Anthropology > Baseball Magic by George Gmelch

The author of this article was a baseball player and an anthropology student. While he was listening to his professor who talked about the Trobriand Islanders fishing method; how they use magical rituals to ensure safety and increase their catch in the open sea, he realized that the baseball players rituals are very similar.

Gmelch writes about how pitchers and hitters performance depends not only on their skills and proficiency of their teammates, but also on their luck. Players develop their daily routine which makes them comfortable and sometimes these daily routines become rituals which are a behavior with no real connection between the means and the desired end. Baseball rituals are limitlessly varied. The player can ritualize as many activities as he thinks it’s important to perform well. Rituals grow out of the very good performances, when the player attributes his success to actions and things that happen to him.

Taboos are the opposites of rituals, which mean that something is prohibited. The ballplayers set up their own rules what they cannot do because it will bring them bad luck.

The author also mentions fetishes and charms as they represent supernatural powers to the players and bring them luck. Rituals and superstitions of baseball doesn’t make any physical changes to the ball or to the bat, but it gives the players a sense of control and most importantly confidence.

As I was reading this article I remembered my days when I lived my life by doing routines, rituals and having all kinds of fetishes. I was part of a gymnastic team in high school and had many competitions over four years. I used to eat the same food, used to wear the same sucks, my family and friends had to say certain “good luck” wishing words and of course I always had my “good luck” puppy with me, because I believed that they will bring me luck. And most of the time they did. I believe that routines and rituals are very important because they really make you feel more comfortable. Before a performance people don’t think about their perfect skills, that they are going to perform well. Under such a pressure and excitement we all need some kind of belief in supernatural power which will help us win.

I’m no longer competing and I don’t have my old good luck charms with me anymore. However I still have a keychain which I’ve got from a friend of mine from Israel and it has a hand with a blue eye on it which supposed to protect me from the bed eyes that are watching me. Hopefully the bad spirits will stay away from me and only good things will come in my life.

 

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