# What are those braided necklaces some ballplayers wear? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844 "2011-07-04T21:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/1 "2011-07-04T21:03:46Z")
Check out the closeup shots of, for instance, Josh Beckett, Marco Scutaro, Adam Lind, Hideki Okajima, and I’m sure I could think of a few others. They all wear necklaces made of what looks like braided nylon, two colors including white, and some sort of splice connection. I don’t see any Catholic medals hanging from them, either. So what’s the deal with those things? Is this just some well-marketed fad product that’s supposed to align your bodily power flux or some such foolishness? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/2 "2011-07-04T21:15:29Z")
Yep. Phiten is one of the better known brands. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/3 "2011-07-04T22:18:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Is this just some well-marketed fad product that’s supposed to align your bodily power flux or some such foolishness? I’m not sure if you said this in jest or not but…yes. That’s exactly the sort of [snake oil](http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/07/titanium_neckla.html) that these necklaces are purporting to have. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/4 "2011-07-04T22:39:01Z")
It was less in simple jest than in bemusement that this sort of shit still actually gets believed, but thanks for the confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/5 "2011-07-05T00:28:00Z")
They’re worn by people who think Wins are the most important pitching statistic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/6 "2011-07-06T02:28:43Z")
They look like the rope your soap on a rope used to come on. In other words, holy moly, they’re ugly and silly. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/7 "2011-07-06T02:44:22Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > They’re worn by people who think Wins are the most important pitching statistic. 🙂 I don’t own that necklace. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/8 "2011-07-06T04:28:57Z")
You’re talking about those Phiten necklaces right? There’s a Phiten store in downtown Seattle plastered with photos of star atheletes. They even regularly advertise on Mariner games. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/9 "2011-07-06T22:54:55Z")
Maybe Lackey ought to take his _off_. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-braided-necklaces-some-ballplayers-wear/587844/10 "2011-07-07T15:58:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Maybe Lackey ought to take his _off_. I think he’s wearing it upside down, getting the flow all wrong.