The strange history of baseball’s superstitions: ‘Magic is in the sport’s very structure’ Baseball’s identity is deeply intertwined with superstitions, rituals, and curses, a phenomenon explored in Addy Baird’s new book. The inherent uncertainty, repetitive structure, and element of luck in baseball create an environment where magic thrives, influencing players, teams, and fans for generations. Despite the rise of sabermetrics and rule changes, Baird suggests that the game’s magic remains, and can even be revealed through analytical insights.

• The Curse of the Billy Goat, which plagued the Chicago Cubs from 1945 to 2016, is a famous example of baseball superstition.
• Author Addy Baird’s book, ‘The Magical Game,’ delves into the history of baseball’s superstitions, rituals, and curses.
• The structure of baseball, with its low scoring and the defense having the ball, contributes to a greater element of luck and uncertainty, fostering superstition.
• Historical figures like Connie Mack and Wade Boggs, as well as modern fans and players, have engaged in various superstitious practices.
• Baseball’s mythologies and curses, such as the Boston Red Sox’s 86-year World Series drought after selling Babe Ruth, are significant narratives within the sport.
• Baird argues that the repetitive nature of the game, like batters facing numerous pitches, enhances the environment for magic to flourish.
• The book examines whether sabermetrics and recent rule changes are diminishing baseball’s magic, with Baird ultimately believing the game should evolve.
• Baird, a former politics journalist, also practices astrology and sees connections between different fields of study, like psychology and anthropology, to explain baseball’s magical elements.