Player Created Traditions

Every baseball team has them: strange superstitions, routines or idiosyncrasies. When people look in the dugout and see players wearing their caps inside out to get another run, ignoring their own pitcher when on offense so as not to jinx the no-hitter, or arranging their equipment in a specific order to not upset the baseball spirits, they may wonder why? Baseball people all know why – to have fun and believe it leads the team to victory.

We prefer to call these oddities traditions rather than superstitions. As coaches, we speak often with our players about creating a legacy and leaving things better than when you found them.  We go a step further though and suggest that their legacy will be called upon to assist future teams and players.

In this way we are no different than many other teams, except perhaps in how we have arrived at our traditions. As a coaching staff, we have left their development up to players (though with a keen eye on them being appropriate) and then we help carry them into the next season and beyond. Our alumni appreciate it when they return and see the next season’s teams doing some of the same things they did, and current teams looking forward to enhancing the program’s repertoire. These traditions include when we are on the field, at bat or defending, pre-game and post-game, and even off the field.

During pre-season, the players are always concerned with the additional gear (sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts etc.). As a coaching staff we let the seniors choose the additional gear they want. During years when the school purchases new uniforms, those are also chosen by that season’s senior class. In regard to uniform numbers, the coaching staff chooses some of the jersey numbers for the players. This started when a former player stated that he wanted to be as good a shortstop as a player he had watched while in Little League. We decided to give that student the former player’s number to get “mojo” from the number. The player really appreciated that and now we do this with lots of kids.

During home contests we have a simple pre-game tradition. Our student assistants will leave a paper copy of our lineup and roster, ground rules and the names of the umpires for the day in our opponent’s dugout. We also leave a game ball for the opposing pitcher and a bag of sunflower seeds and a pack of gum for the team and coach. This was suggested by a past manager who said we needed to find a way to treat the opposing coach the way we would want to be treated.

Also, on the jerseys we wear for our pre-game routine, we all have the number 1 inside a baseball on our front chest. On the back is the theme of the year. This idea came from a player in the 2003 season who thought we should all wear number 1 on our pre-game gear to show we are one as a team. To nobody’s surprise, that athlete became a Navy seal and selflessly served our country!

One of our defensive traditions is the “panhandle.” To be sure we secure the third out in an inning, players in the dugout remove their hats and turn them upside down while shaking them with each pitch. This came from our players in 2009 when it seemed we couldn’t close out innings consistently. Another is that we will “roll out” out number 2. What this means is that after we get out number 2 in an inning, our catcher will hold his throwing hand like he is rolling a bowling ball toward the first baseman and tell him “2 outs,” and the first baseman to the second baseman and so on until the third baseman rolls it to the pitcher, who then approaches the mound to get out number 3.

On offense, when a hitter hits a home run we have several traditions. If it is his first of the season we ignore him until after the first pitch has been thrown to the next batter. Once that pitch has been thrown, we get a little crazy in the dugout with high fives and slaps on the back, etc. Further, after being congratulated, the player who hit the home run is the player who retrieves the ball from over the fence. These two traditions come from the 2001 season when we had a particularly prolific home run hitting team.

We do a variety of things after games as well. If we win the game, we complete three traditions. We jog out to centerfield and touch the fence as a team. We do this as part of a way to reflect on the field about our win, but also to note that once we leave the field the win is over. If we lose we don’t do this, so the loss has to sit with us until we enter the field the next day for practice or our next game. This started in the 2000 season when our captains wanted a way for the team to chat without coaches for a minute while still being on the field.

Another is our post-game victory song. In 2013 our leaders chose a special song that helps us celebrate our win. The players return to our locker room and turn on the song and play it repeatedly until the coaching staff gets into the locker room. Once the staff is there, we all dance a little bit (we aren’t good dancers!) and then summarize the game.

Lastly, we don’t wash our uniforms after a victory so as to not wash away the winning. We do wash them after a loss though to quickly rid ourselves of the losing. This began with our captains from 1998 who believed the smell of victory was as sweet as you could make it! Admittedly moms don’t appreciate the smell when we are on a winning streak!

Off the field, the best tradition we have is the bi-annual trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.  We play a game on Doubleday field and visit the Hall as a team. The evening of the night that we stay, at our team meal the seniors and juniors all speak to the team about what it has meant to be a part of our program and what baseball has meant to them. This tradition began in 1999 when our captains wanted a way to express to their teammates how much they appreciated them and the game. It is always a fun and emotional time for our players.

Ultimately, baseball and all sports should be fun. Creating your own team traditions will be what many of your players will remember long after they have foggy memories of the wins and losses. Good luck!