A Young Ballplayer’s Superstition
Jack Webster
One out, bases juiced, we were down by one score, and there I stood in the On-deck Circle, taking practice swings with my Louisville Slugger. I’d been a hot hitter that month for my team, the OC Wildcats, but this team had talent, and the pitcher, a mean curveball. Of course the current natter had struck out, leaving two outs, making me our possible defeat, further intensifying the situation. As I walked toward the plate, my coach began sporadically barking batting tips, but all I did was turn around and say, “Don’t worry Allen, I’ll hit a grand slam for ya.” I stepped in the box, looked down at the plate, and tapped the center twice with my bat for good luck. As I gazed upward, my eyes met the pitcher’s, and at that moment we both knew it was on. I unregrettfully took a strike for timing, then the pitcher threw two balls to my advantage. But before I stepped in the batter’s box before that fourth pitch… That is the moment why I am speaking today. For at that moment is when I experienced a feeling. No, THE feeling. The feeling that I believed defined my success as a batter throughout my career. The feeling of 100% confidence, being mentally in the zone, and knowing what I deserved from all the sweat that had dripped from my very pours. The feeling I always experienced before blasting a ball out of the park. I stepped in the box, the pitcher threw the ball, and all I did was swing, no more no less. I looked up, and there the