Superstition is common in baseball, but Luis García Jr. might have found the real deal. The infielder will not remove his good luck charm soon. He spotted a chain with a lion design in his locker and decided to wear it right away. Now, the results are impossible to ignore for anyone watching the pinstripes.
The Chain Has Power
García found the item early Tuesday afternoon before a game. He had owned the chain for a while during his time with the Nationals. He just chose to insert it into the lineup. “I looked at it, and it looked very nice, so I put it on,” García said, per MLB.com. The timing was perfect because he immediately went on a tear.
The chain was around his neck when he recorded his first four-hit game as a Yankee. It stayed there on Wednesday when he hit his fourth home run in six games. García admits the connection might be more than just a coincidence. “Maybe the chain has power,” he said, according to MLB.com. He made it clear that the accessory is not going anywhere. “I’m going to keep wearing it,” García stated.
A Live Bat Emerges
The numbers back up what the eye test shows. García struggled at first, going 10-for-46 in his first dozen games. But that cold start is ancient history now. He has 12 hits in his last 30 at-bats. That includes a double, four homers, and eight RBIs in that short span. Manager Aaron Boone sees the change too. “He’s got some serious thunder coming through the zone,” Boone said, per MLB.com Yankees (official).
Boone believes the fan base is finally waking up to the talent in the lineup. “I hope our fan base is starting to see what a live bat that we’ve got in here,” the manager said. He noted that García has been crushing the ball since arriving. “He’s hit some balls really, really hard since he’s been here,” Boone added. The Yankees have 28 home runs from García this season, a career high.
This streak matters because the team needs offense to win. The two-run shot in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 9-3 victory over the Astros was a turning point. García has now hit home runs in back-to-back games for the third time this season. That kind of consistency is rare.
