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Sports Then and Now



How Baseball Pre-Game Rituals Have Changed Over the Years 2

Posted on September 04, 2015 by Jeremy Biberdorf
Baseball players have lots of quirky habits.

Baseball players have lots of quirky habits.

Baseball players and teams are a superstitious bunch of guys. Despite all the advancements in sports science, they continue to indulge in practices that have zero grounding in fact. That’s okay because some of the most decorated players are also obsessed with pregame rituals. Pregame rituals have changed over the years for players and teams, but what has never changed is how strange they are.

Team Gravy Drinking

All the way back in 1894, the Baltimore Orioles won the National League pennant through winning 24 of their 25 games. The entire team drank a glass of turkey gravy the day before every batting practice.

It was both a team building exercise and a way to psyche themselves up for the game. Sadly, the team was found to be cheating by icing the balls and putting soap around the pitcher’s mound.

Touching the Statue

After the time of Babe Ruth, baseball had a gaping hole left behind. Roger Clemens won the World Series twice with his pre-game ritual. Each time the Yankees had a home game he would touch the Babe Ruth statue outside the stadium.

Eating the Right Breakfast

Stan Musial is a legend in the game of baseball. He was elected to the all-star team on twenty-four separate occasions; one of only three players to do it.

His pre-game breakfast during the 1940s onwards was to eat an egg for breakfast, then two pancakes, and finally another egg. Read the rest of this entry →

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