SHELBY, N.C. — Superstitions are funny — sometimes literally. And sometimes, they literally stink.
As the Billings Scarlets relaxed during a day off at the American Legion World Series Friday, a few players sat poolside with MTN Sports at the team hotel recounting superstitions they believe helped them reach this baseball pinnacle. The most recent: uniform selection at last week's Northwest Regional in Billings.
"We wore the white jersey with the black sleeves from last night. We wore that five games in a row ... didn't wash them ... and ended up winning the tournament," infielder Kade Vatnsdal explained.
Coming up with the winning combination was pretty simple.
"Our coach texted us and goes, 'We need a uniform and preferably something with hits in it," Vatnsdal recalled with a chuckle.
One can imagine the stench of a uniform — and an entire dugout — after five straight games without so much as a uniform rinse.
"It was a terrible smell. The (white) jerseys were basically brown at that point," admitted shortstop Kyler Northrop.
"When we went to Buffalo Wild Wings after the whole thing was over, all of us realized we needed to wash the uniforms. ... We needed to shower really bad," said pitcher Drew McDowell.
Another superstitious step for some of these guys involved a burger joint not far from Dehler Park.
"After each game we won we went to the Burger Dive," McDowell continued. "Most of us got milkshakes, the same burgers."
Then there's the furry stuffed creature that pops up in unexpected locations, including poolside Friday by request.
"His name is Tang. I don't know why ... (maybe because) he's this little orangutan guy," said outfielder Mason Brosseau, Tang's owner, if you will.
Tang has tagged along with Brosseau since he was about 10. He even helped Billings reach the Little League Northwest Regional a few years ago in San Bernardino, Calif., with current Scarlets Vatnsdal, McDowell and Jakob Wilcox.
"He's this gross little gremlin guy that we touch his hair and go up to bat," Brosseau continued while fluffing the tiny guy's hair. "He's kind of a little good luck charm."
Teammates aren't sure where they'll spot him from game to game.
"I have seen Tang," Northrop said. "He seems to be in some odd spots in the dugout."
Some of Tang's memorable appearances include "helmet boxes or hanging from the ceiling. Just random places ... hanging on the fence," Brosseau said.
With all his notoriety and success, might Tang deserve a World Series at-bat?
"He deserves one. He's been around for too long not to see the field," Brosseau said with an affirmative smile.
As for their latest lucky jerseys, the Scarlets are actively searching for a new combination after falling to Wilmington, Del., 6-1 in Thursday night's opener.
Maybe the green ones they'll wear Saturday against Louisiana will pay off like the color of money. The Scarlets are assigned to wear green tops by the World Series committee as champions of the Northwest Regional. Their game will televised on ESPN3 at 5:30 p.m. MDT.
As superstitions go, Northrop felt the end might be inevitable after arriving at the ALWS with clean uniforms.
"We washed them. We washed them before we came (to the World Series), and I knew it was going to be bad news for last night," he lamented, shaking his head with a wry smile.
