The Strat-Wise Dalai Lama

March, 2001

Instant Karmas’Gonna get YOU...

It has been said of the mystical force called Karma: We Mold Our Lives Like a Potter Fashions a Pot

How in the world does that relate to anything remotely Strat-O-Matic or Baseball? Well, in a lot of ways that statement and the concept of karma, whether you believe in it or not, have a profound effect on Baseball and our beloved dice game. Read on friends, and I will explain why.

Count the number of Major League Baseball players who follow some sort of ritualistic behavior that borders on a sort of religious fanaticism and you can include virtually all of them. Baseball is shot through with superstitions. Players, managers, and fans all get caught up at one time or another believing that where they sit, what they wear, or what is said affects the outcome of the game. The 1955 Dodgers believed Buttermilk Cake helped them win the World Series over the Yankees that year.

Some players are deeply religious, many others follow a superstitious pattern of behavior that in a lot of ways is downright hilarious. Wade Bogg’s chicken and sex theories and “Major League’s” Pedro Cerrano sacrificing to Jobu are 2 of my personal favorites, but how about some of these from the Golden Age of Baseball’s past…

A ball player on coming off the field will always lay his glove in the same place for luck in hitting.

A baseball player having a lucky streak in hitting will not change his uniform, no matter how soiled it is, until his luck changes.

A baseball player will wear the same shirt all season unless he has a batting slump, and then he will change it.

A baseball player on going to the batter's box will spit on the ground and rub his foot in it for luck in batting.

A pitcher will think it is unlucky, if the second baseman throws the ball to him.

A third baseman will touch his base on going out and coming in from the field so that he will be lucky in batting.

Always wear a red necktie to win in a baseball game.

Always whirl your bat around your head three times for good luck when you go to bat.

An itching hand while playing baseball means that you will catch the next foul ball.

Changing bats after you have taken one is unlucky.

Each white horse seen by a ball player on his way to the park signifies a home run for him in the game.

If a baseball player is wearing a certain shirt and his team has a winning streak, he will not change the shirt until his team begins to lose.

If a baseball team on its way to the ball park meets a load of beer kegs, it means good luck.

If a batter on returning from home plate throws his bat down and it crosses another bat, it will bring him bad luck.

It is unlucky for a baseball player to wear a clean or new uniform in a game.

It is unlucky to drop a bat between home plate and the catcher.

Keep a buckeye in your pocket while paying baseball and you will have good luck.

Some baseball players keep their caps turned backward on the bench for luck.

Some baseball players will step on home plate before leaving the park in order to have good luck the next day.

Spit on the end of your bat, especially if it is new, for good luck.

The baseball player who finds a hairpin while going to the ball park will get a double the first time he bats.

The baseball player who sees a cross-eyed woman in the grandstand will fail to get a hit.

When an outfielder goes to the outfield, he will kick the same base each time he passes it for luck.

When you want to get a hit, put dirt on the bat.

If those weren’t a fella looking for a little Karma, I don’t know what is. Some of those are a hundred years old. How about some of the more modern ones…

Before every game, I like to have a long shower and I try to stay in the shower as long as possible until I have to be out there for the national anthem.

When we submit our line-up before each game, either myself or Hal will do it, depending on how we did the previous game. If we won and I took the line-up card to the umpires, then I will do it again. If we lost and I took the line-up card to the umpires, then it’s Hal’s turn, and he’ll keep doing this until we lose again.

I wear four pairs of socks, which is something I’ve done since I was in high school.

The only real superstition I have is if I see like a piece of straw from the broom from the clean-up crew sitting around in the batter’s box. I’ll make sure that I pick it up and put it in my pocket. Same with things like candy wrappers. I just feel it’s lucky. But if I make an out or an error, out it comes.

I arrive at the park at the same time every day, I’ll go play catch before the game really early, like about 2:30, I get dressed in a certain way and I’ll put on my batting gloves right and then left.

When I’m on deck, I do a certain amount of swings in a certain direction, a certain amount of touches to my hat, things like that, and then I get in the batter’s box. And when I put on my uniform, it’s always my left sock, then my right sock, left stirrup, right stirrup and then I go from there.

When I warm up, I go through a set routine of arm circles. Forward, backward, propeller above the head, a couple of swings and then I’m ready to go. Once I’m in the box, I have to clear the dirt and make sure there are no holes. Then, before I get set, I tap my cleats, take a swing and then I’m ready.

The list goes on and on. Superstition or Karma? If you look at the Pot Shaping theory of Karma, then in a sense these machinations are exactly that…a shaping of one’s mind and world so that the framework is more positive, and so that the outcome is more desirable. Major League Baseball players and fans do it all the time, and so do Strat players. How you place your cards, are using your lucky dice, how you roll the dice, and many more are all attempts to get a little extra Karma. Superstitious…sure…but every little bit helps, right?

The Laws of Action and Desire

According to the doctrine of karma, for every morally determinate thought, word, or action, there will be corresponding Karmic compensation, if not in this life, then in some future life. As a man sows, so shall he reap. That is the Law of Karmic Action. It is potentially as true in real life as it is in Baseball and Strat-O-Matic.

Think about it. Every thought, word or action brings compensation. I’m not sure if the statement is true, but how many times have you had this happen to you. Bottom of the 9^th, winning run at the plate and you bring in your closer…but your final thought as he enters the game is a vision of his 4-5 home run on his card. Sure enough, a 4-5 dice roll and a 1-5 split pick by your opponent later and you’ve lost the game. Or, you have 2 pinch-hitters on your bench and all logic and statistical analysis screams for you to use one…but for some reason…a hunch call it…you decide to go with the other one. A ballpark home run later and your team is on top, for virtually no apparent reason. Remember…every thought. Now this surely doesn’t work every time, but the power of positive thinking truly does go a long way.

How you treat others may or may not have an effect on you or your team’s Karma, but the saying “What goes around, come around” didn’t start for no reason. If you treat others in your leagues as you would want to be treated, then you will be compensated the same way in return. Someone sends you a trade inquiry…you answer back, even if the inquiry was ludicrous. You never know if you may need to make a trade with this guy in the future and a reply may even help with negotiations. How frustrating is it to send a trade offer to someone and not hear back? Show the same courtesy in return. If someone pisses you off with something they say, try and hold your tongue no matter how much it might pain you to do so. Maybe they were having a bad day. Maybe you misinterpreted an e-mail. Maybe your reply, especially done publicly, will turn other people’s opinions against you, even though you were not the one to begin the argument. Remember…every word…every action. It might not be Karma, but it sure is just plain ‘ol common courtesy.

Others, however, say that a person consists of desires. As is his desire, so is his will; as is his will, so is the deed he does; whatever deed he does, that he attains. That is the Law of Karmic Desire, and it too applies to real life, Baseball, and oh yes…Strat-O-Matic.

Is there any bigger, more popular, and more overused cliché in sports than the saying “He had the desire…”. Desire is a force of will, which causes you to perform a deed, which pushes you to attain something. In sports, and to a degree in life, competition, winning, and how you perform is greatly affected by how you focus on your goal, which is your desire. Wanting something more than anything else is a focus so intense an athlete or a savy business man can almost taste it. Ok, so in Strat it’s a little more subtle, but desire has an influence none-the-less. Desiring to win the championship every year doesn’t put your team of Rafael Belliards over the top. Research, strategy, and most importantly, the ability to pull the trigger on a trade, all are factors that can.

Wanting to win requires doing some homework. Research for the draft, of your opponent, and your rosters are all hard work. But if you have the desire to win, you will put in the time. Researching for the draft is the easy part. Knowing your opponent’s needs and drafting tactics is what will put your player research over the top and to good use. The same research goes into making trades as well. Knowing your opponent’s needs and hot buttons will go a long way in determining a player’s price tag. Desire is what makes a good trade happen though. You can put in all the research and planning you want, but if you can’t pull the trigger on the deal, it all goes to waste. Not trading for the sake of trading goes a long way to keep your confidence up when the time for an important deal comes up. Know you’ve done your homework and go ahead confidently, but if you feel the little hairs on the back of your neck go up when discussing a deal, then back off and wait. Look at it from a different angle. In the end, will your desire to win help you…maybe…but a lot of effort is needed to back it up.

Most importantly, take whatever passions you have for Baseball, sports in general, and Strat-O-Matic and channel it and more into your real life. Your family, your friends and your responsibilities are way more important than stressing over winning or losing a Strat league game. One can have it all…passion for your family, passion for life and passion for sports and Strat-O-Matic. Just try and keep it in that order and keep it all in perspective.

Peace, Fair Luck, Strength and Honor