March 11, 2016

​

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -  Sports fans are always looking for someone to blame.

​

Video game covers, Sports Illustrated, black cats and goats have all infamously been blamed for soul-crushing

losses, horrible performances and season-ending injuries.

​

For Georgia College softball, the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week award has become what the Curse

of the Bambino was to Boston, what Lil B the Based God’s curse is to Kevin Durant, what the Billy Goat is to

Chicago and what the Curse of Robert Labonte — yes this is a real thing, look it up — was to the Canadian

national curling team in the 70’s.

​

Each week the conference awards the title of PBC Player, Pitcher, or Freshman of the Week to an outstanding

player in each category. However, according to GC softball head coach Jamie Grodecki, this reward doesn’t come

without consequence.

​

“We are proud of our athletes for receiving this award,” said coach Grodecki, the softball head coach, “but if we

have a good week, I would rather none of my girls get nominated for this award.”

​

For GC softball, winning one of the awards has become a strange amalgam of a major honor and a bearer of

imminent bad news.

​

The curse, which started as a joke amongst the players, gained life — confirmation bias is an amazing thing — as,

supposedly, after a player won an award, their performance immediately suffered the next week.

But does winning an award from the good folks at PBC headquarters really signal an 0-for-5, three-strikeout

performance on the horizon?

​

We found every single weekly award winner that has touched the diamond for Georgia College since Coach

Grodecki arrived for the 2011 season, and examined their performance the week after winning a PBC award.

The “PBC Curse” isn’t nearly as scary as the Bobcats might think.

​

For the hitters, we looked at the three stats designed to most quickly and simply show a player’s value at the

plate; batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. For pitchers, we simply took their earned run

average.

​

We took those stats from the week after a player wins a PBC award and compared them to their regular season

averages for that year. From those stats we simply judged whether or not the player contributed above or below

their average output that week. If we found that the players performance suffered after winning the award, then

the PBC Curse must be real and we would have to suggest moving the Bobcats to a new field that wasn’t built on

a Native-American burial ground.

​

It’s not the most scientific analytics research ever done, but we go to Georgia College, not MIT.

First, we looked at the numbers for first PBC award winner of 2016, senior Taylor Campbell. Campbell won PBC

Player of the Week in early February after hitting .750, smashing ten home runs and knocking in a ridiculous ten

runs in just one week of action.

​

She then proceeded to go 1-for-12 the next week.

​

However, after a quick panic attack and a google search for the next available priest that could come and provide

blessings over the Peeler Complex on short notice, we looked at the rest of the award winners and found that,

generally, the Bobcat award winners perform on par with their normal averages, and a few even perform better

after winning.

​

Excluding Campbell’s out of character week, the four Bobcats who were named Player of the Week, on average,

hit 31 points higher than their regular season batting average. Their collective on-base percentage rose from .476

to .516 and their slugging percentage was 41 points better.

​

The six Bobcat pitchers who have been bestowed with Pitcher of the Week honors since 2011 were also above

average, although only slightly. The hurler’s collective ERA the week after the award was 1.72, while their mean

ERA from the season they won the award was 1.77.

​

While the curse was thought to belong to those who won Player or Pitcher of the week, it appears the real hex

might be on the Bobcat freshman. Well, at least the freshman hitters.

​

The two freshman pitchers who won the award had an average ERA two runs less than their season average the

week after they won the award. Meanwhile, the freshman who have won the award for their performance at the

plate saw significant drop-offs.

​

The batting average for players the week after winning Freshman of the Week was 61 points lower than their

final season average. Their on-base percentage was 56 points lower than average and their slugging percentage

plummeted off a cliff, dropping 117 points lower than their season average a week after winning the award.

So, is there a black magic hex on the Bobcats?

​

Funny enough, the player with best performance after winning an award? Two-time PBC Player of the Week

Taylor Campbell, who’s average was 127 points higher than normal after winning the award her junior year.

Not much of a curse.

​

Maybe now, with the burden of a supernatural jinx lifted from their shoulders, (Except the freshmen. Watch out

freshman.) the Bobcats can play with cleared minds and cruise to a PBC title without superstition getting in the

way.

​

Fingers crossed.

​

​

Link to original article - http://gcsunade.com/2016/03/11/pbc-players-of-the-week-cursed-or-are-they/