Reason to Love Toronto: because Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista plays his best ball in R.A. Dickey’s pants
Baseball players are a weirdly superstitious lot: Jason Giambi slipped into a golden thong when he struggled at the plate; Wade Boggs famously scarfed a plate of fried chicken before every game; and Richie Ashburn often cuddled with his bat. Count Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista among the high-profile players who believe in magic. The two-time home run champ was mired in a brutal funk heading into a Canada Day weekend series against the rival Boston Red Sox, batting an abysmal .182 for the month. So he decided to change his routine by borrowing teammate R.A. Dickey’s pants and hiking his socks to his knees. The result: an instant four-game, five-home-run tear. Joey Bats’ pants-inspired outburst is hot on the heels of the Jays’ own streak, which has put the club back in the playoff picture and back in the city’s collective heart.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/jose-bautista-r-a-dickeys-pants/&title=Reason to Love Toronto: because Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista plays his best ball in R.A. Dickey’s pants&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/jose-bautista-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_221836" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Jim Rogash/Getty Images Sport)[/caption]
Baseball players are a weirdly superstitious lot: Jason Giambi slipped into a golden thong when he struggled at the plate; Wade Boggs famously scarfed a plate of fried chicken before every game; and Richie Ashburn often cuddled with his bat. Count Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista among the high-profile players who believe in magic. The two-time home run champ was mired in a brutal funk heading into a Canada Day weekend series against the rival Boston Red Sox, batting an abysmal .182 for the month. So he decided to change his routine by borrowing teammate R.A. Dickey’s pants and hiking his socks to his knees. The result: an instant four-game, five-home-run tear. Joey Bats’ pants-inspired outburst is hot on the heels of the Jays’ own streak, which has put the club back in the playoff picture and back in the city’s collective heart.){kind=link}