Comments on: Top 10 Baseball Player Rituals

By: AGT

AGT — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:46:10 +0000

And Jeter isn’t the one who gets to hold the pitcher. It’s the plate umpire. I wish a pitcher would just throw while his hand is out.

By: Nina

Nina — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:53:33 +0000

Jeter always holds out his right arm to hold of the pitcher til he’s ready. And really how is Nomar not on this list?

By: almost

almost — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:27:21 +0000

From tee ball through high school, the only guy I remember playing with who DIDN’T jump over the foul lines was a kid who obsessively had to step ON the line ever time.

Someone (maybe ESPN) did a segment on baseball superstitions a few years ago, and it ended with an interview with a self-described UNsuperstitious ballplayer who thought all the rituals were baloney. At the end, they asked him, “so you step on the foul lines?” And he said, “well no, I don’t step on the lines.”

By: mjm

mjm — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:03:42 +0000

Alan Mills, a middle reliever who had some success for the Orioles and Dodgers in the 1990’s, had a ritual that I loved to watch, but it made me cringe.

He, like many relievers, always pitched from the stretch. Before delivering, he would step off the rubber and whack his protective cup with the baseball a couple of times.

I always hoped that he never forgot that most important piece of equipment.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:57:31 +0000

I believe Larry Walker also negotiated his contract to read 3,333,333.33 or whatever the figure was w/ all 3s ending the number.

By: IP

IP — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:44:38 +0000

Agreed…..not having Nomar on this list is akin to not having Sigmund Freud on a list of most famous psychoanalysts or Michael Jackson on the list of most famous white women.

sorry, too soon?

By: jimfix

jimfix — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:01:47 +0000

i find your lack of nomar disturbing.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:27:21 +0000

Sean Casey had a similar routine when he played. With one foot in the batter’s box, he’d tighten each batting glove, then continually pick up his back foot and put it back down before the pitch came.

He was my favorite Cincy Red for many years.

By: RipkenFan

RipkenFan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:41:39 +0000

Chuck Knoblauch’s extensive routine before every pitch was hilarious. Grab the bat here, grab it there, adjust one glove, adjust the other, tab the bat off my shoe…..it goes on…. hehehe

By: Jess

Jess — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:41:15 +0000

I think that something in the Moises Alou segment is whack. First it says that he has a system for softening his hands and preventing callouses, then the Slate article is supposed to refute this? It seems actually to support the claim. Urine = urea = soft hands, so goal achieved right? Better this than not changing socks or underwear for the playoffs as lots of people (reportedly)do.