12/31/2006

Gehrig's Gum

Each Sunday during the off-season, I'll be taking a passage from Luckiest Man, Jonathon Eig's biography of Lou Gehrig.

This week's selection is about Gehrig's habits.

Simple routines were a source of comfort to Gehrig. Each spring, he would hand two dollars to Doc Painter, the team's trainer, and Painter would buy him forty packs of chewing gum. Each morning, when Painter arrived in the clubhouse, he would remove one piece of gum from a pack -- two if the Ynkees had a doubleheader that day -- and place the gum atop Gehrig's locker.

Gehrig liked to smooth the dirt around first base with his toe cleats before each pitch. He liked to spit on the palms of his hands between swings. When he drew a walk, he didn't drop his bat at home plate but tossed it gently in the direction of the dugout to make it easier for the batboy to retrieve. He believed in eating a big breakfast and getting a lot of fiber in his diet. He took a laxative called Agarol every night before bed. He seldom drank but smoked more than he cared to admit. He put himself through no elaborate pre-game rituals and required no long post-game rubdowns. Only the gum was an obsession. He wouldn't chew more than one stick a game, wouldn't accept a stick from anyone but Painter, and insisted on paying for it himself.

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