Why Do Baseball Players Chew Gum? Benefits & Significance
You will observe the moments of baseball athletes chewing gum during gameplay. Moreover, the action is meaningful and entirely regular in this regard. On the contrary, players baseball bubble gum due to multiple factors. Chewing bubble gum is helpful to improve focus, reduce stress and prevent dry out. It raises a question among people: who do baseball players chew gum? Did you ever notice baseball players chew gum while playing or practising games on TV? There is a lot of people scowling and saying, ‘’Impolite’’. However, chew gum improves work efficiency which is a great benefit of it.
Benefits of Chew Gum
There are many advantages of chew gum for a player however, some of them we will discuss below.
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Chewing Tobacco Substitute
MLB bans players from chewing tobacco during clubhouses and playing a baseball game. However, athletes must look for something to chew as a habit. Therefore, chewing bubble baseball gum has been a safe and healthful alternative. On the contrary, it also makes players more focused and alert during a baseball game.
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Improve Situational judgement and Concentration
Several situations need instant judgement in competitive sports. Besides agility, a brain requires sharpness. Therefore, chew gum will help improve concentration, judgement and blood circulation. The act of chewing is useful to stimulate the activity of nerves in the brain. The amount of blood pumped to the brain and heart is improved, when the jaw muscles work continuously. Then blood carries oxygen to the nervous system.
Many players will feel more focused, more alert and enhance their capability to react in emergencies. Similarly, chewing baseball gums are also helpful in improving blood pressure and heart rate. It is also helpful in improving decision-making and accurate judgements in competition. Chewing baseball gums make everything easy for coaches as they can help respond more quickly to changes during a gameplay. Consequently, it can help coaches and players make fewer mistakes and think more clearly in stressful circumstances.
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Removes the Taste of Dirt and Prevents Dry Mouth
Players and coaches continuously had to shout to provide instructions. However, players are in the field and unable to drink water constantly therefore, it is far difficult for them. If players practices for a long time, the body will immediately lose water leading to fatigue, chapped lips and dry mouth. Therefore, chewing sugar-free gum is useful to combat such feelings.
In addition to these, chewing gum will help stimulate a continuous flow of salvia. It is also helpful to eliminate food particles stuck around the teeth and mouth. At the same time, it will make the oral cavity more humid for players. Chew gum has the capability to prevent tooth decay. Most importantly, they are chewing gum including xylitol like trident, orbit gum, stride, icebreakers and one gum.
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Reduce Stress and Anxiety During Competition
Before a competition, everyone feels anxiety, not only the players but their coach as well. It would be beneficial if there was a way to help them relieve this feeling instantly while balancing the highest performance. As per experts’ reports, chew gum can reduce stress levels efficiently. It is possible because of chewing baseball gum which increases blood flow to the brain. Moreover, it causes an anti-stress hormone to relieve stress and adrenal glands to secrete cortisol. Consequently, the simplest way to improve your concentration levels and regain your composure is chewing on a stick of gum.
Chew to Blow Bubbles
Blowing bubbles has been a contest for several people to observe who has the potential to blow the giant bubble. Before a pitch, blowing bubbles, sometimes, includes a bit of superstition.
Only A Habit
It is sometimes a habit for players to chew baseball gums. Similarly, a majority of people around also follow the acts of players. Fewer people may choose other forms, if not chewing bubble gum. Therefore, a large number of players love keeping something in their mouth to chew rather than nothing.
Types of Chew Gums
Big league Chew (BLC) is a bubble gum brand which was established by left-handed pitcher Rob Nelson. However, he enjoys chewing gum and he is a former left-handed pitcher. When he could not use tobacco and needed an alternative, Big League Chew started with Nelson’s idea. It was the year of 1977 when the inauguration for this brand in the Portland Mavericks bullpen with supreme beginnings.
The flavorful, iconic pouches packed with shredded bubble gum earned popularity in the years that followed. To date, almost 800 million pouches are sold out. There are various bubble gum brands into the market in which some are as follows.
- Bubble Yum
- Hubba Bubba
- Quench Gum
- Dubble Bubble Original Bubble Gum
- Bubblicious
Does A Baseball Player Spit?
Many MLB players spit during the game out of habit, with the phasing out of smokeless tobacco. In addition to these, several MLB ball players spit out the sunflower seeds shells while chewing them. It has been a habit of players to spit out from dipping.
Best Alternatives for Orally Fixated Ballplayers
- Nuts
- Bananas
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
It is possible for seeds to make a hell of a mess in the dugout. Moreover, gum is a stealthy loiterer on the top of a rookie’s ballcap or the underside of a bench. Gum is a part of the game however, chewing gum is being included in packs of baseball trading cards, if we go back to the 20th century. These days, it is easy to find baseball gumballs in gumball machines, even gum filled baseball bats, gum buckets with individually wrapped pieces.
Do They Choke on It?
If they are professional, self-aware, amateurs and responsible chewers then they will not have a problem. Minor and rookies leaguers who get so cocky are famous to swallow flailing away at a slider off the plate or bite a lip. It is a well-reputed quote, ‘’Practice makes a man perfect’’. However, it will take a minimal competent bubble gum chewer to rise up from the minors and rightly make it in the show. Moreover, there are many benefits of chewing bubble gum.
- It is helpful to improve your focus.
- It is helpful to reduce your stress.
- It has been hilarious meanwhile, your athletic heroes do it.
Blowing bubbles and chew gum may be a habit an individual wants to pick up.
Conclusion
Chewing bubble gum is an excellent habit for baseball players especially during games. In addition to these, it is useful to reduce stress and anxiety. Most importantly, people are curious to know how baseball players chew gum. Chewing bubble gum contains a lot of advantages which we have discussed above. On the contrary, people are also confused about the potential of chewing bubble gum. An individual must take deep breaths while feeling uncomfortable. For the other information please visits https://thelifonews.com/.
FAQ’s
Q1. Is Dirt a Problem?
It is possible for baseball players to wind up wearing dirt. One slide can kick up a cloud of infield dirt particularly, in local fields in amateur dirt and you can wind up with a mouthful. Similarly, an individual can dry it out immediately and has the taste of overpowerful coffee embedded in his tongue. Gum is the only solution while, chew gum will help to produce saliva, drive out the taste of earth and get some moisture back in your head. You should try chew gum, accumulate the spare dirt particles in a spitwad and spit. It is literally rinse and repeat.
Q2. Does Chew Gum Help You Reduce Stress?
It can be tense to play baseball. Either you feel the pressure of living up to a multi-million dollar contract or have a hard time picking up breaking stuff. It can get stressful fast by helplessly watching from the bench in late innings or going deep into a count. As per a report by American Institute of Stress, it reduces stress by chewing gum during baseball games.
Q3. Does Chewing Gum have Doubt Regarding Relieving Stress?
Ofcourse, there is a little doubt about the stress buster ability of chewing gum. In addition to these, you must look at a tightly contested baseball game on television to observe how many managers, coaches and players are chewing bubble gum or anything else to reduce their tension. You will feel comfortable by taking deep breaths. Similarly, you need proper treatment when you are stressed. Chewing bubble gum is a physical action which helps baseball players to improve their focus and ease their nerves.