Jose Lobaton tapes ball to bat, hopes bat learns how to hit

Washington Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton, staying true to his superstitious form, has taped a baseball to his bat in an effort to teach the bat how to hit.

Washington Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton, staying true to his superstitious form, has taped a baseball to his bat in an effort to teach the bat how to hit. 

Jose Lobaton, apparently, is trying to teach his bat where to make contact with the ball. pic.twitter.com/BbgB9cCAI3

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) April 16, 2015

Jose Lobaton said this is true: he taped a ball to his bat to teach it where it needs to go. https://t.co/LbASVP3pm4

— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) April 16, 2015

The bat spent Thursday in deep meditation in the Nationals' dugout in advance of the team's matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

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​This isn't the first unorthodox object Lobtaon has placed in the dugout to aid his success at the plate. The Venezuela native notably purchased a Japanese Maneki-Neko cat doll in the dugout during last year's National League playoffs. The good luck charm didn't really work out for him or the team. 

Sure, Lobaton is hitless in his first seven plate appearances this season. But it is really time for the .228 career hitter to start teaching an old bat new tricks? 

- Will Green