Cincinnati Reds: Tucker Barnhart makes offering to baseball gods

In an attempt to jumpstart the Cincinnati Reds lifeless offense, Tucker Barnhart made an offering to the baseball gods.

Remember back in the movie Major League, when Pedro Cerrano offers a sacrifice to Jobu to help him hit breaking pitches? While his offering did not work, likely because he substituted a bucket of KFC chicken in place of a live chicken, that does not mean that other real life players do not have their own superstitions when it comes to the game.

On Friday, Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart made his own offering to the baseball gods in an attempt to jumpstart the Reds lifeless offense. He burned a bat in an effort to appease the fickle gods of the sport, and give the offense some juice for their upcoming game.

Unfortunately, Barnhart’s efforts did not work, at least on Friday. The baseball gods were not satisfied with the offering, as the Reds were shut out for the third consecutive game.

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Heading into action on Saturday, the Reds offense had certainly struggled. Cincinnati had scored a total of 11 runs in their seven games, dead last in the National League. Likewise, the team ranks last in every category in their batting line, posting a horrendous .157/.234/.253 line thus far in 2019.

The new arrivals have not helped much either. Yasiel Puig has a .125/.192/.167 batting line in his 26 plate appearances, which is actually the best mark of any of the Reds starting outfielders. Matt Kemp is hitting at a .063/.063/.063 clip, while Scott Schebler comes in with a .048/.167/.095 batting line of his own.

Obviously, the Reds offense will not be this woeful all season. Players like Puig, Barnhart, and Joey Votto will come out of their early season slumps. The Reds will score runs once again, and did so early on in their Saturday contest against the Pirates. Maybe that sacrifice worked after all, but the baseball gods waited an extra day to give the Reds some relief.

Sometimes, one must make a sacrifice to the baseball gods in order to get what one desires. Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart did his part on Friday.