GLOVES, BATS & PLAYER SUPERSTITION

Anyone who's read Bleeding Yankee Blue knows that I've had a Ron Guidry glove for over 30 years, because growing up, there was no bigger pitcher for me than he.  Gator was a lefty and so was I.  He was superior and he pitched with such authority, I just mimicked him to the point of releasing the ball and doing alittle hop afterward.  I cut a pair of my dad's blue socks, making stirrups.  I even wore a fake mustache and wore it in my backyard as I chucked a tennis ball against the house over and over again.

Ron Guidry was my guy and years later, I still use that mitt. It's my lifeline at this point, full of baseball memories that took me through high school and college and every pickup game that came along the way afterward.

Why am I telling you this? Because once again, just when I thought I knew it all (I kid), Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record brings us a piece that will make you think for a moment.  The piece came out yesterday and was titled  New baseball gloves a rite of spring, and in it, it goes through the Yankees, the players specifically and details the life of a glove for a player.  It's not what you may think. Here's an excerpt:

"Ichiro Suzuki cycled through 10 outfielder's gloves during the 2012 season alone.

'You could say you're married to your bats,' Suzuki said through an interpreter. 'But a glove, maybe it's like changing girlfriends over the years.'

Because of improvements in design and feel, 'a glove is not like a bat, where I've had the same model for 21 years,' said Suzuki, who has used his current Mizuno model glove for the past three seasons.

But anything handmade has its subtle variations and Suzuki will try out seven of those gloves this camp, weeding down to two game-ready gloves to start the season.

Gold Glove winners Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano commonly use two gloves in a season, but they won't take last year's glove into the new season."

I'm superstitious.  I used to switch bats if I struck out or had a bad game.  But the glove for me, it was like a hand, and I stuck with my glove through the worst of it.  If I made an error, I never blamed my glove, it was me.  But for some reason, if I hit into a double play, it was my bat, NOT me.  Maybe that's why I don't play professional baseball... I had it all wrong.

Caldera went on talking about first base coach Mick Kelleher:

(In Photo: Mick Kelleher)
"...Kelleher routinely would go to a shoemaker to have his glove strung with new leather or to patch the pocket.

But as deep as the glove/player relationship can get, Kelleher saw it dissolve in a flash one day in the 1970s after Cardinals third baseman Ken Reitz — who led the NL five times in fielding percentage at his position — made two errors in one game.

'He went into the trainer's room, got some rubbing alcohol, squirted it on his glove and lit on fire on the dugout steps,' Kelleher said. 'He goes out there with another glove, it's brand new, and the first guy up hits him a ground ball. Bam! It pops out of his glove. Three errors in one game.'

There are cracks and scars and a pocket full of memories in Kelleher's old Rawlings glove, circa 1971. He might mount it or bronze it one day, but there's something about putting it on again.

'It still fits,' Kelleher said. 'Like a glove.'"

And that's how I feel about my beat up, worn out, perfect, Ron Guidry Wilson glove.  I need it like I need my family.  It always have to be with me and when the Spring comes... it comes out of the closet and it sits in my bedroom where my wife continually notices and then, throws it back in my closet.  Sure, it's not exactly nice to look at, but it's an extension of me and it's got a ton of memories attached to it.  This year, even though I play for fun now, it still brings great luck to me and special moments... with my kids now, and when I get old and gray, there is no doubt in my mind that every spring, like, right about now, I'll  take it out and put it in my bedroom, next to my bed for the next catch I'll have. Because clearly I'm no Ichiro... I need my glove to always be apart of my life. Sure, that's just the baseball nerd in me, but that's what you get when you started reading BYB and you're stuck with me...

Great piece from Caldera.  Clearly thinking outside the box...

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.