Los Angeles Dodgers centerfielder James Outman keeps a pet rock (complete with a drawn-on smiley face) in his locker both at home and on the road to help him hit.
He’s one of many players over the course of baseball history to adhere to some form of superstition, but an article about the rock caught our attention at the “Something Offbeat” podcast.
From the Orioles’ Mike Cuellar in the 1970s to the Yankees’ Jason Giambi in the early 2000s, baseball and superstition seem to go hand-in-hand. Jason Turbow, the author of several books on baseball, including The Baseball Codes, joined the show to explain why.
“I mean, baseball, unlike the other sports, plays 162 games over the course of six months – and they rarely practice other than before the games they play that night,” he said. “So, routines become just absolutely paramount to these guys.”
Outman himself even talked to producer Chris Blake about how his pet rock ended up in MLB locker rooms, and former big league pitcher Mike Bacsik told the show about the one restaurant he wouldn’t go to on the days he pitched.
Listen in here to find out which one it is.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.
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