Alex Rodriquez, when he played shortstop for Texas and Seattle, used to touch second base every inning on his way to his position. Now, as the Yanks' third baseman, he has to go well out of his way to accomplish this.

Another Ranger shortstop, Leo Cardenas, also had an odd superstition. Evidently, Cardenas feared the letter "X". According to several teammates, once opposing players learned of Cardenas' phobia, they would make an X on the infield dirt at the shortstop postion. Cardenas would go into panic mode when he took the field and refused to field a ground ball if it came near the mark. A teammate would eventually have to come over and rub out the X for him. Cardenas himself would not go near it.

Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, also a long time broadcaster for the Mets, never touched the foul line on his way on or off the field. When questioned about this odd habit, Kiner responded:

"It didn't hurt or help me. I just didn't want to take any chances."

Babe Ruth tended to ignore the more arcane side of baseball, refusing to take part in superstitious behavior.

"I have only one superstition," opined Ruth when asked about other players' strange behavior. "I make sure I touch all the bases when I hit a homerun." I guess with 714 career taters, Ruth got plenty of practice.

Some superstitions have a negative impact on the teammates of players who hold them. This even extends to managers. Former manager Gene Mauch refused to wash his underwear or t-shirt after a win. He would wear the same dirty attire until his team lost. One year the Angels, managed by Mauch, went on a 12-game winning streak in August. One team member acknowledged publicly that things got a little gamy in the dugout.

Players also have rituals when they come to the plate. Some cross themselves. Others point a finger toward heaven. Others, like Lenny Dykstra, fiddle with their batting gloves.

Dykstra, who played for the Phillies and the Mets, would discard his batting gloves if he failed to get a hit. Think about that. If Dykstra went 0-for-5, he would go through five pairs of gloves. Fortunately for the team bean counters, Dykstra was a consistent .300 hitter.

Perhaps the oddest and most annoying batter's box ritual belonged to Mike Hargrove, long time Indian player and later a manager. Known as the "Human Rain Delay," Hargrove would step out of the box after every pitch, adjust his helmet, fiddle with his batting gloves, paw the ground three times and do other things that drove opposing pitchers crazy. It would sometimes take Hargrove a full minute before he got back into the batter's box for the next pitch. I once watched Hargrove hit in a spring training game and was just amazed at how long he took for an at-bat. I could go get a hot dog, use the bathroom and take a walk before returning to my seat. Chances are, Hargrove would still be hitting.

Perhaps the most visible superstitions these days involve batting helmets. Some players refuse to change batting helmets, even though they look like they have been through a Kansas tornado.

Manny Ramirez and Craig Biggio come to mind. Ramirez' helmet is worn down, the paint is chipped and the letter "B" became invisible long ago. Biggio is even worse. His helmet is covered in spit and pine tar to the point where it is difficult to discern the original color. When asked why he didn't change his batting helmet, Biggio was incredulous.

"Why would I want to do that?" responded the Houston star. "This one works just fine."

And I guess that gets to the bottom of the matter. Baseball players go through these rituals for one reason. They are convinced that they work.

Why mess with a good thing?