus, Barbara J. Thayer-Bacon, Steven N. Waller Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Who’s Got What It Takes? The Training Background of NCAA Division I Baseball Players A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville LeQuez Tymarkee Spearman May 2013 ii Copyright© 2013 by LeQuez T. Spearman All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my mother. What is understood does not have to be said. I love you! iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude to all of the people who have given me an incalculable amount of support throughout this process. I am very thankful for my committee members: Dr. DeSensi, Dr. Waller, Dr. Dzikus and Dr. Thayer-Bacon. I would also like to thank my mother and close friends, Cherome Owens and Kendrick Taylor. v Abstract Baseball is widely regarded as America’s pastime, in large part because of narratives about it being an egalitarian sport, in which every man can participate. At our current time a chorus of scholars has noted how the sport has become more exclusive to the middle class. For example, Ogden and Rose’s (2005) research cited access and rising costs as barriers to participation for some baseball players. In order to understand what is required to compete at the developmental level in baseball, the current study adopted a qualitative approach which allowed the exploration of the training background of 10 NCAA Division I baseball players at Beaston University (this is a pseudonym used throughout this research). The following research questions guided this study: (a) What is the training background of NCAA Division I baseball players, (b) How do developmental baseball players reflect on exclusivity, privilege, the unequal distribution of resources and meritocracy in baseball, and (c) How do the participants think their training has helped them become players at the intercollegiate level? A semi-structured interview protocol was used to have the participants reflect on their training background at the developmental level in baseball. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts produced the following themes: (a) baseball is work, but it is still a game, (b) foundation, (c) diverse experiences, and (d) social location. The major finding is that developmental baseball is rife with politics, the unequal distribution of resources and class privilege, but the participants believe that hard work is enough to vault any player to the NCAA Division I level. This study adds knowledge to the fields of sport sociology, sport management and recreation and leisure studies. For sport sociology and sport management, the recommendations from this study can be implemented to make vi developmental baseball more inclusive. With respect to recreation and leisure studies, the findings from this dissertation demonstrate the salience of constraints and facilitators reported by the participants. Keywords/terms : baseball, meritocracy, cultural reproduction vii Table of Contents Chapter I ............................................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................2 Statement of Purpose ...............................................................................................2 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................3 Bourdieu and Baseball .............................................................................................4 Purpose of The Study ...............................................................................................5 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Assumptions…………………………………………………………………….…5 Limitations and Delimitations……………………………………………………..6 Significance…………………………………………………………………..……8 Definition of Terms………………………………………………………..………8 Organization ...........................................................................................................11 Chapter II ......................................................................................................................... 12 Baseball and Capitalism .........................................................................................12 Power and Performance Model……………………………………………..……17 Specialization .........................................................................................................18 Negative Consequences of Specialization .............................................................19 American Players and The Transnational Labor Process ......................................20 Social and Cultural Reproduction ..........................................................................22 Sport and Social Mobility ......................................................................................29 The Body and Physical Capital ..............................................................................33 Parental Involvement .............................................................................................36 Class Distinction and Privilege ..............................................................................38 Leisure Constraints ................................................................................................41 Criticisms of Leisure Constraints...........................................................................42 Culture Not Part of the Model ...............................................................................42 Gender…………………………………………………………………………… 43 Race and Ethnicity .................................................................................................43 Religion ..................................................................................................................44 Little Focus on Qualitative Research .....................................................................45 Constraints Negotiation .........................................................................................46 Complexities of Negotiation ..................................................................................46 Leisure Constraints and Developmental Baseball .................................................48 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................48 Chapter III ……………………………………………………………………………....50 Positionality ...........................................................................................................50 Epistemic Foundation ............................................................................................54 Emic Research .......................................................................................................55 Participants…………………………………………………………….…………56 Institutional Review Board, Confidentiality, Risks and Benefits……………..…57 Data Collection………………………………………………………………..…57 Instrumentation…………………………………………………………………..57 Analysis..................................................................................................................59 viii Validity ..................................................................................................................60 Member Checking……………………………………………………………..…61 Bracketing Interview……………………………………………………………..61 Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………..62 Chapter IV ........................................................................................................................ 63 Participant Profiles……………………………………………………………….63 Findings and Discussion ........................................................................................66 Theme 1: Baseball is work, but it is still a game ...................................................67 The American Dream…………………………………………………………….67