Spitting and Crotch Grabbing: Dirty Little Secrets

[TaleWgnDg]

"Dirty little secrets
By Margery Eagan
Recent Columns by Margery Eagan"

(Boston Herald newspaper, Boston, Massachusetts; Herald Media, Inc.; Patrick Purcell, President/Publisher)


"We fair-weather Red Sox fans want to know: Why all the spitting, crotch-grabbing, toenail-clipping and filthy batting helmets? Is this some weird baseball thing?"

(snip)

" 'It's called an adjustment,' says fair-weather Red Sox fan Carol Donachie, 48, of Saugus. How does she know? Her husband told her. 'I don't like it, but my husband says you gotta do it. ' "

" ' The most legendary crotch-grabber? Carlton Fisk,' says the (Boston) Herald's Tony Massarotti. 'Oh, my God. All the time. Every at-bat.' "
"Says Donachie, 'But the spitting's gotta go. I ask my husband all the time, why do they do it? 'Because they can,' he says. ' "

" 'In the old days,' says (AM Radio) WEEI's Mike Adams, 'everybody got so good at spitting they killed spiders in the dugout. Drowned 'em. ' "

"Now they get sunflower seeds. Then throw those in with the chewing tobacco, bite them in half, separate the nut with their tongue and spit out shells through their teeth. ' It makes (the dugout) crunchy when you walk,' he says. And wet and slippery."

(snip)

"And you rarely see them with clean batting helmets, either. Sometimes there's so much dirt up there, stuck to the pine tar used to improve their bat grip, helmets looks like 'combo platters,' says Adams. 'Cabrera for example. He's got so much crap on his helmet you can't see the B.' "

" ' Says Donachie, ' I asked my husband about the dirty helmets. He says there's a reason for it. ' "

(snip)

"(Commentator Upton) Bell points out that baseball crotch-grabbing appears to be on the decline. 'Cup technology?' wonders (WEEI's Mike) Adams. 'Super plastics of the future? ' "


http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=50884
(as last visited Tuesday, October 26, 2004, 12:45 PM EDT)

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. . .

[soothsayer]

1. For the Red Sox, the messy helmets (and hairstyles) are on purpose

to be the "anti-yankees" who are so clean cut, etc.

[TaleWgnDg]

2. hot damn! sheesh. I thought it was b/c Johnny Damon wanted . . .

to walk on water?!! ;)