August 2: Superstitious Turk

For Christmas last year, my parents gave to me a San Diego Padres beer bottle koozie. It's great because it's in the shape of a little jersey complete with the number 0 on the back. After failing to have it in my possession any time I went somewhere where I ended up with a bottled beer, I started leaving it in my truck. It was such a cool little accessory and I really wanted to show it off so I thought by having it on the backseat of my vehicle I would be more likely to use it. I was, however, still forgetting all about it. It wasn't until recently that I saw it back there and decided to bring it up front with me where it just happens to be the perfect size to comfortably fit over my gear shift.

I keep it on the shifter every time I park; always adjusted to face outward and always gently pressed as low as possible on the handle. Since I've introduced the koozie to the front of the truck's cabin, it has become somewhat of a superstitious object for me. In my mind, the way I place it upon the shifter can determine the success the Padres will have in that day's game. If I can place it there without it getting caught on an edge and I can flawlessly slide it down, I believe the Padres will win. I can't knock it off center or I will be the cause for a Padres' loss.

This is hardly my first voyage into superstition. When I was a kid, I used to spend hours shooting free throws in increments of ten. I would then ask a question like, "On a scale of one through ten, what are the chances of my little league team making the playoffs?" If I made six free throws out of ten, I convinced myself that we would have a sixty percent chance.

Athletes are some of the most superstitious people around and no one had has many obscurities as professional pitcher Turk Wendell. According to The Bleacher Report, Wendell:

• Insisted that the umpire roll the ball to the mound rather than simply throw it to him. (If an umpire would ignorantly throw the ball to him, Wendell was known to let it go past him, or even to let it bounce off his chest, after which he would retrieve it from the ground.)
• Would turn and wave to the center fielder and wait for him to wave back before proceeding with each new inning.
  
• Would reportedly draw three crosses in the dirt of the pitcher's mound before each inning.
• Would crouch down whenever his catcher would stand.
• Would always take a colossal leap over the baseline at the end of each inning.
• Often brushed his teeth between innings (some claim that he brushed between every inning). While brushing, he often hid in the dugout, either by ducking behind objects or by facing the wall.
• Wore jersey number 99, in honor of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the main character in the movie Major League (played by Charlie Sheen). In addition, in 2000, he signed a contract worth $9,999,999.99.
• Wore a necklace made from the claws and teeth of various animals he had hunted and killed.
• Sometimes threw his glove into the stands when leaving a game.

I don't know how accurate the entirety of this list is, but the teeth brushing part definitely is. Any baseball fan will be able to tell you that they've heard about Wendell's oral habit. It's funny how we let a small act like being careful to place a koozie just right over a gear shift control our daily routines.