SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Superstitions and pregame rituals are as old as the game of baseball itself. Players skip over the foul lines when entering and exiting the field for luck at the plate, they wear their hats until they are thread-worn during hitting streaks, they listen to the same pre-game playlist, and eat the same pre-game meal.
So before the deciding Game 5 of the historic NLDS showdown between the Los Angeles and San Francisco, young Giants pitching ace Logan Webb was asked if there was any routine he would be going through before Thursday night’s contest.
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“I have some like superstitions with my routine and the music,” he said. “It’s not a big thing. I do listen to music when I’m getting ready for the game, but it doesn’t, it’s always hip hop or rap or something. But yeah, nothing too crazy. I think one of my craziest is Red Bull. I don’t know why, but I like to have it at the same exact time. But that’s really the only one.”
Yes, three well-timed cans of Red Bull is the secret to this 12-3 breakout season.
“I’ve always loved Red Bull,” Webb said. “I honestly started drinking it when I was in travel ball when I was really young. Don’t be mad at my dad or mom or anything about that, but that was kind of me and my brother’s thing. And I wouldn’t say until a couple years ago.”
“It’s like right before or right when I get to the field, right before I start my stretch with the trainer, and then at the end of my warmup. So three.”
And after the Red Bull wears off, where will Webb get his inspiration?
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“I think it’s the crowd, it’s what we’re doing on offense, I just think everything,” he said. “Like it’s a sick play that (Brandon Crawford) Craw made, I feel like you just feed off of that, it just keeps going.”
He’ll also have Buster Posey behind the plate.
“It’s not that I’m not nervous,” Webb said. “I think you can ask any guy in there that they’re probably nervous before a game, any game, honestly, but especially for this game. I think, I don’t know, I feel like I just like these types of moments. I love the crowd, I love kind of the pressure and I’m excited to throw, especially because I got a guy (Posey) back there that’s always calm, so even if I do get a little up like he’ll be the first one to tell me to bring it back down.”
Webb has faced the Dodgers four times this year, including in Game 1 of this series. So far he’s 4-0, yielding less than 2 runs a game and pitching just under 6 innings an outing.
In Game 1, he struck out 10 batters over 7 2/3 shutout innings while throwing 38 changeups, the most he had in any start this year.
Manager Gabe Kapler believes Webb is the right player for this moment.
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“I think the frame of mind is different mainly because he’s got such high level of confidence right now,” he said of his young star. “I think it stems from having outing after outing of success. And there’s been a few bumps along the way. But for the most part it’s, every time he goes out to the mound, he feels like he’s going to give San Francisco Giants a chance to win that game.”
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.