Baseball Magic

Eric Thai
March 25 2009
ANT 1001 / TV24A

Baseball Magic

Major League Baseball players have always been admired for their great skill. Whether they hit an outrageous amount of hits or pitch no hitter games, fans hope they can repeat their success each season. In George Gmelch's ethnography "Baseball Magic", he describes the many rituals each player goes through in attempt to maintain their success on the field. So even the players many admire, put their faith on rituals and magic.

Although I'm not a fan of Baseball, I am an athlete that hopes to maintain my success in Handball. This ethnography describes the many attempt to take control their success. Some examples include wearing the same clothes or not washing clothes which takes theses rituals to the extreme (Gmelch 132). George Gmelch also reminded me of some rituals and magic I have attempted but did not notice. During regular games of practice if I win intense matches with a certain pair of shoes, I would wear the same pair to a tournament. If I do a certain routine before a serve, I maintain that routine until it fails. I have found that eating healthy a week before my matches brings me more stamina during a game. I've also developed a taboo of not playing big ball when I'm about to play in an ace ball tournament. (Big ball and Ace ball are two types of handballs with different weight and bounce)

Overall I have learned in this ethnography to not let these rituals take over your life. I'm sure any athlete has some sort of routine that brings them success. The main point of theses rituals is they bring players confidence and focus which is the most important in a game (Gmelch 135). Like Gmelch says, if you believe in theses rituals and magics, most likely they will work.
Gmelch, George. "Baseball Magic." In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, 12 ed. Spraley and McCurdy. Allyn & Bacon. 2006. 126-135 .