George Gmelch Quotations

Most players today would deny being superstitious. It's kind of pejorative. But if you ask them what they do to give themselves confidence, they'll tell about their rituals and beliefs, how they like to get to the ballpark at 3:03. All that is superstition. If they realized it really is functional, they wouldn't be so reluctant to admit it.

It's an attempt to bring certainty into an uncertain world. Soldiers do the same thing every occupation with a lot of uncertainty.