Empyreal Environs

Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
Terry Pratchett

Blood is thicker than water and you can’t get it from a stone. Baseball is back, and it gets my heart beating and my blood pumping. Like Johnny Pesky, the Red Sox are in my blood.

Even before William Harvey correctly described the circulatory system in 1628, blood was the centerpiece of a myriad of powerful beliefs. The word “blessing” originates from the Old English “blœdsian,” which described a certain act sacred to Germanic migrants to Britain, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. These tribes believed that dismembering their adversaries and sprinkling their blood on consecrated objects, places, and themselves and would grant them the strength of the enemies.

Beyond the myths of blood, however, is the intricate study of blood, or hematology. Most people know about blood types, but few know why transfusions between incorrect types can be fatal. The ABO system of blood typing classifies human blood according to the antigens that characterize the immune response of red blood cells:

• Group A, whose red blood cells’ surfaces are covered with antigen A. The immune system will produce antibodies against cells that have antigen B. They can only receive blood from other type As or O.
• Group B is the opposite of group A.
• Group AB has both A and B antigens. Preferably they would receive AB, but A, B, or O may also be transfused.
• Group O has neither A or B antigens, so all other types can accept type O blood, making this type the universal donor type. It does produce antibodies to counteract A and B antigens, so type O can only accept type O blood.

In addition to the letter types above, there is also the Rhesus factor, or Rh factor, named after the Rhesus monkey. A positive or negative sign indicate the presence or absence of this antigen. The mistyping of Rh factor is particularly perilous to women who, if they receive the incorrect blood type, may develop antibodies that could impact a fetus. The antibodies could traverse the placenta and attack the red blood cells of the developing child in a process called hemolysis. Hemolysis renders red blood cells useless, ravaging the cell membrane and releasing oxygen-carrying hemoglobin into the blood plasma.

It’s odd how science can flow back into folklore. In Japan, blood types are supposed to be indicative of personality, much like astrological signs, numerology, or other forms of quackery. Other places in Asia are beginning to subscribe to this system and asking someone their blood type there is as common as asking what one’s sign is.

Not that I believe in the theory of blood type personalities, but here’s what I think certain Red Sox players, past and present, would be. The traits are derived from Wikipedia and the otaku site called Issendai’s Lair.

• A: Conservative, reserved, patient, punctual, perfectionist, good with plants, introverted, obsessive, stubborn, self-conscious, and uptight.
  Well, Curt Schilling is a lot of the above except for being reserved and introverted. I’ve heard tell that Mark Bellhorn was good with plants. Nomar Garciaparra had a streak of shyness and compulsion. Like the “Type A” personality that used to be associated with coronary heart disease by American cardiologist Meyer Friedman (another personality type system that has been debunked), they are stressed and goal-driven.
• B: Creative, passionate, animal loving, optimistic, flexible, forgetful, irresponsible, and individualistic.
  Pedro Martinez, anyone? Although I’m not too sure how keen he was on pets. Type Bs are portrayed as unconventional, off-the-wall, and ruled by their impulses.
• AB: Cool, controlled, rational, sociable, popular, empathic, aloof, critical, indecisive, and unforgiving.
  Keith Foulke strikes me as an AB, with his calm, nearly impassive, demeanor. He still seems to be stung by the fans revolting against him last year. In anime, villains are often type AB.
• O: Ambitious, athletic, robust, self-confident, natural leader, arrogant, vain, insensitive, and ruthless.
  Who else but David Ortiz? There might be a budding Little Papi in Jonathan Papelbon. Type O is considered the best type according to Japanese standards of behavior.

Every Friday, Dave McCarty will join us to discuss a topic of interest to him and probably no one else but the author of this site.