I dont
know what brought the topic of this blog. I just felt like writing something I
guess.
We see a lot of athletes get into slumps or get on a streak, they start to get into rituals or have superstitious about everything they do.
According to Men's Fitness, "While his hitting power has cooled in recent years, Colorado Rockie Jason Giambi was a pitcher's worst nightmare in his prime. But even in his heyday the Giambino was prone to slumps. His solution for turning things around? A golden thong. That's right. Whenever the 6-foot-3 first baseman found himself in a funk, he'd slip his 240-pound frame into a tiny pair of butt floss before playing. More often than not, Giambi's weird superstition actually worked. In fact, his bikini bottoms became so well thought of, the five-time All-Star's teammate's would often borrow them to break out of their own slumps."
Also according to Men's Fitness, "Jason Kidd used to blow a kiss to his super hot wife, Joumana, before every free-throw. Cute, right? Well, after an extremely messy divorce, Joumana is now Kidd’s ex-wife. So he has adjusted his ritual accordingly. He still blows a kiss to Joumana, of course, but not before wiping his fingers on his ass. Now that’s contempt."
During the 2010 El Camino season, I remember two of my teammates, John Hein and Bobby Martin started taking Redline energy drinks before games (Don't judge us Logan Gelbrich) and next thing you know everyone started to buy into it, even some of the coaches. I brought another ritual/superstition to the team, where I started to bring soda flavored candy to almost every game. Teammates would get mad when I wouldn't bring them but hey, I provided it and money doesn't grow on trees. I don't know how much money I spent on those candy and how much we spend together as a team on Redline, but it lead us to the state championship.
I remember one of my coaches from El Camino Community College telling me that when he played professional baseball, he went on some 20+ game hitting streak and I forgot what it was but because of superstition, he said he ate the same food everyday until his streak ended.
My good friend, a friend I call a brother, Andrew Pulido also has a ritual. Before he throws the first pitch of every inning, he kneels down on one knee and writes something on the back of the mound. He never told me or anyone what it is; only a select few know....
In August 2008, I met a guy from San Pedro (California) named Rudy Yos during the time I was trying out for El Camino. Before I met him, I saw this guy as a hard-ass, cocky guy, which he was. But once I started to get to know him, he was one of the coolest guys I met. I told this story many times, but for those of you who don't know, I got cut from the team my first year, along with 3 or 4 other guys, and one of them was Rudy. After I decided to go to a one-horse town Barstow to play baseball, Rudy called me and told me he was going to Barstow too.
Then in January 2009, I lived in an apartment with 3 teammates in Barstow, one which included Rudy. Rudy only ended up stay for 3 weeks at the school and went back to San Pedro. I didn't find the reason behind it but it probably had to do something with family; he just left one day and never saw him again. But during the 3 weeks we were roommates, we had talks about life and baseball. It was with this guy that I started to drink beer in the first place. I will never forget that moment in time because I will some what affect me about 2 years later...
Rudy Yos passed away on November 20, 2010 because of an overdose usage of drugs. I didn't want to believe it a first. It was about three or four months before that I talked to him on the phone while I was at Disneyland of all places. I had to cut the the conversation short and to this day, I wish I could have talk to him on the phone longer and caught up with him, and I regret that I forgot to call him back in that three to four months...
From the talks we had, he had a big heart, especially for baseball. Being teammates and roommates for 3 weeks showed me that Rudy would do anything to be on the baseball field.
Ever since Rudy had passed away, I promised myself I would do a ritual. Every time the National Anthem plays before every baseball game I play, I bow my head down, close my eyes and talk to Rudy and tell him I wish he could be on the baseball field with me, to look over me and the team and to keep us safe. After the song is over, I always look up to the sky hoping that he is watching over us.
Rudy is one of the reasons why it drives me to play baseball because like I said, he would do anything to be on a baseball field. So if you see me at a practice or a game, you'll know one thing about me that you didn't know.
To end this, I'll leave all my readers a quote: "Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday."
Rest In Paradise Rudy Yos
April 21, 1989 - November 20, 2010
We see a lot of athletes get into slumps or get on a streak, they start to get into rituals or have superstitious about everything they do.
According to Men's Fitness, "While his hitting power has cooled in recent years, Colorado Rockie Jason Giambi was a pitcher's worst nightmare in his prime. But even in his heyday the Giambino was prone to slumps. His solution for turning things around? A golden thong. That's right. Whenever the 6-foot-3 first baseman found himself in a funk, he'd slip his 240-pound frame into a tiny pair of butt floss before playing. More often than not, Giambi's weird superstition actually worked. In fact, his bikini bottoms became so well thought of, the five-time All-Star's teammate's would often borrow them to break out of their own slumps."
Also according to Men's Fitness, "Jason Kidd used to blow a kiss to his super hot wife, Joumana, before every free-throw. Cute, right? Well, after an extremely messy divorce, Joumana is now Kidd’s ex-wife. So he has adjusted his ritual accordingly. He still blows a kiss to Joumana, of course, but not before wiping his fingers on his ass. Now that’s contempt."
During the 2010 El Camino season, I remember two of my teammates, John Hein and Bobby Martin started taking Redline energy drinks before games (Don't judge us Logan Gelbrich) and next thing you know everyone started to buy into it, even some of the coaches. I brought another ritual/superstition to the team, where I started to bring soda flavored candy to almost every game. Teammates would get mad when I wouldn't bring them but hey, I provided it and money doesn't grow on trees. I don't know how much money I spent on those candy and how much we spend together as a team on Redline, but it lead us to the state championship.
I remember one of my coaches from El Camino Community College telling me that when he played professional baseball, he went on some 20+ game hitting streak and I forgot what it was but because of superstition, he said he ate the same food everyday until his streak ended.
My good friend, a friend I call a brother, Andrew Pulido also has a ritual. Before he throws the first pitch of every inning, he kneels down on one knee and writes something on the back of the mound. He never told me or anyone what it is; only a select few know....
In August 2008, I met a guy from San Pedro (California) named Rudy Yos during the time I was trying out for El Camino. Before I met him, I saw this guy as a hard-ass, cocky guy, which he was. But once I started to get to know him, he was one of the coolest guys I met. I told this story many times, but for those of you who don't know, I got cut from the team my first year, along with 3 or 4 other guys, and one of them was Rudy. After I decided to go to a one-horse town Barstow to play baseball, Rudy called me and told me he was going to Barstow too.
Then in January 2009, I lived in an apartment with 3 teammates in Barstow, one which included Rudy. Rudy only ended up stay for 3 weeks at the school and went back to San Pedro. I didn't find the reason behind it but it probably had to do something with family; he just left one day and never saw him again. But during the 3 weeks we were roommates, we had talks about life and baseball. It was with this guy that I started to drink beer in the first place. I will never forget that moment in time because I will some what affect me about 2 years later...
Rudy Yos passed away on November 20, 2010 because of an overdose usage of drugs. I didn't want to believe it a first. It was about three or four months before that I talked to him on the phone while I was at Disneyland of all places. I had to cut the the conversation short and to this day, I wish I could have talk to him on the phone longer and caught up with him, and I regret that I forgot to call him back in that three to four months...
From the talks we had, he had a big heart, especially for baseball. Being teammates and roommates for 3 weeks showed me that Rudy would do anything to be on the baseball field.
Ever since Rudy had passed away, I promised myself I would do a ritual. Every time the National Anthem plays before every baseball game I play, I bow my head down, close my eyes and talk to Rudy and tell him I wish he could be on the baseball field with me, to look over me and the team and to keep us safe. After the song is over, I always look up to the sky hoping that he is watching over us.
Rudy is one of the reasons why it drives me to play baseball because like I said, he would do anything to be on a baseball field. So if you see me at a practice or a game, you'll know one thing about me that you didn't know.
To end this, I'll leave all my readers a quote: "Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday."
Rest In Paradise Rudy Yos
April 21, 1989 - November 20, 2010
-Jun
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