Kathlyn Gay - They Dont Wash Their Socks

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Baseball. Its Americas national pastime. But it also has been called the most superstitious sport. Those who play the game or follow baseball hear a lot about how to find good luck or avoid bad luck on the field.

Many stories have circulated about former Chicago White Sox hitter Harold Baines, for example. Baines, who is usually quite talkative, has been called the silent slugger, because he wont discuss his hits or little else while hes batting well. During the early part of the 1989 season, Baines led the American League in hits, and except for simple yes or no responses refused to talk to reporters or others about his game. To do so, he thought might invite bad luck, breaking his successful streak.

Superstitions have been a part of baseball ever since the game was officially organized. When hay wagons were a common sight it was a good omen if a player passed a wagonload of hay on the way to the ballpark. A load of empty barrels also was a good luck sign.

On the other hand, a player never wanted to see a dog cross the playing field before the first pitch. That was bad luck. And nobody wanted a black catlong a symbol of misfortuneto cross his path. In fact, sometimes black cats were deliberately used to try to bring bad luck to opponents. Once in Philadelphia, players on the Phillies team carried black cats onto the ball field in an attempt to harass one member of the opposing Brooklyn Dodgers. But Jackie Robinson, the first black man in major-league baseball, ignored the ill will, as he had done many other times when players and fans had tried to put a hex on him. His dramatic plays helped the Dodgers win many games, and he eventually was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early in the history of the game, only males were hired to handle the bats. Batboys often doubled as team mascots, bearers of good luck. It was common practice to touch a batboy or rub his head to ensure a hit.

One unusual mascot in professional baseball was not a batboy, however. He called himself a pitcher and he came to the New York Giants baseball club in 1911, introducing himself as Charles Victor Faust from Kansas. Giants manager John McGraw wondered what this gangly character in his Sunday-best suit and black derby expected to do for the team.

Im destined to help the Giants win the national league pennant, Faust said.

Such a claim had to be tested. So McGraw asked Faust to take off his coat and hat and show his stuff. As it turned out, Faust was no ballplayer. But McGraw decided not to push his or the teams luck if this strange fellow could have an effect on the teams destiny. So he spread the word among his players. He would try Faust at bat and the team should make sure he got a home run.

Everybody on the field cooperated. On the first pitch, the ball dribbled off Fausts bat toward the shortstop, who fumbled around and managed to throw to first. But Faust was called safe. With the coach urging him on, Faust went around the bases, sliding with assists into second, third, and then home. Dusting off his Sunday-best, Faust beamed with pride and the team christened him Charles Victory Faust.

McGraw decided to take Faust along when the team left for a road trip that night. From then on, Charles Victory was part of the Giants unofficial lineup. He warmed up for every game, but never pitched. Still, he continually reminded everyone that he had been sent to help win the pennant.

Charles Victory made a believer out of McGraw when the Giants captured the pennant that season. Faust turned up for the next two seasons and the team continued to win. For three consecutive years the pennant belonged to the Giants. When Charles Victory Faust died in 1914, the teams winning streak died, too. The Giants lost the pennant that year.

Many superstitious practices in baseball take place before the game. A player might put on his uniform in a specific order or eat the same kind of meal every game day. Another might meditate for hours, or go through a warm-up routine that never varies from one pregame period to the next. Keith Hernandez formerly of the New York Mets says he does crossword puzzles for twenty minutes before each game. Former Cubs pitcher Paul Moskau always had to shake hands with the teams public relations director and insisted that the P.R. man wish him good luck before he left the locker room.

Some pregame rituals became quite complex. Cy Young award-winner Steve Stone believed his success was partly due to his breakfast routine. In the early part of one season with the Baltimore Orioles, Stone had breakfast with a sportswriter and after that won a couple of games in a row. From then on, Stone insisted on the same ritual to keep his luck going. And the sportswriter dutifully appeared for breakfast prior to games in which Stone would pitch. The result? Twenty-five wins and the outstanding pitcher award for Stone that season.

When Mike Norris pitched for the Oakland Athletics, he extended his pregame ritual through midafternoon. His routine included watching TV soap operas and eating soul food for luck. When his team was at bat, Norris would always go to the clubhouse, a ritual he felt prevented any misfortune befalling the As while on the field. He also tried to wear the same shoes every time he pitched.

Wade Boggs of the Red Sox has become well known for his pregame ritual. It always begins at 2:00 in the afternoon with a chicken dinner. He believes chicken improves his hitting. After his arrival at the clubhouse, his routine is precisely scheduled. He puts on his uniform at 3:30. Then all exercises, from batting practice to final wind sprints, take place at a specific time and exactly on the minute.

Managers and coaches also have their pregame acts. Years ago a Boston Braves manager made sure that all advertisements with the color yellow were removed from the ballpark before the game. Players, too, were checked for any yellow in their clothing. Yellow was considered bad luck for the team, perhaps because the color long has been associated with cowardice.

Changing the lineup may be one way a coach tries to court good luck before a game, especially if his team is in a slump. Former Chicago Cubs coach Ruben Amaro always posted his lineup in a certain place in the dugout. But after a long losing streak, Amaro decided to try to do what he could to change his teams luck. So he posted the lineup sheet on a different dugout wall. That day the Cubs won a doubleheader over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Step on a crack and youll break your mothers back. Maybe that saying has something to do with the baseball players who take extreme precautions to avoid stepping on the foul line, an act they believe could bring bad luck.

Some players make a ritual of getting safely across the foul line. Several players have developed stylized hops. Others cross the foul line at exactly the same place every time they leave the field at the end of an inning.

A number of players are also superstitious about baselines. One former top major-leaguer, Joe Niekro, never crossed the running lane leading from the batters box to first base. If at the end of an inning Niekro happened to be near first base, he would not consider taking the shortest route to the dugout. Rather than trot diagonally across the field, he squared off his course, jogging along to the end of the running lane, the only place where he would make his exit, as this diagram shows: