When Pine City Porcupines' batboy Chad breaks an important unofficial rule of baseball: Do not talk to the starting pitcher when he has a perfect game going, the team may lose the game unless Chad can find a baseball card to help break the superstition.
Alphabetical survey of superstitions, old and new, with information on the origins of the beliefs and the extent to which they have flourished, and coverage of the amulets, talismans, and charms that people use to ward off bad luck or call forth good fortune.
Superstitious before being diagnosed with leukemia, high school senior Mia becomes irrationally dependent on horoscopes, good luck charms, and the like when her life shifts from cheerleading and parties to chemotherapy and platelets, while her parents obsess and lifelong friend Gyver worries.
Baseball star Johnny Damon recounts the Boston Red Sox's 2004 season, during which the team, by sheer force of will, managed to overcome a bleak losing streak and win the World Series.
Twelve-year-old Jewel was born on the day her brother Bird died and lives in a house of silence and secrets, but a new boy in her Iowa town may help find the answers Jewel wants despite her Jamaican grandfather's warning that he is a "duppy," a malevolent spirit.
the Red Sox, racism, mismanagement, and the curse of the Bambino
Gutlon, Jerry M
2009
Investigates the history of the Red Sox, arguing that the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees was not the cause for the team's poor performance, but rather a failure by the ownership to choose managers and players based on talent instead of personal preference.