Omar Cuevas
Professor Delfín
ANT 3600 Sec. 03
23 April 2020
Baseball Magic
For many decades the game of baseball has evolved since its very first appearance in Cooperstown, New York, during the summer of 1839. With the evolution of new rules, larger audience, and higher paying wages, also introduced specific rituals and superstitions. Since this is a highly individual sport, these rituals were used by players for the sole purpose of reducing anxiety that natured from uncertainty and unpredictable events. All of these rituals were essentially completed to insure winning streaks, high batting averages, and high player performance.
Some of the most common rituals practiced by various ball players include: not stepping on the foul line before a game, not speaking of a no hitter or perfect game while its still in the process, preforming the exact same at bat procedure, turning ball caps upside down to continue a two out rally, wearing the same uniform continuously, and having lucky bats.
Aside form the rituals there are also certain curses that have been implemented throughout the years. Two of the most common curses is the curse of the bambino and the curse of billy the goat. The curse of the bambino is aimed towards the Boston Red Sox as they sold one of the most prosperous players, Babe Ruth, to the Yankees following the season of 1919. It was common that any bad decision made within the team's organization will result in bad luck. And due to this terrible trade, the Boston Red Sox went from 1919-2004, a total of 85 years, without a world series title. Years prior to that trade they were considered debatably the most elite team in American baseball, but after that trade the Yankees took that position.
The next curse that impacted the sport of baseball was the billy the goat aimed towards the Chicago Cubs. It all started in 1945 when an individual named Bill Sianis bought two tickets to see the Chicago Cubs play against the Detroit Tigers, on October 6th. Unfortunately, he was stopped at the entrance because he tried to enter the stadium with his pet goat named Murphy. They contacted the club owner and they refused his entrance, therefore, Sianis was furious and he cursed the team by saying" The Cubs will not win anymore." After this terrible event the Cubs went on to have unfortunate number of events that led to their defeat in post season games. In addition, they did not win another world series title until October 2016.
These superstitions and rituals have expanded to all sports from hockey, volleyball, soccer, football, and the list continues. Most of the rituals include individual routines and behaviors that athletes complete to put their mind at ease and the help them gain confidence. The crucial factor in every ritual is that it is unique and can only be understood by the one completing those actions. Do these rituals and superstitions actually enhance your ability to preform better? This is the most fascinating concept since these rituals have a psychological affect that each person has to decide on their own.
Works Cited
ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, www.espn.com/mlb/worldseries/history/winners.
Minter, Deborah. “Baseball Superstitions.” HowTheyPlay, HowTheyPlay, 31 Mar. 2020, howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Baseball-Superstitions.
Reuter, Joel. “MLB Power Rankings: The 50 Strangest Superstitions and Rituals in Baseball.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 3 Oct. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/677898-mlb-power-rankings-the-50-strangest-superstitionsrituals-in-baseball-history.
Sanchez, Ray. “What Is the Chicago Cubs' Billy Goat Curse?” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Oct. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/sport/chicago-cubs-billy-goat-curse/index.html.
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