Diamonds For Women

dodgerblue6 · Last edited by dodgerblue6 on Sun 1/3/10 4:50 am; edited 3 times in total

Baseball players are said to be among the most superstitious and ritualistic of all athletes. We have a thread somewhere that I started awhile back about some of the beliefs and practices they adhere to. But I guess some of the fans are just as bad--especially when it comes down to science. Take me, for example.

Everyone's familiar with the phenomenon of a "Blue moon", right? It's generally used to refer to a rare occurrence, but in lunar terms, it is the second full moon in a calendar month.

Three years ago, on our previous DFW board, I related this phenomenon to baseball, specifically to my beloved Boys in Blue. There were two full moons in July, 2004, with the second one coming on July 31. On that July 31, the Dodgers finished the month of July with a record of 27-3, their best July on record in franchise history. And how appropriate the influence of the blue moon was since, well, the Dodger Universe is an all-blue one.

Because a "blue moon" arrives every two to three years, I checked my tidal calendar to see when the next one would occur. (Should have relied on the San Diego Surfrider version instead of the one someone gave me as a Christmas gift last year. More on that in a minute.)

I checked and saw that the Dodgers would play the Padres this year on June 30, with a full moon scheduled. That one was listed as the second in the month of June. Excitedly, I had delusions of a win to close out the month and in effect, the first half of the season. If I went to the game on June 30, we were almost guaranteed a win, right? So before I left to go to L.A. last weekend, I mentioned to a friend at Triple Crown to "drink a Blue Moon for me" (that's his beer of choice) while I was watching the game under the blue moon. He then informed me that the blue moon this year had been in May, not June.

That night, I watched as the Dodgers lost to the Padres in 12 innings, in a game that ended just minutes shy of July 1. But, superstitious as I am, I thought I'd do some research when I got home to find out just what the conflicting story on this blue moon was.

And it turned out we were both right.

The first "blue moon" since July of 2004 came to pass in May, 2007, when full moons were on May 3 and 31. That was in the Western Hemisphere, where the U.S. is located. In the Eastern Hemisphere, the first full moon was June 1 and the second was actually on June 30. Or so read my tidal calendar, which was made in India. Technically while it lists times of days for tides in various oceans, it didn't adjust for individual times on moons, which I suppose was supposed to be generically taken into account in Asia, not the U.S. Why? Hey, this was a gift, I didn't ask.

Either way, I guess the "full/blue" effect was lost on the Dodgers. I checked back and found out they lost on May 31, too--to the Nationals at Washington. And their records in both months were pretty routine--16-11 and 14-14 respectively. Astronomy just ain't what it used to be. Or do you have to become an Astros fan for that?

The next blue moon will arrive in December, 2009. No major league baseball being played then, unfortunately. Sad

_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Sun 1/3/10 4:53 am Post subject:

LOl just looking back at the original post in this thread, from 2 1/2 years ago.

I mentioned the next blue moon coming up in December, 2009. That just passed--the "blue moon" rose on New Year's Eve, and appropriately, I toasted it with a "Blue Moon."

Happy New Year, everyone! :
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

sunnyblue · Posted: Sun 1/3/10 4:03 pm Post subject:

That's a good one DB! Funny story!

The moon was so pretty the other night! I hope it is a good omen for the Dodgers. Love the beer by that name too. Very Happy

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 7/1/15 11:39 pm Post subject:

Cath, you'll love this one. Out of mothballs, I dug up this story I had originally posted eight years ago this week. This phenomenon occurs once every two to three years, and it'll be here again soon.

Today is July 1, and there is a "blue moon" this month. So for historical context, just scroll up and read my comments about the power of the stars on baseball.

The Dodgers got the month started off right with a win on the road. Their schedule in the next few weeks will be tougher than it has been; there will be no more NL West play (they excel the most within the division) until September.

I look forward to seeing how they will finish in 30 days under the light of the blue moon. Very Happy

_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

forloveofthegame · Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 7525 Location: San Diego

Cute. Just re-read the original post which was from before I was on this forum. I liked reading about that in historical context. Smile

Four blue moons since you started it.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Mon 8/3/15 7:08 am Post subject:

Just for the record...the Dodgers won on the evening of the blue moon. Smile

Even in the presence of Angels! Surprised

However, their overall mark in July was a somewhat mediocre 13-11, albeit at least over .500.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Tue 8/1/23 2:38 pm Post subject:

Just for fun! Smile

Today is August 1, there's a supermoon out tonight, and because there'll be another full moon out in four weeks, that makes it a blue moon month. Very Happy

The last time a blue moon occurred was in October, 2020. That's when the Dodgers won the World Series.

This time, I'll just take a decent, winning month.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

sunnyblue · Posted: Wed 8/2/23 12:45 pm Post subject:

That was a good start. Hope they are prepared for the Padres this weekend because if there's one thing the Padres want it's to beat L.A. even if they don't go anywhere else.

dodgerblue6 · Posted: Wed 8/16/23 2:30 pm Post subject:

Checking in, halfway through August...the month of the blue moon continues!

The Dodgers sport a 13-1 record since the end of July. Very Happy

_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame