The Science behind the Collapses

By Guest
Updated: October 9, 2011

So what really happened to the Braves and Red Sox that caused their hard to imagine collapses?

On the surface level, we could just very simply say that neither club performed well in September. For the Braves, one could focus on the fact that they did not hit well with runners in scoring position over the last month or that their outstanding relievers, Jonny Vetters and Craig Kimbrel saved their least effective month for September.

However, to fully understand anything, it is helpful to look at its origin. In the case of the Braves and Red Sox, their hitter’s swings and pitcher’s motions were not as good in September as they were for most of the season.

So looking at the origin of motion we must look at the processes in the mind. When we are doing anything in life, information or signals enter the pre frontal cortex of the brain. What determines fluidity of motion is how quickly and seamlessly these signals move to the motor system. When they move quickly and seamlessly, the more subtle fast twitch muscles in the body become enlivened which causes the motion to be fluid and effortless and thus be more effective.

When the opposite occurs and the signals get held up in the pre frontal cortex, the fast twitch muscles are less enlivened and the bigger, bulkier muscles dominate the motion. This causes the motion to be more forced and less effective.

Along with the bigger muscles dominating when this process occurs in the brain, the athlete also experiences time as speeding up and does more thinking instead of just reacting or “letting it happen.”

Kimbrel had the following to say after walking three in the 9th inning of the Brave’s loss on the last day of the regular season to cost them the NL Wild Card spot.

“Things started moving too fast. My head started moving too fast. My brain, I didn’t put it together. It was too late.” The translation of this is that the information he was taking in was getting held up in his pre frontal cortex.

He went on to say that his 9th inning collapse “would just make me work harder this coming off season.” Careful Craig! His working harder without understanding motion from the most fundamental level could easily cause his September to carry over into April 2011.

To better understand motion, you may want to view this video of Dr. Fred Travis.