Abstract
This study aims to elucidate how high school baseball coaches are discussed on Twitter. A comprehensive analysis was conducted using sentiment analysis, topic modeling, and other multivariate analytical methods on 4,466 tweets mentioning high school baseball coaches.
The results revealed that while high school baseball coaches are expected and praised for their success in achieving victories at the Koshien tournament, they are criticized for unethical practices, including corporal punishment, and their management of pitchers during games. Discussions about these coaches revolved around six main topics: “Qualities,” “Game Management,” “Pro–Amateur, ” “Great Commander,” “Harassment,” and “Improvement.” Furthermore, posts on “Game Management” and “Harassment ” were particularly negative. Additionally, posts on “Qualities” and “Game Management” were concentrated during the championship events.
The findings of this study suggest that while outsiders act as surveillance monitors of the “education” provided by high school baseball coaches, they have strong expectations for certain coaches to focus on the “competitive” aspects of the game, influenced by a “Koshien–centric” mindset. For those who adopt the “logic of the observer,” enjoying the “narrative ” of high school baseball is essential, and as a crucial element of this narrative, coaches must exert effort and fulfill their responsibilities toward achieving “competitive” success (victory) at the Koshien tournament. This external “surveillance” and “expectant” gaze is more complex and multi–layered than ever before, potentially exacerbating the coaches’ stress levels.
