Baseball superstition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baseball is a sport with a long history of superstition. From the very famous Curse of the Bambino to some players' refusal to wash their clothes or bodies after a win, superstition is present in all parts of baseball. Many baseball players—batters, pitchers, and fielders alike— excuse excessive, repetitive routines prior to pitches and at bats to superstition. The desire to keep a number they have been successful with is strong in baseball. In fact anything that happens prior to something good or bad in baseball, can give birth to a new superstition. Some players rely on a level of meta-superstition: by believing in superstitions they can focus their mind to perform better. Many players and fans also believe that superstitions propagate their own fulfillment by influencing players and fans.
[edit] Famous or common superstitions
- Curse of the Bambino
- Curse of the billy goat
- Curse of the "Black Sox"
- Curse of the Colonel
- The Sports Illustrated curse applies very strongly to baseball
- Not stepping on foul lines unnecessarily (most famous adherent was manager Sparky Anderson; pitcher Curt Schilling can be seen skipping the foul line on the way to the dugout). Turk Wendell also followed this practice.
- Routines before pitches or at bats (e.g. stepping out of the box to adjust the uniform, cap, and take a practice swing, ala Mike Hargrove who was known as "the human rain delay" and Nomar Garciaparra for his routine of adjusting his batting gloves and his toe-tapping while inside the batter's box)
- Pregame rituals (especially meals eaten before games, see, e.g. Wade Boggs)
- Uniform numbers
- Not talking about a no-hitter or perfect game in progress
- "Statting" a player by mentioning his excellent statistics in this situation is seen to jinx that player.
- A lucky bat or glove.
- Equipment related (most famous being Craig Biggio who does not wash his batting helmet for the entire season)
- Not talking about the outcome of a 7 game series before it is over.
- Not shaving after the first postseason win
- Chewing only one wad of gum per game
- Tapping one's bat onto homebase before an at-bat
- Drawing in the batter's box before each at-bat
