More than any other sport, baseball’s legacy is defined by superstitions. Chicago Cubs fans attribute their century-long drought without a World Series to a billy goat, while up until recently, the Red Sox believed they were forever cursed for trading Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees. But these pale in comparison to baseball’s latest jinx, which has impacted not one, not two, but three different MLB franchises simultaneously.
As ESPNW points out, the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, and San Diego Padres have all struggled mightily in recent weeks. The common thread between these three teams? Their respective ballparks all played host to Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour.
On July 27th, the Astros had a record of 55-45 and held the first wild-card spot in the American League. As Swift’s scheduled October 13th concert may have conflicted with a possible playoff appearance, the team moved up her show to September 9th. However, ever since her concert, Houston has gone 7-11 and have just a 0.5 game lead for the second wild-card spot.
The story isn’t much better for the Nationals, who have gone 32-38 since Swift performed two nights at Nationals Park. Once at the top of the National League East, Washington was eliminated from playoff contention last week.
As for the Padres, the team has a record of 11-17 since Swift’s August 29th performance at PetCo Park, and has also been eliminated from the playoffs.
As a Mets fan, all I can say is thank you for not playing Citi Field. As a New York Football Giants fan, I hope the jinx doesn’t carry over to the NFL (Swift’s NYC shows were at MetLife Stadium).
