Detroit Tigers Win Seven Straight After Joba Chamberlain Delivers LIneup Card

Superstitions have been around in baseball for a long time. The Detroit Tigers and Joba Chamberlain have one going right now, they have won seven straight games since Chamberlain has presented the lineup card to umpires before the game.

“That’s my big secret,” first year manager Brad Ausmus joked.

The Tigers extended their streak Thursday with a 6-0 win over the Texas Rangers, getting a complete game shutout by Rick Porcello to complete a three game sweep.

Typically, the manager or a coach exchanges lineup cards with umpires before each game. Bench coach Gene Lamont exchanged cards June 18 against the Royals, but after the Tigers dropped their third straight to fall 1 1/2 games out of first place, they decided to mix things up reported mlive.com.

Chamberlain first approached Ausmus about bringing the lineup card to home plate that game and after they lost Ausmus allowed him to bring it in the series finale Thursday. Detroit hasn’t lost since.

“Lo and behold, we got a ‘W,'” Chamberlain said. “So I took it out some more and we got some more wins. Now, I just show up for the anthem and Brad hands me two blue cards.”

Chamberlain took the lineup card out once before when he pitched for the New York Yankees, when he presented it with Andy Pettitte last season. The Yankees won that game as well.

“It’s a fun story to tell,” Chamberlain said. “I’ll do anything I can do to help my team win. I’ll fold towels, I don’t even care.”

It’s a superstition that has become a social activity for Chamberlain. His visits are usually followed by a chat with the umpires. Sometimes, it’s just conversation. Other times it’s a joke according to mlb.com.

“I’ll drop a joke in there every once in a while,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been around long enough so I kind of know all the umpires.”

Ausmus said “I know he usually tries to have a joke ready. I asked him a couple times what the joke was.”

During the lineup exchange, Chamberlain is also responsible for relaying the ground rules.

“It’s my job, the first game of the series, to relay the ground rules,” he said. “So I have to make sure I pay attention on that day.”

As previously reported in The inquisitr, Detroit won 11 straight road games earlier this year.

They open a three game series Friday night at the Houston Astros as Justin Verlander goes up against Brad Peacock. The Tigers now have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Kansas City Royals.

[Image via Associated Press]