BY JOHN MANDERINO

Mom told me to quit making the sign of the cross before stepping into the batter’s box. “If you’re that afraid of getting hit by the pitch, you shouldn’t be playing.”

I told her that wasn’t why I did it. “It’s for good luck.”

She said that was worse. “The sign of the cross isn’t for good luck—it’s for praying, and if you want to pray for something, pray for your grandmother,” she said, choking up a little.

Gram was in Maine Medical, dying. She was about a hundred and fifty years old, so it didn’t seem all that tragic. Plus you see players on TV making the sign of the cross all the time, and it’s not for their grandmother—it’s for help in getting a hit, and when it works they point up towards Jesus, mouthing, “Thank you.”

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