Superstitious Exception

Author’s Note: my continued analysis and coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian War will resume next week. Thank you.

According to Merriam-Webster, superstition means “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.” As a rational man myself, I try to avoid superstition as much as possible except when it concerns one topic especially near and dear to my wee heart.

Baseball.

If ever there was a vessel for superstitious belief, it would be on that perfectly measured diamond where every pitch thrown, every swing of the bat, and every tag of a baserunner is measured by inches and chance is more often in play than science. Rally caps are powerful, bubblegum is meditation, and routine is akin to godliness.

And for goodness sakes, please do not mention the possibility of a No Hitter when the pitcher in question is on the mound.

This particular sin was committed by the Braves Vision announcers last Thursday afternoon, as my Atlanta Braves were on the southside to make up a rained-out game against the Chicago White Sox. Starting Pitcher Grant Holmes found his groove early in the matchup, retiring the side with ease for six innings with only a few walks.

As he took the mound in the seventh inning, the broadcasters began ruminating about his heightened pitch count and club skipper Walt Weiss’s decision to keep Holmes throwing. In violation of all laws of decency and humanity, they specifically brought up the ongoing No Hitter bid – which was promptly ended by the next batter.

Even more frustrating, three Braves relievers combined efforts to deny Chicago any more hits that afternoon for a one-hitter.

While I logically understand that the utterance of a few words into a microphone did not cause Holmes to miss his placement on the ninety-fourth pitch he tossed that day, my irrational fandom of the American Pastime prevents me from accepting this. In fact, I would argue dear reader, that said fandom compels me to deny it.

Remembering Irene 

It is hard to imagine but fifteen years have passed since Tropical Storm Irene came up the Hudson River and devastated so many communities along the Schoharie Creek, including my beloved Village of Middleburgh. 

So many lives were forever altered by the horrifying impact of that storm; I still remember driving through the wreckage with my mom afterwards, but my fondest memory is all the people who came together in recovery and who have rebuilt our community since then. 

Greetings! I am planning a “mailbag” edition of Coffee in Coby soon, so please send any questions you may have for me about Schoharie County politics, the Atlanta Braves 2021 World Series title or whatever else, and it might just be included. My email is timothycknight93@gmail.com.