Baseball Magic

Rick Gonsalves

October 6, 2006

Essay #31

Baseball Magic

For a first example of a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Dennis Grossini, he tells his rituals of what he does before a game. He wakes up at exactly 10:00 AM and at 1 PM; he would go to the nearest restaurant for two glasses of Iced Tea and a tuna fish sandwich. When he got to the ball park at 3:00 he would put on the sweat shirt and jock he wore during the last winning game and one hour before the game he would put in a wad of Beech-Nut chewing tobacco. After each pitch, he would touch the letters on his uniform and straightened his cap after each ball. Before starting each inning, he replaced the pitchers rosin bag next to the spot where it was the inning before. And after every inning he gave up a run, he would immediately run to the dugout to wash his hands.

The most common was players attempt to reduce chance and their feelings of uncertainty is to develop a daily routine- and a course of action usually follows. Many hitters go through a series of preparatory rituals before stepping into the batters box. These include tugging on their caps, touching their uniform letters or medallions, crossing themselves and swinging, tapping, or bouncing the bat on the plate a certain number of times.

When outfielder Ron White played for the Calgary Cannons he shaved his arms once a week. It all began with an arm injury two years before, so they could tape his arm, and he started hitting home runs. It only takes one win, or one homerun to start a ritual or superstition for something you did before a game, and if you keep winning, there is no telling when you are going to give up that ritual, if ever.