Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
April 6, 2001, Washington Post

Better Luck This Time?

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jose Mercedes will pitch tonight against the Cleveland Indians in the Orioles' fourth game of the season.

Nothing too strange there, except that Mercedes is the Orioles' third-best pitcher. So why didn't Mercedes pitch in the third game of the Orioles' season?

"It's bad luck," Mercedes told The Post's Dave Sheinin. "I don't want to be number three. I would rather be a number four or five, or 10 or 18."

Mercedes got hurt in 1998 when he was the No. 3 pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. So now Mercedes is superstitious about being a team's No. 3 starter.

Mercedes is not the only superstitious athlete.

Most golfers will not play with a ball marked with a number higher than 4. That's bad luck. Tiger Woods likes to wear red on the last day of a golf tournament. He thinks that's good luck.

Washington Freedom and U.S. Olympic goaltender Siri Mullinix touches the crossbar of the goal for good luck before every soccer game. Teammate Skylar Little always tries to be the first player to put on a game jersey.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky wouldn't get his hair cut when his team was on the road, because his team lost after one such trim.

High-scoring women's college hoops star Jackie Stiles is a bundle of superstitions. She eats the same meal and wears the same lipstick, eye shadow and even the same underwear for every game.

Baseball seems to have the most superstitions. Some players think it's bad luck to: Walk between the catcher and the umpire when coming to bat. Step on the foul lines when taking the field. Put a baseball cap on a hotel bed.

And some players think it's good luck to: Put on the left shoe before putting on the right shoe. Step on a base before taking the field.

Some of baseball's greatest players were superstitious.

Hall of Famer Willie Mays never went out to his position in center field without first touching second base.

Jackie Robinson always passed in front of the catcher when he was coming to bat. If the catcher was talking with the pitcher, Robinson would wait until the catcher was back in position.

Home run slugger Mark McGwire puts on his uniform the same way every game -- from his socks up.

Of course, not all baseball players are superstitious. The story goes that someone once asked Yankees legend Babe Ruth if he had any superstitions. "Just one," the Babe joked. "Whenever I hit a home run, I make sure I touch all the bases."

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071.

Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

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