Field of Magic

Drawing on social science, religious studies and SABRmetrics, this book explores the rich history of supernatural belief in baseball and documents a wide variety of rituals, fetishes, taboos and jinxes. Some have changed over time but the preoccupation of coping with uncertainty on the field through magical thinking remains a constant.

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Superstition has been a part of baseball from the beginning. From good luck charms to human mascots to ritual statues of Babe Ruth to the curse of Colonel Sanders, there may be almost as many superstitions as players (or fans). Drawing on social science, religious studies and SABRmetrics, this book explores the rich history of supernatural belief in the game and documents a wide variety of rituals, fetishes, taboos and jinxes. Some of these have changed over time but coping with uncertainty on the field through magical thinking remains a constant.