Sometimes, those thoughts that went through a player’s head in Little League can occur in the majors as well.
On Aug. 20 Chris Landers of “Cut 4” put together a pretty amusing piece to honor the Little League Classic, played this year by MLB players from the Phillies and Mets the night before. His list of five things MLB players do just like Little Leaguers included losing balls in the sun, eating in the dugout, expressing themselves weirdly, playing pranks on each other, and (at the top of the list) drawing in the infield dirt with their spikes.
The piece included videos of big leaguers doing all those things, included one really memorable line – “the sun comes for every outfielder” – and prompted one question at least for this observer. Why is it first basemen are always caught drawing in the dirt on video? Are first basemen more bored than other infielders?
Landers’ piece also suggested for me three other things MLB players do just like Little Leaguers:
First, wondering why the hell the guy who just screwed up is even has a uniform, let alone one from my team: Oh, it’s hard to find MLB evidence of this reaction, but tell me no Blue Jay said that to himself Aug. 19 when Kevin Pillar managed to get thrown out at third against the Yankees, ending the sixth inning, with their game still relatively close. Wait, his manager did come close to saying that, but didn’t exactly question Pillar having a uniform. He might be forgiven if he did, though, because Pillar had done the same thing only a few days earlier in Kansas City.
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In fact, some Blue Jays probably asked why Pillar was on the team after he lost the ball in the sun in video Landers uses in his piece. And Pillar was wearing sunglasses for that catch attempt. Can you imagine what runs through a teammate’s mind when someone loses a ball in the sun with sunglasses on top of his hat?
Second, position players jumping at the opportunity to pitch: Again, this might be hard to nail hard evidence down on, and proving a negative is rarely done as such, but here’s your challenge – point out the last MLB position player who didn’t like being pressed into service on the mound. Can you even think of one?
The most negative response ever heard is along the lines of “I do whatever my manager thinks is best,” hardly negative. Four different position players have pitched for the Phillies this season, for example, and none has complained, not even Scott Kingery, who threw pitches so slowly they didn’t even register on radar. Kingery’s MLB ERA is 13.50, but when it comes to clubhouse banter, he can point out the other three position players the Phillies have used to pitch have all given up home runs. He hasn’t.
It is 100% guaranteed that Kingery’s heart skipped a beat, then pumped just a little faster, when he was told to pitch, just like the Little League second baseman who finally got to pitch when he turned 12.
Third, and most obvious, being superstitious: It’s surprising Landers didn’t jump on this one, but maybe superstitions don’t lend themselves to very short video clips. Recall all the MLB players you’ve seen avoiding baselines leaving the field after half an inning ends. Recall those you’ve seen purposely stomping on those lines.
Most can call quickly to mind the most superstitious players often mentioned. Wade Boggs famously ate chicken before every game. It is less well-known, maybe, that he also took exactly 150 groundballs in infield practice, and drew the Hebrew symbol for life in the batter’s box before each at bat.
Jason Giambi felt his mustache was lucky, and sometimes wore gold lame thong underwear to help him break out of a slump. Rumor has it Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon borrowed that thong while Giambi was with the Yankees. It would be interesting to know whether, as a Yankee (who could not wear facial hair), Giambi resorted to the thong more often.
And finally, both Moises Alou and Jorge Posada, who didn’t use batting gloves, urinated on their own hands to prevent callouses but harden their skin, despite the fact urine contains urea, a moisturizer.
That certainly makes putting the penny your grandfather gave you in your left shoe seem a little tame.