Face width linked to baseball skills: study

For male baseball players, having a wide face may mean they can hit more home runs, a new study suggested.

Psychologists from the University of London looked at data concerning 104 Japanese professional baseball players, and found a correlation between the players’ facial width-to-height ratio and their batting power.

The researchers analyzed the players’ game data in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and compared it to the width of the players’ faces. They found that players with relatively wider faces had more home runs, higher slugging percentages, and hits and runs batted in than players with narrower faces in both seasons.

The finding suggests that the wider a player’s face is -- in comparison to his facial height -- the more likely he is to be a strong batter.

The marked difference between the players’ performances may be attributed to their differences in testosterone levels.

“Some suggest that behavioral effects of testosterone may manifest as the motivation to achieve status or coarse physical strength,” authors wrote.

Previous findings -- such as one published in the journal Psychological Science in 2011 that pointed out broader-faced male CEOs are more successful -- have suggested that the male hormone is linked to strength and drive for achievement.

The latest study however, is the first one that found that such link in non-Caucasian men.

The research was published in journal Biology Letters.



From news reports

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)