574. Turk Wendell

Well first off, his name is Turk. So he already has a built-in likeable quirky baseball name. He played in the Major leagues from 1993 to 2004, 11 years as a reliever for the Cubs, The Mets, the Phillies, and finishing it off with The Rockies for one season. He pitched all of 645 innings with an E.R.A. of 3.93. But why Turk Wendell as a good thing? He was perhaps the most eccentric superstitious OCD player to ever play the game.

Here’s just a few reported quirks of Mr. Wendell:

– Turk insisted that the umpire roll the ball to the mound rather than simply throw it to him. (If an umpire would ignorantly throw the ball to him, Wendell was known to let it go past him, or even to let it bounce off his chest, after which he would retrieve it from the ground.)

– Whenever he began a new inning, Wendell would turn and wave to the center fielder and wait for him to wave back before proceeding.

– At the beginning of each inning, Wendell would reportedly draw three crosses in the dirt of the pitcher’s mound.

– Once Turk Wendell got in a “who has more testicles” contest with Lance Armstrong. He won by seven.

– Whenever his catcher stood, Wendell would crouch down.

– When entering or leaving the field, Wendell would always take a colossal leap over the baseline looking like a kangaroo.

– Instead of chew or bubble gum, Turk would put three massive sticks of licorice in his mouth and pitch that way with his cheeks swelling out.

– Wendell often brushed his teeth between innings (some claim that he brushed between every inning). While brushing, he often hid in the dugout, either by ducking behind objects or by facing the wall. (picture above)