Baseball is a very strange sport played by very strange people.
The Washington Nationals did not help dispel that belief Sunday when they spent National Cabbage Day (which evidently is a real thing) smashing some heads of cabbage.
When all you want to do is compete, even on #NationalCabbageDay...#SpringTraining // #OnePursuit pic.twitter.com/GRJHIjnkje
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 17, 2019Um.... Okay, sure thing.
It appears the Nationals took part in some sort of relay race passing the cabbage from one player to another in a team building exercise? Actual exercise? Who really knows. Baseball is a very strange sport, this could be a new strategy?
Does anyone celebrate #NationalCabbageDay better (or more intensely!) than the @Nationals? #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/emohZnyYcr
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 17, 2019One takeaway: These guys are uber-competitive and want to win at everything. So, that's encouraging.
Believe it or not, cabbage does have a special place in baseball history: The Great Bambino himself would place a leave of cabbage underneath his ball cap while playing the outfield on especially warm summer days to keep himself cool.
Um... Okay, sure thing, Babe.
Related: Spring Training Guide: Meet the new Nationals
Perhaps by using the cabbage the Nats are attempting to summon some of the Sultan of Swat's talent? Baseball is weird.
Naturally, Washington closer Sean Doolittle was able to find the humor in his dramatic cabbage smash.
when the server asks if I want a side salad or french fries pic.twitter.com/eT0oK0JPu5
— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) February 17, 2019Of course, spring training oddities are not new. Last February rookie manager Davey Martinez brought camels to a Wednesday practice.
That's one way to get the Nats over the hump pic.twitter.com/lOouvNhYCE
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) February 28, 2018The current scene at Nationals camp. pic.twitter.com/kXZVwcrP5S
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) February 28, 2018Um... Okay, sure thing, Davey.
It is anybody's guess what kind of luck the cabbage smashing will bring the Nationals this season. Hopefully for Martinez the cabbage is luckier than the camel, which led to an 82-80 record.
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