The Theory Behind the Yips in Baseball
“The Yips” are a sudden inability to throw the ball accurately. Most view the cause of Ankiel’s as unexplainable. Despite many other players being inflicted in the 20 years since, little or nothing has been done to fix the yips in baseball. There still is no known effective treatment and little is understood about how they develop. Often a player inflicted will be stigmatized as mentally weak, ostracized by teammates who do not want to “catch” the yips, and most likely cut from the roster.