Tag Archives: baseball

Folk Jokes

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fallbrook, CA
Performance Date: April 20, 2008
Primary Language: English

Justin Hargrove/Jeff Newman – Box of Curve Balls?

Justin is a year younger than I am, but we have still gone through the same trials and tribulations of the baseball program at Fallbrook High School. While there were plenty of bad times that we endured there, it was not all horrible. We actually had some fun sometimes. The best inside joke that we played was when we sent the newly admitted freshman running around in circles trying to find objects that did not exist. This only worked because of the fear that our head coach Matt Parker instilled in anyone who walked on the field. The young freshman would get on their hands and knees if Parker asked them too. This played perfectly into our little game.

As upperclassmen, Justin, myself, and our other friends had already gone through our initiation. Parker had already played this game on us when we were freshman. So we knew what was going on when Parker decided to start the game.

It all began when Parker would call an unknowing freshman and very firmly ask him to find any one of these four things. It was random, but each item worked just the same. Parker would yell at the freshman and tell him to “Go bring him the key to the batter’s box.” He also would ask for “a box of curve balls, the key to the flagpole, or a left-handed bat.” Now, a freshman, terrified by the mere gaze of Matt Parker would run to the assistant coach and ask for help in locating the fake item. While the rest of the team knew that there was no such thing as a “box of curve balls,” the freshman did not take the time to acknowledge exactly what he was searching for. He would be sent on a wild goose chase going from person to person asking where the box of curve balls was. If he ever went back to Parker, he would get an earful from him and then be threatened with laps if he did not continue searching.

This game would go on anywhere between 20-30 minutes. The upperclassmen would snicker anytime the freshman would come to them. But because of the fear for Parker, the freshman would continue the endless search. Eventually, the entire team would break out in laughter and the joke would end. The freshman running around had now been initiated onto the baseball team. He had joined our ring of folklore jokes. He could finally be called a part of the baseball team. And the next time that this joke was played on another freshman, he would be part of our group that knew what was going on.

Justin never was a victim of this joke, but I can vividly remember searching for a key to the flagpole my freshman year. I was embarrassed for awhile, but the experience was well worth it to become a member of the team. Feeling like I was a part of a special group of friends was one of the best feelings I had ever felt. Looking back, running around aimlessly for half an hour was well worth the reward of four years on the baseball program.

Traditions

Nationality: Yugoslavian, Irish
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fallbrook, CA
Performance Date: April 20, 2008
Primary Language: English

Keenan McCollom/Jeff Newman – Coach Madden’s Crazy Heroics

Keenan and I have been friends for many years. We met back when we were eight years old playing little league baseball at Fallbrook. We played on all the all-star teams and summer league teams and we became good friends. We still are to this day. During high school, we were always on the same team as well. We reminisce all the time about the “good ole” days we had playing high school baseball and how much we miss it now that we are in college. The same stories always erupt in our conversations. The most common of which are our Junior Varsity head coaches crazy antics. I know we will both remember these times for the rest of our lives.

There is no better coach to play under than Coach Madden. We were both lucky enough to play for him for two awesome years and not have to play on varsity while we were underclassmen. These two years with Madden allowed us to form a close bond with our coach which then resulted in unforgettable memories. Outsiders only get to hear about all the fun that goes on while playing JV baseball. We got to live through it: Twice.

Madden was notorious for giving everyone on his team nicknames. While these nicknames were sometimes crude and inappropriate, this made saying them that much more fun. Only members of the JV team were allowed to have nicknames, so anyone out of the loop would only get to watch from the outside and not get in on the fun. The reason Madden came up with these names is because he has been a coach for over twenty years. And after that long of a time, there is no way he can remember all of his players’ names.So to counteract this, he just gave everyone a nickname that he could easily remember. For example, I was a bigger kid in high school, so to easily remember my name; he would call me “Big Bird.” As for Keenan, he was named Chief Greypants. Why you might ask? The coach told us for our first game that we were supposed to bring white pants. Now being a teenager with limited memory, or just selective hearing, Keenan brought grey pants. He was the only one to make this mistake, and consequently was given the name Chief Greypants. Keenan’s license plate also reads “Grypnts “to commemorate his nickname. Madden had dozens of other nicknames as well. Helmet, Milton, La Verne, Marshmallow, Pistol Pete, and Dewey, were only a few of the names he gave to his other players. Nicknames were only the beginning of the special things that we did on the JV baseball team.

After every away game, if we won, Madden would stand up in the bus and sing crude and funny songs to us. This is something that we looked forward to every time we would play a game at another high school. These songs motivated us to play as hard as we could to win the game so that we could have a entertaining time singing with our coach. No other team I have ever been on or heard about did this which made it that much more special.

Every year with Madden, at our year-end banquet, we would have an event known as the “beefcake” contest. Now, the normal thing in today’s society is to have beautiful women posing in their bathing suits. Because frankly, who wants to look at men, right? Anyway, Madden had every JV player come up in front of the stat girls and the parents and do a little dance in their swimming trunks. The stat girls would then rate their performance between 1 and 5 and the winner would be the person with the most points at the end. Some of the more outgoing players would get really into the competition and do things that they normally would not do. For example, some of the acts included fake six packs, strawberries, and whip cream. We got pretty into it.

Keenan and I will never forget our years playing JV baseball for coach Madden. They really were the best years of our baseball career. We made many friends and had the best times of our lives. I don’t think we would trade those years of being a part of that tight-knit group of guys for anything in the world.

Junior Varsity baseball traditions and rituals have been around since Madden began coaching. They have been passed on to every new team that he coaches. This is how the stories live on and are told over and over again. The legendary fake plays Madden created are now over 15 years old. He always tells us the stories of how effective his plays were back in the “old days.” Everything Madden does with his teams is now considered traditional because most of it is out dated.  We do it because Madden says they work. Even though in the 21st century, they really are not that effective anymore. Nevertheless, our love for our coach and his wacky traditions far outweigh any embarrassment that we might endure. And I am sure that for as long as he is coaching, he will continue to pass on his customs to his players. No doubt about it.

Riddle

Nationality: African-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Piedmont, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2008
Primary Language: English

A man leaves from home and goes right. Then her turns left, then left again. He makes one final left and returns home. What is his profession?

-He’s a Baseball Player

The informant, Ilana, learned this riddle from a homeless man in Oakland, CA in early January 2008. Ilana says that she makes it a habit to talk with homeless people. The man that told her the riddle was one of the friendliest homeless people she has ever met. The riddle was one of three the man told her, but it stuck out in her mind because she thought it was very clever. Ilana explained that the answer is a baseball player because the riddle describes a person running the bases. Ilana said she would tell the riddle if a group of her friends were telling riddles. After hearing the homeless man’s three riddle Ilana gave him a few dollars.

The riddle makes use of a vague description of an action. A person must interpret the action described in the riddle in order to solve it. If one were to solve the riddle, it would demonstrate that person’s ability to think creatively outside of the box. The homeless many was obviously using his riddle telling ability to panhandle people in an attempt to get them to give him money. His begging tactic is very shrewd and inventive.

Folk Metaphor – United States

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Hinsdale, Il
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk metaphor- United States

“Can of Corn”

This is a popular metaphor used in baseball. When a player makes an easy catch, it is known as a “can of corn.” Alex said has known this saying since he was very young, as he played and watched baseball in his youth and it is a popular saying. He grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois, a small western suburb of Chicago, but the metaphor is used throughout the country.

Alex thinks he knows the origins of the metaphor. He learned the origin of this metaphor while playing a computer video game. He doesn’t remember the name of the game but thinks it could have been Triple Play 2001. During the game, the commentators explained that “can of corn” originates from the very early days of baseball (baseball was invented in the mid 1800s). In the grocery stores back in those days, they used to keep the can of corns high on the shelves, and whenever they needed one, they would use broomsticks to knock it down and catch the can as it came falling down. It was easy catching the can of corn and thus, an easy catch in baseball was called a “can of corn.”

I’m not sure how the phrase “can of corn” became a baseball metaphor, but it is easy to see why people call an easy catch a “can of corn.” The process of catching an easy fly ball in baseball is very similar to catching a can of corn falling from the top shelves of a grocery store. Back in the mid to late 1800s, baseball was much more of an intimate sport between the community and the players (the community was part of the team, rather than the team being part of the community, which is what commercialization has done to the game today), and many players held side jobs because baseball players didn’t get paid a lot of money. It is possible that a baseball player worked at a grocery store and caught actual cans of corn, and then related this to catching easy fly balls.

Folk Superstition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, NJ
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Superstition

“Lending a bat to a fellow player is a serious jinx.”

“Some players actually sleep with their bat to break out of a hitting slump or stay in a groove.”

George told me that this superstition regarding baseball is really common and that baseball players are apparently very careful about how they treat their bats.  As he stated, there are a couple specific superstitions that players follow in order to bring good luck or play well in a game.  A lot of superstitions, understandably, are related to the items that the players use during the game.  Bats in particular, along with mitts, hats, and uniforms, happen to carry a lot of weight in terms of bringing good luck.

The first superstition is associated with a players unique batting skills on a team.  Each individual is chosen on a sports team because of their abilities and what they have to offer as players.  When a player has a specific bat they play with, or bats, they associate that bat with their strength, power, and ability to succeed during the game.  The bat is also like a token that signifies a player’s ability to help carry the team.  If players were to switch bats, it most likely believed to be bad luck because it carries the significance of another player’s skills.  Though this clearly can’t be proven, exchanging bats would be like trying to exchange vibes or comfort zones.  Additionally, it is probably simply more comfortable to play with a bat that one has been practicing with and using over and over.  If it is a bat that has brought the player luck and has helped them score, exchanging the bat could be believed to be bad luck because it will stop the luck.

This is similar to the second quote which associates winning/losing streaks with bats.  If a player is doing really well and helping his team win games, he might sleep with the bat to try to stay on that winning streak.  However, if the player stops playing well and the team starts to lose, sleeping with the bat might also help get them out of that slump.  Players most likely believe on that having the bat close to them will literally give them extra playing powers.  Also, some players may believe that the bat will send good luck vibes to their subconscious while they are sleeping.  Being with the bat as often as possible makes the player feel more comfortable with the item they will be using on the field later in games.

The reason these superstitions are probably so popular and common is that they may actually have an indirect effect on the players.  Even though technically sleeping with a bat or consistently using the same bat doesn’t actually give the players physical powers or lucky necessarily, it still has a subconscious effect.  If the players believe that the bat is bringing them good luck, it probably gives them more confidence and as a result they perform better during the games.  Though it can’t be proven, these superstitions are widely held on baseball teams and believed to be true on both a conscious and subconscious level.