Baseball Superstitions

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Are you superstitious? XM Radio touched on this subject Thursday morning and many of the callers shared their game day rituals, or superstitions, and certain things they do that will guarantee their team a win. Baseball is not only a game full of tradition but full of superstitions as well. As the line from Bull Durham so eloquently put it, a player must respect a winning streak.

Players have their rituals or habits on game days, but many of the fans do as well. So on Friday the 13th, what are your superstitions? As Holden Kushner pointed out, curses do not exist but superstitions...well, that's a whole different story.

According to EzineArticles.com, the top nine baseball superstitions are as follows:

  1. Not stepping on the foul line when going on or coming off the field
  2. Eating the same food before every game
  3. Leaving the pitcher alone and not talking about a no-hitter
  4. Lucky bat or glove
  5. Sign of the cross/pointing to the heavens
  6. Tapping the bat on the plate
  7. Sitting in the same place in the dugout
  8. Not shaving
  9. Going to the same restaurant or eatery before every playoff game

The Seattle-Times published a very interesting article on baseball superstitions in November of 2005....and just about every player in the game has certain things they do either before or during a game.

Lou Piniella's crew will lace it up later on Friday for their last split squad games of the spring. Half the team will face the Mariners at HoHoKam behind Sean Marshall while the rest of the roster will make the short trip to Tempe with Chad Gaudin. In the meantime, are you superstitious?

Hat tip to Buck Martinez and Scott Graham

  • I totally believe in not talking about a no-hitter....especially commentators! I forget when the game was (9/5/08?) but Brandon Morrow was no-hitting the Yankees at Safeco (in his first ML start no less) and new-to-the-M's broadcaster Dave Simms starts talking about Brandon's No-No in like the 5th inning!



    Needless to say, Wilson Betemit of all Yankee sluggers hits a double with 2 outs in the 8th.



    Way to prove a superstition right there Dave!

  • nick

    My New Years resolution this year was actully to try to be less superstitious. If my wife could change anything about me that would be it, well she might have other things that I don't know about.



    1. Depending on what TV I am watching the game on, if they are winning I will keep watching on that TV, if they are losing or start to loose, I switch TV's.



    2. If the Cubs loose 3 or more games in a row, I will rearrange all of my Cubs collectables that are in the entertainment center.



    3. I have a mural of Harry Caray singing the 7th inning stretch painted on my basement wall, and after each win I will give him a high five. (I know, pretty stupid) but it started a few years back when we won like 9 or something in a row.



    4. I painted three of the walls in the basement to look like bricks and then glued ivy to them, and every Monday (only during baseball season) I dust the ivy.

  • Jim C (Tinley Park)

    I walk away from the TV or turn off the radio when the cubs are leading going into the 9th inning, It crushes me to see them blow a win. I have a friend call me to tell me that it is ok to turn on the tv/radio and hear the "go cubs go" song. I do not handle games that they loose very well. My mood swings from sad to anger or vice versa. I am aware that they are going to loose at least 60 games a year and those are the roughest of times for me.

  • Dorasaga

    "6 - Only hard-core fans, and devotees of Japanese baseball, are aware of the Curse of Colonel Sanders. The victims are the Hanshin Tigers, who are the Japanese equivalent of the Cubs and Red Sox — one title in 68 years. That came in 1985, and in celebration, fans resembling Tigers stars leaped into Osaka's toxic Dotonbori River in celebration. However, no one could be found who resembled the Tigers' burly American star Randy Bass, so resourceful fans went to a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, stole a statue of Colonel Sanders, and tossed it in the river.



    In subsequent years, the Tigers plummeted back to the basement, and according to legend will not win another championship until the Colonel is found. Numerous efforts to recover the statue have been undertaken, to no avail."



    ***



    It's funny that this 2005 piece of Seattle Times mentioned Colonel Sanders on no.6, because IN FACTO, the body was found a few days ago!



    Here's what happened back in 1985 (you can tell the fans are ready to jump into the toxic river):



    http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/news4vip2/imgs/a/3/a34db37f.jpg

    http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/news4vip2/imgs/a/9/a934bf79.jpg



    ***



    Ever since then, KFC decorated the Colonel beside the Tigers ballpark:



    http://sankei.jp.msn.com/photos/affairs/crime/090310/crm0903101908029-p3.jpg



    ***



    And Japanese are all about costumes:



    http://akibahobby-c1.sakura.ne.jp/2008/04/26/m003s.jpg



    ***



    Here's the "site of murder", the toxic river:



    http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/news4vip2/imgs/1/4/14284c47.jpg



    ***



    Here's the recovery of Colonel's upper body:



    http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20090310-00000566-san-soci



    ***



    They found his lower part two days later:



    http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/baseball/npb/headlines/20090312-00000010-spnavi_ot-base.html



    ***



    God Bless the Colonel!

  • Dorasaga

    Update: KFC offers to bring the Colonel to Wrigley Field to help break curse



    http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/03/update_kfc_offers_to_bring_the.html

  • Bo

    boy did i take a double take. that picture of the mariners player on the link to the 2005 article looked just like soto. that startled me. i do not want to think of soto in another cap.

  • sam

    ok

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