ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological changes experienced by players and spectators following the introduction of the pitch clock system in professional baseball. The participants consisted of 150 individuals, including professional baseball second-team players and spectators with experience watching professional baseball games, as well as four professional baseball first-team players who participated in in-depth interviews, for a total of 154 participants. Open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interview guides developed through expert meetings were used as research instruments. Based on the collected data, inductive content analysis was conducted, and the results were categorized into positive changes and negative changes among players and spectators. The results were as follows. First, the pitch clock system led to changes in players’ attentional focus structures through the simplification of routines. Some players reported enhanced concentration due to faster game tempo; however, many players experienced difficulties in adaptation. Second, a large number of players experienced psychological burden by excessively being aware of the countdown timer. Psychological skill-based strategy setting was required in time-pressured situations. Third, many players reported negative opinions regarding the system. There was a need for additional review of institutional factors such as fairness, sense of control, and operational standards. Fourth, players’ experiences differed depending on their positions. The necessity of coaching strategies that reflect positional characteristics was raised. Fifth, many spectators recognized the positive effects of the system. Operational principles based on multidimensional evaluation, rather than simple game time reduction, were required. These findings suggested that the introduction of the pitch clock system specifies the characteristics of changes experienced by players and indicated that spectators’ viewing experiences might change in a multidimensional manner. This study could be utilized as foundational data for future psychological skills training for players appropriate to game situations and for institutional operation improvements to enhance spectator acceptance.

키워드