The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball's Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses

by Addy Baird

This is the story of baseball’s rich magical history and the centuries-old culture of superstition in the sport. It is a love letter to the jinxes, curses, rituals and myths of baseball’s past and present ― and to the innate mysticism of the game.

For more than 150 years, a magical culture has been central to the game of At the turn of the 20th century, a battle between two lucky mascots defined early World Series matchups. Soon after, two generational curses spawned decades of heartbreaking losses for the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. Today, players like Bryce Harper perform at-bat rituals, fans refuse to wash the jerseys of their favorite players, and baseball people everywhere refuse to utter the words “no-hitter” before there’s been a hit.

In The Magical Game, journalist and converted baseball fan Addy Baird turns her reporter’s eye to her favorite sport, investigating the roots of these magical practices and telling the story of baseball’s long history of superstition, rituals, curses, jinxes, hoodoos, and hexes. Spanning three centuries of baseball history and three dozen more of magical history, Baird takes readers through fascinating, forgotten tidbits in the sport, untangles the game’s legends, and considers baseball’s uncertain future. In the face of recent MLB rule changes and the rise of advanced statistics, Baird looks at the many decades of concern about baseball’s declining popularity and the evolution of the sport, as well as why and how a culture of magic has remained strong at the core of the game for so many years.

Funny, poetic, and deeply researched, The Magical Game will make readers fall in love with baseball all over again.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, History, Nonfiction, Religion

304 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2026

Reviews

[Ten Cats Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me on This Book in Eight Ironic English Words: A nonfiction book about the science of superstition.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

"It’s funny, the way that superstitious rituals come to feel both completely irrational and totally sane at the same time, backed by science and magic at once— but to truly understand why rituals abound in the sport, we have to zoom out: Think about all that goes into any given baseball game. It is, from the very start, a collective ritual performance." p37

In Short: This book was enjoyable, and I like sports-adjacent concepts like "superstition". Athletes in a sense are some of our greatest performers. And why pretend the personal routines these athletes use to support their performance aren't interesting? A man who is made of steel or whose arm is improbably accurate in wild conditions...earns the right to believe in his own magic. So for me, this was a fun book!

Preread: I love this kind of mashup, a book that sits at the intersection of history and person habit. I expect to enjoy the flavor of this one.

""...Players are superstitious about being superstitious...." Ace pitcher Max Scherzer is notorious 69 for fearing this particular jinx: “He has this superstition on top of everything else that you don’t talk about superstitions ,” his wife, Erica May-Scherzer, told The Washington Post in 2015." p52

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the arc!📚

Content Warnings:
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religion, superstition, sports injury, grievous wound,

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I expected this to be a humorous collection of story’s or a list of baseballs most famous superstitions. This book absolutely has that; cue Derek Jeter wearing Jason Giambi’s famous gold thong to break a hitting slump. The objective of the book aims for something deeper, to investigate why players & fans buy into the jinxes, superstitions & the baseball gods in the modern era.

Baird identifies when humans first started these behaviors (hint 70,000 years ago) and traces when they first appeared in baseball and how they’ve changed over time. It’s incredibly well researched. She uses first hand accounts from players, newspaper articles from the 1800s and various studies to clearly trace something like the rally hat from inception to modern day.

I was particularly interested in the section comparing rituals within Japanese vs American ball. Would have loved more plus where Latin players land in the spectrum. Also loved all the details about how different things were 100 years ago. Really want to read Christy Matthewsons autobiography now. Personally could have used less of the “connecting it all to what it means to be human”. Wanted more baseball less meaning of life stuff.

All in all a good read and was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned!

[Katie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I love baseball and stories about curses, such as the Boston Red Sox being cursed after trading Babe Ruth. I am also superstitious about announcers calling attention to a pitcher being in line for a no-hitter or that an opposing hitter hasn't had a home run in several games. This seemed like the perfect book for me, but it wasn't as entertaining as I had hoped. I of course enjoyed the stories about the rituals and superstitions of certain teams and players, especially when quotes from players were included.

Unfortunately, the chapters were long and there was too much explanation of the "science" behind the superstitions and origins of words. That material was dry and took much of the fun out of the book. I also thought the author placed too much focus on personal anecdotes on attending games and interacting with the announcers of her favorite team. I wanted to hear more about superstitions and less about her personally, such as she didn't like the rule change giving pitchers a time limit to pitch to batters because it "might limit talking to (her) friends between pitches." It was hard to take her seriously as an authority on baseball after that. I read the whole book sequentially, mostly a chapter at a time because I would lose interest, but it might be better for browsing or looking in the index for certain players or teams that interest you the most and being able to enjoy those stories.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC ebook copy of "The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball’s Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses" by Addy Baird.  


There is something magical and impelling about the start of a new baseball season. Addy Baird has written just the book for avid baseball fans anticipating spring training. THE MAGICAL GAME explores the many intracracies involved in what was "America's pastime". The book tracks a cross section of interesting jinxes, superstitions, rituals, and lore that has been part of the game since inception. Baird artfully blends all of this with history and antidotes on players, teams, and the rules of baseball. A fascinating, must read for all baseball fans. "Play Ball"

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a very superstitious person when it comes to baseball (really sports in general), I had such a good time reading this book. Some of these stories I was familiar with, all Yankee fans look on the Curse of the Bambino very fondly, but there were plenty that were new to me. I loved the story about the Curse of the Colonel for the Hanshin Tigers, that was such a fun one.

I also really liked the chapter on luck and the difference between wOBA and xwOBA, sabermetrics are awesome so that was fun to read. A great read for any baseball fan.

[Mo Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

Overall I enjoyed this book, which explores famous curses and superstitions within baseball. While I am of the belief that in 150 years of history strange things are bound to happen, it was fun to explore the crazy things people believe. I especially enjoyed the chapter about Japanese baseball. I would also like to thank the author for pointing out that my beloved Cubs were cursed by bad management and a terrible scouting department and not a goat. Definitely worth a read for the baseball fanatics out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press!

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a baseball novice and this book served as a perfect entry point to the game and what makes it special. Turns out that luck is an acquired skill! And baseball players and fans are lunatics!! It’s so wonderfully human to try to make sense of madness, to hope against hope, to participate in the universe. Sports give us the perfect opportunity to participate! I love sports!! ROLL TIDE!!!

[Hannah Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t exactly what I expected. The writing style is almost clinical is nature which I found to be an odd choice. There is also a lack of flow throughout. I appreciate the amount of research that clearly went into the book, but either the style is not for me OR it’s too niche of a topic (maybe more serious baseball fans will be more into it?).

Overall it’s not bad, but I can’t think of anyone I would recommend it to.

I tried very hard to read this ARC prior to book release, but I had to take a break and come back to it later. I’m still glad that I finished it though!

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

First instance of a listener of a podcast I co-hosted eight years ago writing a book, as far as I know.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baseball As Background Yet Overall Enjoyable Enough. This is one of those books that has several flaws - some easily fixed, others not so easily fixed - such that none of them individually are really *that* big of a problem, but in any combination amount to enough of a problem to give many readers at least some pause. Thus, while there isn't a single issue to hang any particular star deduction on, each of these issues are significant enough to me to be something like a 0.6 star deduction individually... which adds up to 1.8 star deduction across all three, necessitating the rounding up to a 2 star deduction.

First, the one that gets so many nonfiction books: The bibliography clocks in at just 14%, which is *just* shy of the 15% I normally expect (itself a loosened form of my former 20% expectation). Still, I think I've allowed even 12-13% to skate by before... except that in this case (and this next bit may well be corrected in the final published version rather than the Advance Review Copy version I've had for roughly 4.5 months prior to publication), Baird gets a rather well known fact - a fact so well known it is literally enshrined in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York - *completely wrong* in claiming that Hall of Fame *third* baseman Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves was a "first" baseman. Maybe that was a slip. Maybe it was an editor that missed the slip. Maybe it was in fact shoddy scholarship - Jones had retired before Baird says in this text that she became a fan of baseball, though he was elected as a first ballot Hall of Famer during the era Baird claims to have been following the sport. Still, the *just* short bibliography combined with this slip... like I said up front, not necessarily a reason to deduct a star in and of itself, but then we get to...

The perception that Baird may have allowed her own world view to impact her objectivity in reporting basic facts. In this case, I point specifically to the section of the text where Baird is discussing different religious beliefs on the origins of humanity and calling even religions practiced today by literally billions of people (particularly when combined) "myths". But not only this, but Baird also specifically names Hindu and various Native American religions, among others... while classifying the Abramic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) creation story as "one popular, basic creation myth" before citing the opening lines of the text the Christians call the Book of Genesis. Again, not necessarily something that on its own would have warranted a full star deduction (simply a discussion in the review, as here), but in combination with the bibliography and biography issues above... there's at least one star gone, with a little extra "oomph".

Thirdly, we finally get to the title of this review. The way this book ultimately reads, at least to me - and please read the book yourself and leave a review wherever you see this one, and feel free to claim I'm a moron here if you feel the need - is that Baird wanted to write a book about superstitions, rituals, and curses... but needed some kind of narrative structure to enable that discussion in a cohesive and approachable manner. Given that baseball really is filled with all of the above, it makes sense that this sport would be a very conducive narrative structure for such a discussion. But don't then market this book as a *baseball* book when baseball really is the secondary feature of the book. This is not *really* a book *about* baseball - it is a book *about* Baird's views on superstitions, rituals, and curses... that uses baseball as a way to explain them.

Still, ultimately, for what it is and indeed for how it is written, this is in fact an engaging and interesting read. It simply isn't the read that readers would be led to expect they're getting from the cover and description the weekend before the book's publication (though these can also be updated at some later time, even, perhaps, before publication even now).

Read this book though. Truly. It really is full of all kinds of fun stories, even if your team isn't the New York teams Baird prefers herself. You, like me, are probably going to hear stories here that you had never previously known, even if baseball is your complete life. And make sure, again, to leave a review wherever you see this one. My thoughts here could very well be unique to me, and I could in fact be more wrong that right in all that I've said here. But this review is true to my own experience with this text, and I will stand by it for that reason alone, even if literally every other reviewer disagrees with me.

Recommended.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a book that at least sometimes covers the quirks of the game of baseball that make converts in sometimes the craziest of ways, I find it more than a little amusing that the series that made author Addy Baird a fan of the game (and the Mets)was the same series that justified my years of waiting in futility for my team (the Kansas City Royals) to reward me for all the years I stuck with them when they were really, REALLY bad. It was interesting to view the series from her memorable moment instead of my own ones, but understand how a certain moment becomes indelibly stuck in your mind, and hooks you on a sport anyone will tell you has been waning in popularity for years.

Baseball is a completely different ballgame than most other sports, and as such, it draws more than its fair share of superstitions, jinxes, curses, luck, myths, and nostalgia for the game from players, managers, owners, fans, and media-the premise behind the book.

In full disclosure, the book is often equal parts social anthropology, psychology, and baseball lore. I find psychology interesting, I minored in Anthropology, and I love baseball, so perhaps the time Baird spent exploring the origins of the magic associated with baseball in a book the publisher bills as being about the way these things impact the game of baseball wasn’t as disappointing for me as someone looking for a book strictly about the quirks of the game, but I still wanted the focus to be more on the historical aspect of superstitions, jinxes, curses, etc. of the game.

These are covered. If you want a rehash of the Bambino’s curse or him calling his shot, they’re both there, as is the Billy Goat curse of the Cubs. Bartman, however, is not. The same can be said for the quirks of Wade Boggs or the habits players have at the plate or on the mound. Left out (perhaps I am a product of my times) is Nomar Garciaparra’s extensive routine before every pitch that he wouldn’t have time for with today’s pitch clock - a thing I’m grateful for that Baird, a newer convert, initially resents.

Throughout the book she covers the gamut of superstitions players and fans have, from the expected lucky clothing, cleats, or pre-game routines (a generally non-superstitious person, I confess to my own lucky Salvy shirt I wore for every postseason game in 2014 and 2015, because I was wearing it during the epic Wild Card Game win the Royals had against the Athletics in 2014 - two straight series sweeps after that had even me believing) to the downright bizarre.

While some situations defy the statistics, like the unusually high death rate of active players for Angels players or players who have recently played for the team compared to the other 29 teams (also personal for me as I was due to watch a start by Nick Adenhart before he was killed in a car crash earlier in the week), most things that could be accounted for outside of luck are-by either bad ownership or management, or odds evening out over the course of the season. And just like the placebo effect in medicine, believing in something, good or bad, can actually have an impact on how you play the game, resulting in better or worse results.

I wish I found the research and the history Baird includes about the origins of such things like superstition, jinxes, curses, and luck more interesting, but truthfully I really wanted the focus to be almost exclusively on the history of them within the game of baseball, and at times it felt like baseball was serving as the context for explaining these concepts that can be somewhat vague in nature.

It’s still enjoyable, but at the end of the book you can see the passion Baird has developed for the game, and I wish more of the theme of the book had been centered around the sport and the people that will make it enjoyable and watchable for years to come, no matter what ’expert’ tells us it isn’t what it used to be or isn’t as exciting to watch as football. Those experts haven’t felt the anticipation of watching a perfect game, watched Bobby Witt Jr. make a diving play that seems to defy the odds, or dreamed of a day when they got to witness a triple play happen in person.

Oh, and maybe you’re taking your life in your hands a little bit more than average if you play for the Angels. Luck may be one thing, but the statistics don’t lie.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more like a 3.75, but I rounded up, because baseball is magical. If you're a baseball fan like I am, you will read this book and think "Relatable" over and over ("Being a fan of any sport is stressful at best and terrifying at worst. Before my miraculous conversion via Syndergaard-ian fastball, I would've laughed at that sentiment, but now I say it with total seriousness. It's scary to want, to root, to hope, to put your faith in strangers, to surrender control--and that is what is asked of us as fans" [loc. 1109]).

Baird manages to balance scholarship with the mysticism of baseball and its fandom pretty well. The book starts very strong, but ends a bit weakly. She delves into players' rituals, jinxes, fans and how fans are convinced that they are somehow affecting the game, curses (focusing, naturally, on the Cubs' Curse of the Billy Goat and the Red Sox's Curse of the Bambino), and luck. The last two chapters are...more vague and feel unnecessary, honestly, though they did involve a description of watching a Mets game from the broadcast truck, which is neat.

If you're a baseball fan, you'll enjoy this. Baird delves into the histories of a lot of words like myth and magic, but she also understands the passion and irrationality and fears and hopes of fans. She tries to find the truth behind the story of baseball itself and Babe Ruth's called shot. She describes the curses, but acknowledges that the teams' real curses were those of bad ownership and bad play ("[Historian Glenn] Stout calls the idea a 'fantasy' that he feels has given Red Sox fans a reason to excuse generations of bad baseball, bad management, and bad history . . . You don't need curses or hexes or ghosts or gods to smite down a team when your owner will do it for free (or for, you know, $100,000 and a mortgage on the park" [loc. 1450]).

She talks about how just thinking you're cursed can be enough for players to act like they are cursed, and how those little player (and fan) rituals reinforce themselves: "The daily nature of the game, the quick reinforcement of any superstitious ritual, and the long and storied history of the sport's magical culture all seem to come together in a way that appeals to our innate, evolutionary desire to control and understand our environment" (loc. 1230). Baird goes into the different attitudes of Japanese and American players; Japanese players believe their superstitious rituals help the whole team, not necessarily their own personal stats.

I enjoyed the perspective of the players, the acknowledgment of luck in the game: "This can be maddening for a pitcher--to perform well and produce a poor outcome is a recipe to drive a person crazy" (loc. 424). You can make the perfect pitch and it still turns into a bases-clearing double. What to do? Blame your new socks. In 1948, Al Demaree wrote "Often, there's a difference of no more than half an inch between a three-bagger and a foul ball--with the game, perhaps the pennant, perhaps even the World Series depending on it" (loc. 1766). Ballplayers need something to cling to.

As do fans. Fans' beliefs in their ability to affect the game from afar, whether by watching or not watching or having to maintain their own streaks along with the teams sounds nuts. And it is. But that's part of the magic of the game. (I also learned that early baseball fans were called "cranks," which is just completely bizarre! But also, given the comments on the Orioles site I frequent, sounds completely accurate.)

One notable absence from the book is that of Latin American players, who I'm sure have their own cultures of myth and curses and superstition. Baird ties baseball to America quite a few times, but she still manages to give us some stories from Japan. I'd rather have the Latin American perspective than the more squishy last couple chapters, where Baird starts getting more metaphysical about the game.

Still, a very fun read for baseball fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who follows baseball, even just casually, knows that the game has many rituals, that both players and fans carry superstitions (even if those are not publicly shared) and that it has some of the most famous curses in sports. This book by Addy Baird is a very good explanation of how these became part of baseball lore.

Many times when an author inserts themselves into a non-fiction book, it takes away from the information they are trying to tell (unless it’s a memoir, of course). That is not the case with this book as Baird explains her own rituals and even believed that she had jinxed her favorite team, the New York Mets, until they won a game in which she was able to sit in the broadcast booth with two of the Mets TV announcers.

The book isn’t all baseball stories as Baird takes the reader inside the history of rituals, superstition and jinxes. This was quite interesting as these sections helped explain why people who otherwise would not do something so out of character when encountering a certain event or situation. The stories of the rituals and superstitions of fans, including Baird’s own, were excellent.

Some of the more famous examples of these are covered in an amount of detail that’s just right for those who may not be familiar with them. But for readers who have read other sources about these events, there’s nothing new to learn. The best example of this is the chapter on curses and the two most famous curses in the game - the “Billy goat” curse on the Chicago Cubs and the “Curse of the Bambino” on the Boston Red Sox. Because I’ve read multiple books on both of these, I didn’t find anything new but readers who are not as familiar with them will enjoy these stories.

This was a fun book to read and it’s clear that Baird is not only a loyal Mets fan but she truly enjoyed writing this book. Whether one considers themself superstitious or not, it’s one that can be enjoyed by baseball fans of any level of interest in the sport.

I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/202...

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the life-long devoted fan of a franchise that credits an Etsy-witch for an amazing winning streak last season and has evolved the rally hat into a rally shoe in recent years (you read about that in Chapter 4), I am well acquainted with the magical rituals and superstitions surrounding baseball. My friends and I have talked about our own magical contributions on a continual basis, and it has lead to things like staying in the bathroom during a home run-filled inning or changing a shirt during a disaster of an away game or aggressively insulting a player we like so they a hit or rubbing a friendship bracelet for each player when they are at bat. (And we’ve also had sanity-checking moments when we touch grass and absolve ourselves of blame for these outcomes we truly have no control over.)

Because of my intimate history with baseball, I was especially prepared for this book full of history, magical theory, and stories of the game and players I love (I might be the only person who squealed with delight to see one of my emotional support utility guys, Brad Miller, mentioned in chapter 1). Some of these stories I knew, but many I did not, and I enjoyed learning about how baseball rituals and superstitions fit into our wider history and culture. Addy Baird clearly did a lot of research, based on the footnotes alone. I also appreciated the deep dive into baseball fandom, the dichotomy of being cursed versus being lucky, and the psychology surrounding the nostalgia of baseball. A lot about this sport has changed over the last 180 years, much of it for the better as the sports shifts along with our culture as a whole. I love to see the different changes outlined and clarified.

This book is a fantastic read for anyone who is already a baseball fan, but also for anyone who is baseball-curious, or who likes to read about the history of sports in general. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this bio for review purposes. This book will be realized on June 2nd and is available for pre-order and audio processing as needed.

[Jeremy Reppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains some interesting and amusing anecdotes. I particularly the story behind “Take me out to the ball game” and the verses of the song, not just the chorus fans sing at games. Also, the origin of Friday the 13th being unlucky. I was familiar with some of the superstitions and rituals of specific players but enjoyed learning about those of other players.

I liked that the author includes a wider discussion of superstitions and rituals and luck, why and how they developed, the “science” behind them, etc. and then explored those concepts in the realm of baseball. The comparison between rituals/superstitions of American and Japanese baseball players was interesting.

The author discusses some of the best known baseball curses, separating truth from fiction regarding the events surrounding the curses, and noting that the common denominator of “cursed” teams is actually bad management — such as the Red Sox taking more than a decade after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to integrate the team, thus losing out on the talents and contributions of top black players.

The author also makes it personal by telling how her love of baseball and the Mets developed, as well as her own fears that she was a “jinx”, and how that impacted her. She also aptly describes what makes baseball such a magical game for so many.

One of my superstitions involves TV announcers. When watching Cardinals games, I hate it when the announcers talk about how an opposing hitter is due for a big or clutch hit or has not hit a home run in X games or at-bats. Intellectually I know that nothing the announcers say during the at-bat affects the outcome of the at-bat. However, there have been too many instances where announcers talk about an opposing player being “due” for a big hit and then it happening that it feels like the announcers are jinxing the Cardinals with their comments.

[Birdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC e-copy of The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball’s Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses by Addy Baird.

Superstitions, curses, jinxes… the world is rife with them, but nowhere moreso than in the game of baseball. In this book, Addy Baird, an admittedly superstitious Mets fan herself, explores the history of “magic” within the game of baseball.

I consider myself to be a relatively new baseball fan, but an extremely passionate one nonetheless. After my first game (at least since I was a baby) three years ago, when I watched the Los Angeles Dodgers (the team I hadn’t even gone to the stadium to root for) walk it off against the Cubs late into the night, I was hooked. I could feel the magic of baseball from day one, that fandom culminating in two miraculous world series wins. So, I was excited to read this book and learn more about the history of the supernatural forces at play in the game of baseball.

There are so many great stories and anecdotes in this book—some that I was aware of, some that I wasn’t. The content is organized into chapters—rituals, jinxes, curses, luck, myths, etc.—with supporting ‘evidence’ under each headline. I liked this book, but I did often feel that there were a lot of repeated sentiments throughout, sentences that gave me déjà vu, like I’d read them already, and it happened more than once.

This is a nice little read for baseball fans new and old, and I especially loved that it was written by a woman. It isn’t often that you can pick up female-driven sports non-fiction, so I hope that the author considers writing more.

☆ ☆ ☆ - GOOD

[Jules The Book Junkie Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a self-proclaimed baseball enthusiast, I eagerly anticipated delving into this book, hoping to uncover captivating untold stories about the irreverent, humorous, and unique habits and quirks of MLB players—both stars and journeymen. While I acknowledge Baird’s enthusiasm for her subject, this book, unfortunately, fell short of my expectations.

In the first part of the book, Baird’s extended focus on the origins of words nearly lost me. She devotes excessive attention and word count to the history of terms like “superstition,” “magic,” “ritual,” “jinx,” “curse,” and “luck,” diverting my interest from the preferred perspective of Major Leaguers on these topics.

When Baird does discuss baseball, she rarely presents anything novel. For instance, when she delves into the concept of myths and curses, she retells the famous Babe Ruth call and Billy Buckner’s unfortunate incident in the 1986 World Series, which has become synonymous with the Red Sox’s struggles. Even when she describes the antithesis of these spiritual elements of baseball—Sabermetrics—she replays the highlights of Moneyball and the stories of Jeremy Giambi and Billy Beane without offering any fresh insights.

The Magical Game read mostly like a study in etymology when I was hoping for interviews with players about their personal experiences and feelings regarding superstitions, rituals, and curses.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. For more reading recommendations, visit Book Junkie Reviews at www.abookjunkiereviews.wordpress.com

[Alex Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title suggests, Baird argues that baseball is a magical game because of its superstitions, rituals, and curses. An admitted fan of the sport (particularly the Mets), she believes these quirks are part of what makes baseball unique.

While reading, however, I never fully embraced the idea of describing baseball as "magical," and I don't think Baird makes a completely convincing case for the term. To me, "magic" carries connotations of fantasy, which isn't really what the book explores. Instead, Baird does an excellent job highlighting the game's many traditions, superstitions, and idiosyncrasies, as well as explaining why baseball seems especially conducive to them. But every sport has its own peculiar customs and rituals. Baseball may have more than most, but it isn't entirely unique in that regard.

Although the evidence didn't fully persuade me of the book's central thesis, I still found it to be an enjoyable read. Baseball fans, in particular, will appreciate many of the stories and will likely recognize—and relate to—the quirks of the game and the fandom that Baird celebrates.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magical Game is a delightful plunge into the lore, legend, and lovable oddities that have made baseball America’s “magical” pastime. Addy Baird blends deep research with vivid storytelling to trace more than 150 years of baseball superstitions, rituals, jinxes, and curses — from early World Series mascots and the infamous curses of the Cubs and Red Sox to modern‑day at‑bat quirks and fan traditions. Her passion for the sport and its quirky heart shines through every page, making even the most obscure tales feel essential to the game’s mystique.

What makes this book special is how it connects these beliefs to baseball’s enduring appeal. Baird doesn’t just catalog stories; she explores why superstition persists in a sport increasingly dominated by analytics, and why we keep rooting for the magical, improbable moments that define baseball. The Magical Game is a fun, thoughtful tribute for fans of history, folklore, and that inexplicable love of baseball that keeps us coming back each spring.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know and care very little about baseball so this book was a bit long and over written for me, but I do know what it is like to have rituals before playing a sport. Addy Baird describes the history of baseball through the routines players believe will win the game. The many superstitions described are entertaining and reminded me of a few of my own. Baird's love for the game is clear and even if you are like me and don't care too much about baseball, you will gain an appreciation of it through this well thought out and exceptionally researched story. It brought me back to how I felt attending my first baseball game at Angel's stadium in Anaheim, or the day I visited Cooperstown and sat in the bleachers at Doubleday Field, or even taking my own daughter to her first game. An American tradition, whether you care for the sport or are like me and just enjoy the entertainment and hotdogs, every one has that baseball memory and this book helped me feel that joy of being in the stands again.

[Steven Conger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I write this review, wearing my game day clothes for a Duke Basketball game -- yes I am superstitious, and have created a variety of habits that have morphed and changed over the years when necessary. Just an aside, it was my fault that Duke lost last year in the Final Four because I did not stay up and watch the game (I was in England at the time and had to drive the Cotswolds' in the morning).

I really wanted to love this book, but the first third bored me to no end. I am thankful that I didn't give up because some of the actual stories were great, but the "history" of superstition was too long and repetitive. I would edit the first third to at most half of its size because it really didn't add anything to the my thrust of the book.

Overall, it is a good book that could great. I would recommend it to anyone who is a baseball fan.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball is my favorite sport to watch, and as a former softball player, I can attest to the magic and luck that’s infused into the game. The author did a great job of breaking down baseball’s storied history, layering in the superstitions, rituals, curses, delving into research, and adding her own personal anecdotes. I liked the way each chapter was tied together with history and research. At times the chapters were overly detailed, but I loved learning about sabermetrics and historical aspects of the game I wasn’t aware of before. It was also fun to find mentions of my favorite team within the pages of the book. When the author discussed her personal attachment and beliefs about baseball, it was so relatable. There really is something so serene and magical about watching a game unfold. You never quite know what’s going to happen or how it will play out. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this one!

[Lauren (sharonoldsfanclub) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ARC - out 06/02/26 via St. Martin's Press) If you’re a fan of baseball and also of whimsy, you’ll enjoy this. The book tracks the superstitious nature of baseball players and fans, over the decades of pro ball. Divided into chapters centering on jinxes, curses, and luck, among other mythical concepts that have made their way into modern sports, the author does a good job of balancing her own personal relationship with baseball (all the way up through the 2024 season) along with the history of baseball superstitions as a whole. This book did make me feel a little better about my own OCD compulsions as well, because there are some unwell people mentioned here. Anything for the team, I guess? Baseball watchers, keep this one on your radar!

[Nicole Young]

DNFed @ 11%

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this book. The writing was very well done and it was overall very informative. I've just realized that unfortunately the nonfiction genre just isn't for me.

If that is a genre you normally read and tend to enjoy then I think this book is worth checking out.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this upcoming book***
This is a fun, informative and very well written book about many of the superstitions and nuances of the game that we lovingly refer to as America's pastime. What made the book even more enjoyable is that the author is a Mets fan, albeit one who is still wet behind the ears. Only a newly christened Mets fan would make the cardinal error of misquoting Vin Scully's immortal words "...in comes KNIGHT (she says Wright) and the Mets win it!" PLEASE FIX THIS!!! :)

I highly recommend this book to all baseball fans, especially fans of the Metsies as she spends a little more time discussing the orange and blue.

[Joshua Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book. What a great topic and the author's take on it is engrossing. Yes, at its heart it's obviously a baseball book (and could it be written by anyone other than a Mets fan?) but it delves into mythology, religion, astrology, and myriad topics that not only scaffold her story but make this more than a surface look at baseball curses, fans, and myths.

And then there is the baseball. Great stories from across generations covering Rube Waddell's singular personality, Babe's called shot, Sam Sianis' goat curse, and even McDonald's icon, Grimace. (I look forward to seeing the Mariners' Etsy witch making the paperback...) Brought me joy and even as a diehard fan did not find it boring.

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, with the curses, the superstitions, doing certain things that made them better players. How a certain thing they saw, could convince them they were the best players and it would happen. I am not a baseball fan, but have always been intrigued with how people thought certain teams was cursed, and this book highlights it all. Put the years of what people said about baseball into a new perspective. I made me wonder if you really believe something, it really will happen. Some of it made me laugh, some of it had me shaking my head, but it always, enlightened me. Even if you aren't a baseball fan, the book is full of stories, facts, that you may start to wonder about things.
I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

[Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big baseball fan, so this book interested me a lot. When I saw it available with Goodreads Giveaways, it took zero thought for me to enter the giveaway. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to read this book before publication. Now for the review.

This book was fun to read. I enjoyed reading about the superstitions, rituals, and curses that have been common throughout baseball's history. It was also nice learning about how these things came to be historically, like how in Ancient Greece, the idea of a superstition was invented and therefore led to the Romans eventually viewing it as a form of being "overly pious".

There is a lot of information in this book that any baseball fan would enjoy reading about.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is a woman and a huge baseball fan, it was nice to find this book as an ARC on NetGalley. While I knew about some of the curses, rituals, and jinxes in this book, it was great to learn even more. Abby does a great job of blending history and telling the stories of different players, coaches, and fans to really get you invested. It even made me think about my own rituals and jinxes I have while watching my Cubs and made me realize I’m not the only one who thinks their team does better when they’re not watching or when they’ve turned it off while behind.

If you love baseball, read this. It’s entertaining, it’s insightful, and it made me fall in love even more with the sport I already love so much.