The Red Sox's Mantra: "Pass The Tongue"

Spend enough time in baseball clubhouses and you'll hear the phrase "pass the baton," a reference to the idea that a hitter should do his job and trust the next guy to do his, rather than swing for the fences. ... [A]mong the Red Sox ... it's a rallying cry—and also their favorite inside joke.

"Pass the tongue!" they yell to each other before games and during games and after games. "Pass the tongue!"

Game 2 of the ALDS, a loss that tied the series at one game apiece, was a demoralizing affair in which the Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka threw 30 balls but walked only one. Some of the veteran players felt their young teammates growing anxious, pressing. So when the Red Sox held their daily hitter's…