Adam Jones presents superstitious teammate Kevin Gausman with 1,700 mini-donuts

It pays to be superstitious.

Or at least it pays for Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Kevin Gausman, a first-round pick (fourth overall) in last June's draft, to be superstitious.

Gausman actually has a couple pre-game and in-game rituals that are unique. No, they're not as complex or detailed as those made famous by Turk Wendell during his 11-year major league career, but I think his main superstition would actually fall in line with Wade Boggs, who would eat the same meal (chicken) before every game. Only Gausman's eating habits aren't quite as healthy.

Here's what he does: Before each of his starts, Gausman will eat one powdered mini-donut just prior to his first pitch. That's fine and perhaps even normal. For each additional inning he lasts, though, he'll eat FOUR powdered donuts in between innings. So let's say Gausman throws a nine-inning shutout. That would be 33 powdered donuts consumed (I assume that's the goal).

Hey, I love powdered donuts as much as the next guy, but my stomach hurts just thinking about that.

But here's where Gausman benefits from his superstitions. Once his Orioles teammates caught wind of his routine, they went into action. And that led to a fun presentation in the clubhouse early Sunday morning.

From The Baltimore Sun:

After Saturday night’s workout, Gausman received a call from pitching coach Rick Adair telling him to show up after 8 a.m. because the veteran players had an activity to do.

When he arrived Sunday morning, Gausman’s entire locker was filled with mini-donuts. Gausman estimated it was a total of 1,700 circles of caloric powered perfection. A Hostess sign (Hostess' brand of "Donettes" was Gausman's favorite until the company ceased operations) was placed above the nameplate of his locker and inside was a message to “Eat Up” signed from Jones.

Thanks to @simplyaj10 for giving me about 1,500 donuts!! I think I'm set for the whole season #PowderedGold twitter.com/KevinGausman/s…

— Kevin Gausman (@KevinGausman) February 17, 2013

Gausman would end up sharing a few bags with his teammates, but he still should be good to go. I just hope those have a good expiration date on them. If not, well, don't be surprised if a few Orioles leave Sarasota a pound or two over their ideal weight.

Looking for more baseball chatter?
Follow @bigleaguestew, @Townie813, @AnswerDave and @MikeOz on Twitter
Also, check out the BLS Facebook Page