CARY, N.C. - Friday the 13th is synonymous with superstitions. In the game of baseball, superstitions and rituals are just part of everyday life.
For the Brooklyn Bonnie Rockets, this is especially true.
Before every matchup, you can see a cluster of gray jerseys huddled in a tight circle in the outfield - or you can hear them.
"We just talk through our game plan and what we want to do better than we did the game before," says Samuel Camela.
That may be an understatement, as cheering and clapping can clearly be heard from the stands as the Bonnies run through the game plan, the lineup, and the roles of each player on the team.
"We have like a rhythm to it," pitcher Randy Rincon says. "It usually gets pretty hype."
The team then breaks it down, where the bond they share becomes obvious.
"Coach makes sure everyone's head is in the game, and then we clap it up. He says, 'play hard' bring it in' - then he says '1, 2, 3' and the team responds 'Bonnies', and finally he says '4, 5, 6' and the team says 'family'," says assistant coach Joel Santos.
"They say family because this team has been together since they were seven years old. They're all like brothers, and they're part of a happy, dysfunctional family. The bond they have means a lot," he continued.
If you have an opportunity to hang around in the dugout for a while, you'd see the family bond that Santos describes. The aura of the dugout during games is an interesting mix of jokes and conversations mixed in with game reactions.
You'd also find that they make you a part of that happy family while you're there.
Whatever the meaning of the ritual is, it's working - the Bonnies are currently sitting 2-0 after the first day of games at the 16U Cup.