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Colby Wyatt
Mr. Jones
Language Arts 1-2 H
April 14, 2013
Reverse the Curse
Its hard not to think of a team as cursed if youre not winning, (Bradley, 221). Curses,
superstitions and other odd happenings in baseball have been around since the game originated
back in the 1800s. Curses and superstitions are a huge part of baseball because teams with
curses are affected by their respective curses negatively, players have special superstitions they
need to succeed, and the supernatural plays such an important role in baseball.
First, there are many different curses that have had or still have effects on teams ranging
from well-known curses like the Curse of the Bambino, to lesser-known curses such as the Curse
of Rocky Colavito. The Curse of the Bambino is the curse that affected the Boston Red Sox for
80 years. The curse started when Babe Ruth (The Bambino) was traded to the New York
Yankees for $100,000 to help the Boston owner with his Broadway productions. After the trade,
Babe Ruth became arguably the greatest baseball player of all time and until 2004, the Red Sox
hadnt won a World Series since the trade. They were one out away from winning it all when a
groundball went through Bill Buckners legs and the Mets ended up winning the World Series.
(History of the Curse of the Bambino) Other lesser known curses such as the Curse of Rocky
Colavito, which started when the Indians traded their most popular player for a washed-up
veteran, and the Curse of the Gun, a curse surrounding the Astros after they changed their names
from the Colt. 45s to the Astros after one horrific year, make teams not have the ability to win
the World Series (These Curses Live On). Theses curses effects are viewed throughout each

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teams history and will always be thought of when looking over the history of Americas
Pastime.
Furthermore, all curses have had negative effects on their respective teams and also the
entire league as well. The Cubs, affected by the Curse of the Billy Goat, were never going to
win a World Series again because they insulted a goat (Bradley, 192) Since then, the curse has
stood true as they have not won a World Series in 105 years, let alone been in a World Series
since the curse began in 1945. When the Cubs kicked Vasili Sianis and his goat out of Wrigley
Field because the goat smelled and disrupted the people around them, Sianis cursed them to
never win a World Series again. Since then, the Cubs have addressed the curse many times trying
to resolve it, but it still lives on today, causing the Cubs to continue to lose year in and year out.
Consequently, team fan bases are affected every day by these curses as well, and they are
the ones that generate the buzz about the curses. Curses are as valid as peoples faith in them
(Bradley, 255), The undeniable fact that the Red Sox hadnt won a World Series since 1918,
and all the baggage that fact brought with it for the teams long-suffering fans (ONan, 400).
The fan bases are always the ones concerned about the curses, making them seem like a bigger
issue than they really all. The fans do all the crazy things trying to overcome the curse, such as
Cubs fans walking from HoHoKam Stadium, the Cubs Spring Training facility, to Wrigley Field
during the month of March with a goat to reverse the curse. The fans are also the ones that drive
the idea of the curse into the team so they feel the pressure of the curse every year.
Equally important, superstitions are a part of baseball and many players have their own
personal superstitions to help them succeed and get out of funks when needed. If a player or
team gets on a hot streak, then baseball players are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure
that it continues Some players had routines that they needed to follow before every single

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game or every start or else they just would not feel right (Knapel). It seems as if almost every
single baseball player has their own special superstitions, whether it is a pregame meal they
have, or a routine that they have when they step up to the plate. Some players over the years have
had extremely strange superstitions, and these players have been known for random antics on the
field as well.
Continuing, probably the grossest one of all time is Jason Giambis; when he is in a
slump, he puts on a gold thong hoping it will give it good luck. One involving a pregame meal is
Matt Garzas; he eats Popeyes chicken every day he is scheduled to start before the game. Wade
Boggs, one of the most interesting players of all time was known for his superstitions. His
pregame meal consisted of a plate of fried chicken every day, whenever he played a night game
he would take batting practice at exactly 5:17, he would take exactly 150 groundballs before
each game and when he came up to bat he would write the Hebrew word chai in the batters box,
which means life. Another strange superstition is that Max Scherzer wont tell anyone his
superstitions, which makes him extremely superstitious. Additionally, odd happenings occur
every day. One of the most recent strange occurrences happened with Torii Hunter. On April 13,
2013, he hit a 463 foot home run against the Athletics as a member of the Tigers. Exactly 10
years earlier, on April 13, 2003, Torii Hunter had hit his only other 463 foot home run of his
career, also against the Athletics. That time he was a member of the Twins, another team that
started with a T and played in the AL Central. People question whether this is coincidental or a
supernatural happening.
As a result, sports phenomena are important in baseball because they affect so many
people and they are as important to sports as supernatural occurrences are in the culture of
human beings. We have interviewed over 800 professional ballplayers posing the question, Do

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you know any baseball ghost stories, curses or legends? (Bradley, 257). This shows that over
800 ballplayers have been interviewed on what they know of curses and other phenomena and
they each have their own little tale to tell. In the culture of human beings, stories contain haunted
houses and werewolves, comparable to cursed baseball franchises and players who without
superstitions are not themselves. Stories of supernatural things are comparable to all legends,
curses and superstitions because they arent proven facts but they are important to their culture,
whether it be baseball, or human life.
In conclusion, curses and superstitions are a vital part of baseball because teams can be
cursed so they will never win a World Series, players have superstitions that help them succeed
no matter how strange they are, and they are important in baseball as the supernatural is in life.
Baseball curses will always be a crucial part of baseball because they keep the fans engaged in
every season, especially the Cubs fans, as they try to reverse the curse each year and finally win
the World Series.

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Works Cited
Bradley, Mickey. Haunted Baseball. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press. 2007. Print.
Kaplan, Paul. "Haunted Baseball: Ghosts, Curses, Legends, And Eerie Events.
Library Journal 132.15 (2007): 66. Literary Reference Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.
Kelly, David A. Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse. New York: Random House. 2009. Print.
Knapel, Robert. Baseball's 50 Weirdest All-Time Superstitions. Bleacher Report. Bleacher
Report 11 May 2012. Web. 28 March 2013
ONan, Stewart; King, Stephen. Faithful. New York: Scribner. 2004. Print.
Rosenthal, Ken, Chris Hoppel, Joe McNeal, StartS.M. "CURSES! Cubs, Red Sox To Rule.
(Cover Story)." Sporting News 228.13 (2004): 32. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 2
Apr. 2013.Steinbeck, John.
The History of the Curse of the Bambino. NBC Sports. 2004. Web. 13 Apr. 2013
"These Curses Live On." Espn: Page 2. 2004. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.