Gum Time

Last season, Tigers' pitcher, Nate Robertson developed a cult following of Big League Chew chewing baseball fans. Similar to the rally cap of yesteryear and the rally monkey of only a few years back, his gum chewing was meant to rally the troops and force a late inning comeback by the Tigers. While I don't have any stats on the Tigers win/loss record when Nate throws in a wad of Big League Chew, I do have this snippet from the Detroit News regarding the gum chewing:

Q . (For Nate Robertson) How did the whole gum-chewing thing start? Is that sugar-free gum? How many cavities do you have? -- Laura Drost, 28, Royal Oak

A . In a game last summer against the Yankees we were down, 5-0. They had me mic'd-up, and it was kind of boring in the dugout and we needed a rally so I just did something for the fans because I knew the cameras would be on. I just threw in some Big League Chew like we did in Little League. Right when I did it they had a camera on me, and Pudge hit a home run. It's regular (not sugar free) which is awful. My mouth and gums hurt afterward, and I have to use mouthwash. I've never had a cavity.

I can't wait until Nate has to sit out due to a severe TMJ disorder. Let's hope that the bullpen can start holding some leads and rally caps, rally gum, rally monkeys, rally mimes, rally carneys and any other rally tool are not needed.

In the mean time, check out Nate's occasionally updated Gum Time Blog