Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-23
PET SUPERSTITIO IONS

Ball players are as superstitious as SAIL
ors or black mammies,' said Charley Hick-
man the other day. '.In addition to most of
the ordinary superstitions which are be-
1eved In by the general run of supersti-
tious people they've got a whole batch of
their own, and some of them believe i'm
plicitly in these things.
The majority of ball players fall for the
thirteen superstition. You can't get them
TO ride In bus in which there are thirteen
men, and they are always very careful to
count noses. too, before getting into bus.
In the dining ooms of some of the hotels
at which the players put up while travelling
all OF the players are put at one table. It's
fun to watch them tagging the thirteenth
feilow who comes along to the table for q
meal. II he doesn't roll his eye around
himself and count the bunch before sitting
down there are always plenty of them at
the table who will, and If the newcomer
makes the thirteenth he ducks out of the
dining room till he is Joined by one of the
other players to make the fourteenth, or
waits till one of the eaters gets through
and quits the table.
Nearly all of the teams are supersti-
tious about having outsiders on the bench
even during practice. Few of them be-
deve that they can win a game when an
outsider has sat on their bench from the
moment that they arrived at the park. But
the queer stuff Is the kinky superstitions of
the individual players. l wouldn't go so
far as to say that every player has some
odd little pet notion, but it's a sure thing
that not many of them are free from these
WITNESSES.
Il know several pitchers, for instance,
who thoroughly believe that when a game
is postponed on account of rain or wet
grounds on the day they're due to go in
It's simply Impossible for them to win on
the next day or the next time they take
their postponed turn.
There's often plain enough answer to
the superstitions of the players, but they
won't see the answer, and just go right on
nursing the superstition. For example,
there's certain outfielder who is positive
that every time he gives himself slight
cut with his razor while shaving in the
morning he's going to juggle an easy one
at the game in the afternoon.
Now, 1t seems to me that that's easily
enough explained. When he cuts himself
with his razor in the morning that shows,
l think, that he's in a nervous state, per-
haps due to excessive travelling or .incau-
tious eating, and he's still nervous when he
fumbles his easy one during the game. But
you'd never be able to make that fielder
see the connection. He simply knows that
the razor cut presages the muff, and that
all there is to it SO far as his understand
ing Of the situation is concerned.
zone Of the best backstops in the big
leagues has deadly horror OF a left
handed barber. He has himself shaved
as happens three or four times on the aver
age during the season, when he finds that
he's being scraped by a left-handed barber
he lapses into the most profound melan-
choly for tho remainder of the day. He
solemnly affrms that he never yet, In the
course Of sixteen years of playing. worked
in game on such a day that he didn't
make a holy show of himself by perform
ing miserably and ptling up whole stack
of passed balls.
Another first-rate catcher has the SUI
perstition that when. in the progress of a
game, he picks up hts mask after having
thrown 1t off to go for foul, and fnvolun-
tarily tries to put the mask on upside down
his team is just naturally bound to lose
that game, no matter how big a lead the
team may have at the time this happens
II understand that women consider It
lucky to get one or both Of their stockings
on wrong side out, accidentally, but know
a ball player-one of the crack first base
men-who turns pale when he finds that
he has put one Of his socks on that way
He sWears that every time he gets one Of
his socks on wrong side out he is sure to
get pulled off his sack by a wild one or
else miss some easy out in the afternoons
game, and nothing will ever make him De-
Heve to the contrary.
1.-THE great majority Of players believe
that it's bad luck to pick up any bat but
their own when going to the plate. They
always have bats that look alike notched
or otherwise fixed up for easy indentfffca-
ton. SO that they won't pick up the wrong
one to do which they believe is to make
dead sure that they'll Whit out. Only
when you see batsman about to go up
pick out two bats and swing them around
can you be sure that he isn't possessed Of
this superstition.
Some batsmen that could mention have
achieved the reputation of being swell
waiters-that is, of being exceptionally pa
tient in waiting for the good ones-who are
simply the victims of superstition. They
won't take clout at the first one. no mat
ter how perfect 1t is. because they believe
that it's absolutely out of the questino for
them to put the first one in a safe place.
/ know one player who carries this super
stition to such an extreme that he won't
even take a wallop at the second good one.
but invariably waits for the third. He gets
by with it, at that. for he stands high on the
batting list, In spite Of the fact that he de-
liberately waits for the third good one be-
fore he makes a sure-enough swipe at it.
This, of course, looks like a dangerous busi
ness, but his success at 1t seems to justify
him. He always looks. when he's up. as If
he's trying to work the pitcher, but, as a
matter Of fact. he's merely burning the in
cense to his pet superstition.
Another hitter of high degree has the
idea firmly Undecided in his mind that after
he's put two or more foul tips out Of the
lot he's found to make a swell hit He has
the experience of years of this to point
to when it is gently intimated to him that
this is only little superstition, and so
there's no use in talking to him.
Yet another player with a swell batting
lamp thoroughly believes that it is posi-
lively necessary for him to bite off a fresh
chew Of tobacco every time he goes up.
He says that he has never yet succeeded in
making a hit when he inadvertently over
looked this
IA superstition Of one Of the top-notch
third basemen is that 1t is the vilest kind
of luck to join the bunch of players that
surround a man who gets hurt in the prog
ress CT game. The fans have noticed for
years back that this third baseman always
sits on his sack at such a time instead
of joining the players around the injured
man, and they have imputed a lack of
sympathy to him on this account.
"A certain player whose person seems to
be a veritable magnet for pitched balls
for he never gets through season without
being struck by pitched balls about
dozen times-declares that he has never
yet succeeded in making the circuit of the
bases after having got to first by being
hit. Directly contrary to this superstition
is that of many players who think that
it's the best kind of luck to get first by be-
ing hit by pitched ball.
Many Of the old-time players believe that
when they spill coffee on the table cloth
at breakfast they're bound to have bad luck
during the entire week to follow, and
they're as nervous as cats for fear of being
hurt in games or at practice until the sewer,