Sometimes, Fourth time can be the charm
by Pete Cunningham
*As printed June 20, 2007 in The Homer Index

The old saying third time is the charm has been uttered enough times to make anyone who has ever failed twice at something almost happy of their pending chances the next time around. Good things happening in threes often seems to be the rule rather than the rare occurrence, and so the adage lives on.

Any baseball pitcher will agree that three is a magic number, as ringing up a third strike or recording the third out brings smiles to flamethrowers’ faces every day. Michael Jordan’s Bulls won three consecutive NBA crowns not once, but two times in the ‘90s under the tutelage of Phil Jackson. Jackson would eventually move on to win three more titles with Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers.

Of course before any of that happened, Jordan had to leave college after his third year, and get drafted number three. Even still, Jordan would have to face his rival Pistons three times before advancing to his first finals as many of us Detroit fans are well aware. Jordan, no stranger to the superstitions of the number three, won three consecutive finals MVP awards twice, and even took a couple shots at retirement before finally calling it quits for good the third time around.

To say that third is the charm however is to completely discount the significance of any occasion before and even after that third shot. If only the third of anything could be the charm, Martin Scorsese would never have won an Oscar for best picture, having won on his sixth nomination.

More astonishing is the case for the number four actually being of the most superstitious significance. Do we not indeed celebrate our nation’s birthday on July 4, graduate high school and college after four years, hold monumental events such as the Olympics, World Cup and presidential elections every four years as well? In light of all this it would seem that perhaps fourth time should be the charm.

The world of baseball offers no solution as the third and fourth spot in a lineup are arguably the most debated. One school of thought states that the third spot should have the best hitter as he will enjoy more at bats than if he were to bat fourth. The other school of thought likes the chances of additional RBI at the fourth spot. Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees third baseman, and Giants slugger Barry Bonds both hit fourth in their respective lineups, showing that when fourth is the charm, it can often lack exactly that. The mystery lives on.

So why does third get the reputation when fourth is often just as glorious? Why do people not stop in their thrice failed tracks and rejoice in the fact that fourth may actually be the charm?

All the convincing I’ll ever need came this weekend when I traveled to Battle Creek to watch the Division 2 softball state finals. In her fourth at bat, my not-so-baby sister recorded her first hit of the tournament as her team went on to win the championship in the school’s fourth ever trip to the state tournament. Tears of joy rolled down my mother’s face as she watched her fourth and youngest child lift the championship trophy high above her head. For her, and for my entire family cheering in the stands, fourth will forever be the charm.