Baseball season is in full swing across the country! We love to take our family to Coors Field each summer t
o cheer on our Colorado Rockies and check out the fun and crowds in downtown Denver. On a recent trip to the ball park, we got to talking about Major League Baseball players and their superstitions. Many players have a special song that they play before each at-bat, or a routine that they follow before each game. One of our favorite (now retired) Rockies players, Todd Helton, used to start a game with a full beard. If he didn’t get a hit by the fifth inning, he would shave his beard to a goatee. If he still didn’t have a hit by the seventh inning, he would shave his beard entirely!
We also learned that some players have a special food or meal that they must eat before every game. Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs used to eat chicken before every game. Retired Chicago Cubs pitcher Lee Smith used to sleep through the first four innings of every game and have his teammates wake him up before the fifth inning with a cheeseburger. Drew Storen, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, had a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of milk every day during the 2011 season.
Our favorite superstitious player is C.J. Wilson who plays for the Los Angeles Angels. On the days that he is scheduled to pitch, Wilson eats a very specific breakfast. His game day menu includes a vegetable omelet with an English muffin. However, he is allergic to butter, so his English muffin has to be served without! Next time C.J. is in town, we hope he joins us for breakfast in Denver. We would be happy to serve him a lucky veggie omelet and English muffin without butter.
To all the superstitious Major League, Minor League, and Little Leaguers, we wish you luck this baseball season. We are happy to serve you a lucky breakfast before any game, just swing on in to The Original Pancake House!