Baseball superstition
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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.
Some of the more common superstition include purposely stepping on or avoid stepping on the foul line when taking the field. Not talking about a "no-hitter" or perfect game while it is in progress, this also stand for fans, announcers, and even those watching on TV. Routines such as eating only chicken before a game like Wade Boggs, or tapping the bat on the plate before an at bat, or drawing in the dirt in the batter's box before and at bat.
For further reading, see George Gmelch's analysis of the role of superstition in baseball.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Gmelch, George (September 2000). "Revised version of "Superstition and Ritual in American Baseball" from Elysian Fields Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1992, pp. 25-36". McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. Archived from the original on 2007-04-21. http://www.webcitation.org/5OHaQX4IE.
