CLEVELAND -- The latest in a long line of White Sox secret success elixirs seems to be … ice cream cones?
Drumsticks located in a Rate Field freezer, to be exact.
“OK, I've noticed this in my baseball career, ice cream cones are good luck,” a smiling White Sox catcher Kyle Teel said Monday during his interview session prior to Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Guardians. “Like, I'm telling you. There's hits in ice cream cones.”
This ice cream cone magic didn’t come from thin air.
It all began Sunday, when WGN-TV asked Sam Antonacci what he was doing when Munetaka Murakami hit his go-ahead home run off Parker Messick in the fourth inning during a 3-0 victory in Game 1. Antonacci, who was not in the starting lineup against the southpaw, told the reporter he was eating an ice cream cone.
Understandably, that clip quickly went viral. Just as Antonacci dressed as Spider-Man while seeing Spider-Man in a movie theater with Miguel Vargas, who also was in full costume, went viral. Just as Antonacci tripping on the dugout stairs during player introductions in Houston for the AL Wild Card Series went viral.
Let’s not forget Antonacci humorously calling out his patient and wonderful mother, Nicki, for worrying too much about him getting hit by pitches so frequently. He’s one of one among the myriad characters making up this clubhouse.
“He’s hilarious. The ice cream cone from the other night is a great point,” White Sox director of player development Paul Janish told MLB.com. “But when the bell rings and he’s in the game, it’s almost like he blacks out in a really good way. In terms of the type of kid that he is, he’s the type of kid [where you say], “Man, I hope my son turns out like that.’ He’s a great, great kid. I’m glad he’s on our side.”
“Yeah, he's just chill off the field,” said Teel of Antonacci. “And then when the game starts, you know, at times in the dugout, he's really chill. But I don't know what happens when he puts his helmet on because he starts hitting himself. He just wants to run through a brick wall. So I don't know if it's magic in the helmet or the hat, but he's just an animal on the field.”
An animal, and apparently an amateur hair stylist, as he “faded” the back of Teel’s hair before batting practice began, as Teel announced during his media session.
“He just like trimmed it up a little bit with the razor,” Teel said. “He really wanted to get my rat tail, but I was like, ‘No, bro. That's like my specialty.’”
Manager Will Venable, the quiet, dignified faculty advisor of the White Sox fraternity, hadn’t heard about ice cream leading to success when he entered the Progressive Field interview room.
“If Sam says so, then I agree,” an amused Venable said. “I'm fully supportive of whatever these guys think is good luck.”
Over the course of a 162-game regular season and eventually playoffs, there’s a hope that anyone’s favorite team has the personality, charisma and simple enjoyment of the game to churn out a handful of fun, non-baseball related stories.
For the White Sox, it seems like new entertainment arrives every week. Now, we have moved to the ice cream phase.
“Ice cream for everybody then,” said Venable upon hearing what Antonacci was consuming when Murakami homered.
“I hope he has a few,” added Teel, when asked if Antonacci would be doing the same Monday.