Story By Gage Johnson, Senior Writer
Within the game of baseball, there any many unwritten rules and traditions. Racer baseball has created one of their own, and it’s not your everyday gimmick.
If you’ve walked around campus or just enjoyed a game of Murray State baseball, you may have noticed players donning dyed blonde hair. At first it was just one, then two and then even a third. Questions began to rise.
The answers to those questions can be found in junior catcher Joseph McMahon, a player known for his outspoken in-game antics.
After every Murray State win, each player’s number is placed in a hat. The players then draw every number out from the hat, forcing the last player drawn to dye his hair blonde. Once drawn, the player has 24 hours to dye his hair.
McMahon originally masterminded the idea with a little help from his father, Joe McMahon. His father played for the New York Islanders in the NHL for twenty years. During this past summer, Joseph spent time at home with his father in Holbrook, New York. During that time, Joseph asked his father about some strategies he and his hockey teammates employed to boost team chemistry and comradery.
Joe McMahon told him how and Islander teammates executed the hair-dying venture. Joseph was hooked. He decided to approach his teammates about carrying on the idea. While it did take some convincing at first, Racer baseball hopped on board.
“I put a poll on GroupMe and it was like 15-15 because some guys were indifferent,” McMahon said. “Slowly we convinced everybody. We were already a pretty close-knit group, but this gives us a little extra juice and something to look forward to after a game.”
Now halfway through the season and owning a record of 17-18, nearly half of the Racer baseball players are rocking the blonde-haired look.
While Head Coach Kevin Moulder isn’t particularly a fan of the stunt, he knows it’s important to enjoy the long season and thinks McMahon’s idea has done just that for his team.
“Well, my true feelings are I think it’s really stupid,” Moulder said. “Joe came up to me and asked if it was alright, and I gave it my blessing. I’m sure there are some moms that aren’t happy with me, but baseball is a long season. So stuff like this is just a nice way to keep guys loose, and find ways for them to enjoy themselves and make coming to the park everyday interesting.”