Top five

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 2004 by Stan McNeal

Most unusual, er, annoying, rituals:

1 Nomar Garciaparra's batting gloves adjustment. Even when watching a slow-motion replay, it's tough to count how many times he touches and/or restraps each glove after every pitch. Four, five? Certainly enough times to be considered overkill. We remain thankful he likes to hit the first pitch.

2 Sammy Sosa's home ran skip. His chest-thumping, kiss-blowing act in the dugout is only slightly less vexing.

3 Leo Mazzones's head rocking. As the anxiety builds, so does the frequency of the back-and-forth, back-and-forth. Good thing he doesn't coach a staff like the Royals'--a higher fret level might lead to a concussion.

4 Bret Boone's bat flip, The baseball gods must not appreciate this bit of home run arrogance, either. Boone's homers are down by nearly 50 percent this season.

5 Barry Bond's pointing above. Cross the plate. Thrust the arms up. Look to the heavens and point with the index finger on both hands, it all got old in a hurry. Bonds certainly isn't the only player guilty of this. He just has the most opportunities because he hits the most homers.