Everyone expects professional athletes to make a mistake once and while . We expect an occasional air ball , a omit offer and a raging pitch . But what bump when a player seems to lose their talent almost all , suddenly and for no interpretable reason ? That ’s when you have a genuine suit of the yips .

The term " yips " was first coin to delineate golfers who missed short and easy putts due to pressure . But the terminus has since been passed on to other jock and can describe more than just one missed play . For baseball game , one omit playing period can have a vast impact on a game . So a case of the yip , even a short one , can be detrimental to a team ’s record and even that thespian ’s vocation .

So , let ’s take a looking at at the 5 of the worst case of the yips inbaseball– and hope they do n’t strike your favorite player the next time he get the field !

5: Steve Blass

In 1971 , pitcher Steve Blass avail the Pittsburgh Pirates make headway the World Series and he also finished right behind Roberto Clemente in vote for the World Series MVP [ source : CBS ] . The next year he made the Major League Baseball all - lead team . One class after that he was entirely out of the game of baseball . What pass ?

There was no wound , no retirement due to his age and no problem that made him lose centering . There was just one belittled change to Steve Blass : He lost the ability to slope . In 1973 Blass had triple his take in footrace average ( ERA ) and walked 84 slugger in only 88 inning [ informant : Plautz ] .

He spend down to the tike for a season but just could n’t recoup his attainment . Steve Blass ' professional baseball career was over before the 1975 time of year even began .

In the baseball game world , his problem is now bring up to as " Steve Blass Disease . " It ’s used to line any baseball game instrumentalist who ’s completely lost his ability to do his job on the study . It ’s the disease every player prays they ’ll never capture and the one that no one thinks they ever will [ source : O’Neill ] .

4: Rick Ankiel

St. Louis Cardinalspitcher , Rick Ankiel , was named High School Player of the Year and Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today and was call , " the most hopeful young left - handed pitcher in a generation , " by The New York Times Magazine . When he sign with the Cardinals , he received a $ 2.5 million bonus , the 5th largest ever given to an amateur at the time . Coach Tony La Russa pick him to play in the first biz of the National League class series against the Atlanta Braves and he played his first playoff game when he was only 21 [ reference : Jordan ] .

But in that National League division series , Ankiel hurl 9 angry sales pitch and walked 11 batter in just 4 innings [ source : Jordan ] . His wild pitch transgress a phonograph recording that had support steady since all the way back in 1890 . Not quite MVP status . Ankiel had lose his pitch accomplishment .

The year after pitch in the National League division series he was send down to the minors . And even though it does n’t seem like it could , things got even worse from there . He walked over 30 hitter in just 25 innings and had more than 20 furious sales talk [ reservoir : Star ] . After try unsuccessfully to resurrect his pitch , Ankiel re - started his baseball vocation as an outfielder .

3: Chuck Knoblauch

The baseball game yips are n’t reserved for pitchers alone . New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch was a Rookie of the Year , won several World Series band and went to four all - star game [ source : Rayno ] . But after all those accomplishment , Knoblauch started throw problems hurl the testicle to first base , a workaday and relatively simple chore for any second baseman .

In 1999 he had a total of 26 error . And , ostensibly , one of his unwarranted throws from second base hit Keith Olberman ’s mom in the face as she look on the biz from the stands [ source : Plautz ] . The yips experience no limit . Like other case of the yips , there was no real account for Knoblauch ’s loss of throwing power . After changing positions a few time , Knoblauch finally retired from baseball game in 2003 . During his 12 seasons as a professional baseball game player he earned a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger , among his other achievements .

2: Steve Sax

Steve Sax is another well - known baseball game actor who caught a uncollectible case of the yips . Steve Sax Syndrome has been used to draw 2nd basemen who ca n’t throw the musket ball to first base [ reference : Star ] . Unlike some other cases of the yips , the offset of Sax ’s yip can be pinpointed .

In the ninth frame of the Los Angeles Dodger ’s dwelling unfastener Sax throw the glob to home plate after Andre Dawson , from the Montreal Expos , strike a triple . The only job was that Dawson was stand at third when Sax threw the clod . The ball bounce and start out aside from the catcher and Dawson scored . Sax says it was an average error , but he did initiate to call up about it and question his own timing and throwing after that [ source : Demak ] .

Luckily for Sax , the yips did n’t dumbfound around . After amass 30 errors in the 1983 time of year , he die on to be one of the adept 2d basemen in 1989 , and played for 13 years [ root : Star ] .

1: Mackey Sasser

Mackey Sasser was a backstop for the New York Mets when his yips started showing up . In 1989 , just two twelvemonth into his professional career , Sasser started having problem throwing the orb back to thepitcher . As you may conceive of , a catcher who ca n’t throw the ball back to the hurler is n’t much of a backstop at all .

Sasser fans librate in on the problem by calling radio station propose way to cure Sasser ’s problem [ reference : Baumbach ] . regrettably , none of them helped . Sasser played for several other squad before leaving baseball , uncured of the yelping , in 1995 [ source : McCarron ] . As with other players , a new term was coined to describe a catcher who ca n’t throw the ball back to the pitcher : Sasseritis . somewhat original , huh ?

After leaving the major leagues , Sasser worked with a therapist to aid cure his case of the yelping and went on to be a baseball coach at Wallace Junior College [ source : Inside the Zone ] . Sasser not only beat his yips after he stopped toy professionally , but he also tries to help other players who are possess standardised problems . Sasser has been known to give out his earpiece numeral and he answers e - mails every calendar week from player with the yips [ source : Baumbach ] .

Yips Baseball FAQ

Lots More Information

I had the opposite of the yips when I play basketball in in-between school . I had one astonishing game where they coach said , " Give Chris the ball " and the rest of my " vocation " was basically made up of me barely getting off the bench and lack shots when I did . So this subject amazed me when I began explore how many players have struggled with the yips . The yelping seem unlike than a economic crisis , which most every player experience , because yips appear out of nowhere and actually inhibit a player from using almost any of their skill . Kind of scary when you consider about it .

With all the public press professional player receive when they get the yips , I ’m surprised more actor do n’t end up with them by just think about how shuddery it would be to actually have them . baseball game seems like a particularly vulnerable sport for the yips since musician often have to make braggart play by themselves . One bad throw or neglect snatch could literally lose a game . That ’s a lot of pressure level !

Sources

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