Michael Scott said it best: “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
When it comes to preparing, athletes oftentimes have their own rituals or superstitions. While we might not always understand it, we don’t dare to question them. Here are some unique things I’ve noticed over the years ahead of the Halloween holiday.
Tiger Woods
When you’re the greatest of all time, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Tiger Woods has a few things he does.
He wears red on Sunday after his mom, Kultida, suggested it during his time as a junior golfer as it was his power color. He carries three tees in his right pocket, one that is specifically organized, and he marks his ball with a 1932 quarter.
Former MLB infielder, Jed Lowrie
This took some true investigative journalism on my part, but the people (on social media) asked me.
Jed gave me the details:
-Peanut Butter: Usually smooth, but changes it up — and regular peanuts
-Jelly: Prefers strawberry or raspberry — not a big grape fan
-Bread: Mixes it up, but likes the standard white bread
-Started this in 2012/13
-Toasts bread THEN makes sandwich https://t.co/c13ix514TB— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) July 10, 2022
San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin
Sticking with the former A’s theme, manager Bob Melvin had a multitude of superstitions. The one I remember most was the candy. He would eat a piece before the A’s would hit in the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth innings — but during the ninth inning, it would have to be a green piece of candy.
That’s just one of them.
Former Senator Bruce Gardiner
This one is kind of gross, and it started off as a joke.
Bruce Gardiner would dip his hockey stick into the locker room toilet before each game.
According to Men’s Health, Gardiner’s teammate, Tom Chorske, told him to do it after he was in the midst of a scoring slump. Essentially to show his hockey stick who’s boss. The next thing you know, he was on a scoring streak.
Former New York Mets pitcher Turk Wendell
Turk Wendell had a few rituals.
- Always leaping over the baselines when walking to the mound (it’s well-known to not step on the baseline, but he would JUMP).
- Chewing black licorice while pitching.
- Brushing his teeth between innings (This worked because he asked the bat boy to grab his toothbrush after he had a bad taste in his mouth during rookie ball. After brushing his teeth, he struck every batter out that inning.).
- Wearing a wild animal’s tooth necklace.
- Asking the New York Mets to make his contract for $9,999,999.99 in honor of his uniform number during negotiations.
Wendell said some of the routines as a young kid helped him mature, and he knew routines were normal when it came to athletes. And he wasn’t 100% confident in calling it a superstition… and definitely didn’t acknowledge those asking if it was obsessive compulsive disorder.
And hot take: Saying “no-hitter” on an MLB broadcast isn’t the end of the world. Thank you.
