Bling and other weighty matters
Eric D. SchabellContributing Writer
I don't care about mystical healing properties or whatever the lame excuse is that has got the baseball players today out on the field wearing all kinds of malarkey.
Let's just look closer at the necklace gear being sported. The braided necklaces contain titanium that they think has properties to increase blood flow and speed healing.
So they are using this as a medical excuse to wear flashy necklaces onto the field, even as a pitcher. This is not founded on any sort of medial research, as far as I could tell. Therefore we are talking about magical medicinal effects.
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| This necklace weights how much? |
Next you have the guys that make so much change that they can put on whatever metal they want, with links thick enough to rate holding back large violent dogs. I am amazed that some even put on necklaces that are so long that it has to be whacking them in the face when running.
Let us look closer at this from a purely athletic point of view.
First, what happened to the rules we grew up on, no jewelry of any sort; no watches, armbands, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, or rings. This was in effect in all the leagues I ever played in, from 6 years old on up to 32 years old. These rules had nothing to do with fashion on the field and everything to do with safety.
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| Bad fitting chain? |
Who wants to get sliced by a diamond earring when the base runner crashes into you?
Who wants to have a necklace snag on you when you apply a tag at second?
Who wants to pinch a finger or worse when batting with a ring on?
Second, I am amazed at all the work that is put into becoming a professional, perfectionist, speedy baseball player. Yet they will weigh themselves down with jewelry, knowing that stealing a base or beating out a ground ball is measured in split seconds.
The position does not matter.
Catchers have to explode out of a crouch to throw out runners at second. Pitchers have to be quick off the mound for dribblers. Position players have to run, dive, and beat the clock in all manner of situations on the field.
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| This is not going to make you faster, you need to drop excess weight. |
Finally, let's look at other professional athletes like cyclists.
They do everything allowed to shed weight and become faster. They diet like crazy, drop all excess food and water before a big climb, anything to become faster. This is absolute dedication to your sport, to winning, to being the best athlete you can be.
I don't know about you but every time I see a player miss a catch by inches, get thrown out at first by a hair, or just not quite make it in before the tag on a steal, I am looking at the extra weight he has on him.
Maybe we need to also take a closer look at the amount of seeds, gum, and whatever else the players have in their pockets. Would it help to have a manager that makes you empty your pockets and removes all excess weight, be that food items or jewelry?
It seems like in the world of baseball statistics we seem to be overlooking a small, yet obvious impediment to improving players chances to succeed.
Maybe I am the only one that notices this sort of thing?
Post a comment or via twitter @ericschabell with your thoughts.
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