Antedating "the yips" OED 1963-->1943

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:00 PM -0400 10/2/10, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>At 10/2/2010 03:12 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>I could have sworn that it was also applied to baseball players, e.g.
>>to Steve Sax, a second baseman who suddenly for no obvious reason
>>began to find it impossible to make the short throw to first.  I'll
>>try googling "Steve Sax" + "the yips"...yup, 270 hits, including
>>references to another Yankees second baseman, Chuck Knoblauch,
>
>Yup.  (At least, I remember the day, although not the word.  He was
>notorious.)
>
>>and
>>various other non-golfers.  I think it's significant that it usually
>>(always?) comes up in a baseball context either for a second baseman
>>(who makes the shortest throw to first, as opposed to shortstops or
>>third-basemen) or the catcher tossing the ball back to the pitcher.
>
>Larry, did you find it also applied to a pitcher mis-throwing to
>first (attempted pickoff, or on a bunt)?
>
>Joel

Sounds plausible.  In the comment in my last paragraph above or the
one below I was relying on memory, not the g-hits, of which I just
glanced at the first page (which I where I was reminded of
Knoblauch's carrying on the tradition) and then scrolled through to
find the actual number of hits.  (I still don't understand where the
"about n pages" mis-estimates come from.)  But mishaps for ta pitcher
throwing to first would fit the criteria--what's crucial is that it
involve an easy toss, not a challenging throw, and this is exactly
the kind of toss that would be yip-prone.

LH

>
>>A catcher who just can't throw base stealers out at second just has a
>>bad arm, not the yips.  And it's often "a case of the yips", which
>>comes on suddenly and without explanation like cases of other
>>afflictions.
>
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