“I light a candle on my locker” - Marcus Stroman's ritual inspires Yankee starters to adopt the tradition

The New York Yankees are having a successful 2024 season, leading the AL East with 33 wins with 17 losses. The Yankees' pitching staff has been performing well, consistently putting up stellar numbers. Along with their skills and performance on the field, many athletes also adhere to rituals before every game.

One common tradition with many Yankee starters is lighting a candle in the clubhouse before a game. Recently, Gerrit Cole was also spotted with a candle before his batting practice sessions on Tuesday.

In a Yes Network interview, Marcus Stroman who originally started the ritual, was asked about its transformation into a full-blown tradition among the Yankees starters.

“I love Cole man. I think Cole’s doing it as a testament to me on my start days he had it lit the other day,” Stroman said. “But yeah every start day, the first thing I do when I come in, is I light a candle at my locker and I make sure I blow it out right before I go out. It’s something I’ve been doing for a long time.

“Candle for me helps calm me it’s all about like I said, it just provides a little bit of a Zen environment for me and it also smell good. So everyone loves it in the clubhouse."

In Monday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, Marcus Stroman had one of his best games yet, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing just one run, one walk and three hits while striking out six batters. Despite his impressive performance, the New York Yankees lost the game against the Mariners with a final score of 4-5.

Marcus Stroman expressed support for Clay Holmes after tough outing

Monday’s loss was unexpected because the New York Yankees were leading 4-1 until the ninth inning. However, the Yankees' closer, Clay Holmes, struggled in the ninth, giving up four runs to the Seattle Mariners.

After the game, Marcus Stroman showed support for Holmes on X, tweeting:

“Clay Holmes is the best closer in baseball. Thankful to have him down there in the ninth for us day in and day out. Truly love this squad. It’s a pleasure to show up and compete daily with my brothers. Grateful for the home crowd. Energy always on a million. On to the next! @Yankees”

Marcus Stroman’s solid performance against the Mariners lowered his ERA to 3.05, and in the last seven days, his ERA has been at 0.68.