top five weirdest players in history

[T206King]

List the top five weirdest players in history and why!!!!!!!!!!
mine are:

1- Rube Waddell- runs of the field to fight fires in the middle of a game, his salary of $2200 in 1908, he wanted it in 1 dollar bills because of his spending problems. he went to jail for beating a man up for making fun of his pitching (connie Mack bailed him out). got bit my a lion, whestled aligators in the off season. before games ran from center field to home in the mean time undress to get changed into his uniform. would leave for weeks and know one whould know where he went. list goes on!!!!!

2- Ty Cobb- black man offered to shake his hand, he slapped him, then tried to stanggle his wife!! another time he ran into the stands and beat up a man with one arm(i beleive), he replies "i dont care if he has no arms"!! spiked men regularly and injurying most. but loved the game!!!

3- Germany Shaeffer- one game, he was a running on first, stole second, then stole first again!!!!! and then ran back to second resulting in a run from third on a over throw to second. another game he went into the game as a pinch hitter, alittle drunk also turned and said to the crowd "you will see the greatest hit of all time", (somethign like that) and first pitch hit a homerun. but while running the basees, slide into everyone and swearing at the crowd! when he was home he said "that will conclude this act thank you" (i think thats what was said) crazy guy

4- Albert Belle- had anger problems, tried to run over kids on halloween because his house was egged, but an ok player

5- Cap Anson- vary racist, and refused to play a game in the 1800's because of a black man on the other team. and they didnt play!!! which banned black ppl to play baseball for a long time!

[Gamingboy]

Moe Berg, Charlie Faust, Eddie Gaedel, Pete Gray and Carl "There were no dinosaurs, they aren't in the bible" Everett are my picks, not exactly in that order.

[Mr. Met]

Didn't Jimmy Piersall run around the bases backwards for his 100th HR? That ain't right! :crazy

[T206King]

Didn't Jimmy Piersall run around the bases backwards for his 100th HR? That ain't right! :crazy


yeah but the "dinosaurs" have alot of interesting stories thats why i picked them :crazy

[RuthMayBond]

This thread is in the wrong area, but
Mark Fidrych
the guy who brushes his teeth between innings (former Cub, Turk Wendell?)

[oscargamblesfro]

i don't know about "weirdest," but king kelly is among the funniest. rabbit maranville as well...

[hellborn]

Pete Browning has to be up there.
Who was the guy who took three called strikes after his manager told him to take a few pitches once in a while, then came back to the dugout and said he could have parked any one of those pitches if he had felt like it, so don't tell him he can't take a pitch?

[538280]

I wouldn't consider Anson, Cobb, or Belle to be weird. Weird is usually meant to mean funny and sometimes bad, but harmless. Anson, Cobb, and Belle were nasty. Waddell fits well under the weird category, as would others mentioned like Fidyrich, Maranville, Turk Wendell. Another one is Dizzy Dean.

If you want to talk about a weird career pattern, look at Roy Sievers. Ned Garvin was also weird, 57-97 career record with a 124 ERA+.

[Brian McKenna]

Waddell was mentally unstable - he just played in an era few were sensitive to it. Today, he may be considered weird but people would be more considerate and get him under a doctor's care instead of calling names and making jokes.

In all likelyhood Cobb was unstable as well.

[charlesblalack@yahoo.com]

Dick Allen

[digglahhh]

The Spaceman...

[Buzzaldrin]

Waddell was nuts, but Ossie Schreck (his roommate) was weird- if you have to insist on a clause in your contract banning your roommate from eating animal crackers in bed- not the crackers per se, but "just the ones with horns" as Schreck(engost) claimed he had a problem with- then you're as weird as your retarded superstar roommate.

[Bill Burgess]

Waddell - high-functioning autistic, undiagnosed
Cobb - emotionally unstable
Dean- smart self-marketing
Fidyrich - zany, wacky
Anson - hateful
Schreckenghost - enjoy having fun
Al Belle, Richie Allen - couldn't handle pressure
Rod Dibble, John Rocker - who knows, who cares?

[Barnstormer]

Wade Boggs, the hyper-superstitious self-described "sex addict", is a pretty strange guy.

[Brian McKenna]

Waddell - high-functioning autistic, undiagnosed
Cobb - emotionally unstable
Dean- smart self-marketing
Fidyrich - zany, wacky
Anson - hateful
Schreckenghost - enjoy having fun
Al Belle, Richie Allen - couldn't handle pressure
Rod Dibble, John Rocker - who knows, who cares?

Don't forget Alex Johnson and Jimmy Piersall

and the drug abusers Gooden, Stawberry, Howe, Blue, etc.

[Captain Cold Nose]

So racism/anti-social behavior and drug abuse are "weird"?

[T206King]

So racism/anti-social behavior and drug abuse are "weird"?


i didnt say anythign about drug use, but anti-social comments are funny in some aspects. if you say "******" or "coon" your in a law suit for years. back then they can do anything. there are alot more stories with anson its just that one was the shortest....

[Barnstormer]

i didnt say anythign about drug use, but anti-social comments are funny in some aspects. if you say "******" or "coon" your in a law suit for years. back then they can do anything. there are alot more stories with anson its just that one was the shortest....

You mean like when Cap said "Get that n***er off the field" and started 60 years of segregated baseball? Yeah, that was hilarious.

[theAmazingMet]

What no love for the "Mad Hungarian"?

[Sultan_1895-1948]

2- Ty Cobb- black man offered to shake his hand, he slapped him, then tried to stanggle his wife!! another time he ran into the stands and beat up a man with one arm(i beleive), he replies "i dont care if he has no arms"!! spiked men regularly and injurying most. but loved the game!!!


I may be wrong, but I think the exact quote was "I don't care if he got no legs!"

How bout Rickey. He's always been a character. He framed his first million dollar check on his wall. The problem was that it wasn't a copy, it was the actual check , lol.

[538280]

I may be wrong, but I think the exact quote was "I don't care if he got no legs!"

How bout Rickey. He's always been a character. He framed his first million dollar check on his wall. The problem was that it wasn't a copy, it was the actual check , lol.

LOL!

Rickey has always been one of my favorites......along with Reggie Jackson, Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson, and Jimmy Wynn.

[538280]

and the drug abusers Gooden, Stawberry, Howe, Blue, etc.

http://gxpmall.bizland.com/darryl_strawberry.jpg

[Iron Jaw]

Jim Bouton................

[Bluesteve32]

Bo Belinsky

Some of the others that were mentioned were on the Angels at one time or another:

Jimmy Piersall
Alex Johnson
Bill "Spaceman" Lee

Didn't Albert Belle kill a bird during warm up one time?

[Steve Jeltz]

Casey Stengel. He would lift his cap and birds would fly out. When Stengel heard the news during a rain delay that he was traded from the cellar dwelling Phillies to the Giants in 1920, he leapt off the trainers table, ran to the field and slid headfirst into every base.

Bluesteve, I think you are referring to Dave Winfield, not Belle, that killed a bird. It occured in 1983 between innings of a game in Toronto, when a Winfield toss struck a bird flying by. Winfield was actually charged by the police for killing the bird.

[oscargamblesfro]

bluesteve- bill lee actually never played for the angels, just the red sox and expos. he is from southern california though. a very funny and hip player, one of my favorites who you either love or hate... a generally good indicator on whether someone is conservative or liberal is how they feel about the spaceman.

funniest lee moment. i grew up in boston during the era of busing. for a really long time we had an obnoxious, boorish city councilman named albert " dapper" o'neil- kind of an archie bunker type but even cruder. lee was on the news or something and expressed that he was in favor of busing, and o'neil fired off a very angry letter to lee. lee wrote a letter back saying something to the effect of " dear councillor o'neill, someone has stolen your stationary and wrote an angry letter to me with over a dozen spelling mistakes!"

[Chisox]

Bluesteve, I think you are referring to Dave Winfield, not Belle, that killed a bird. It occured in 1983 between innings of a game in Toronto, when a Winfield toss struck a bird flying by. Winfield was actually charged by the police for killing the bird.

Shame, too. Sounds like one of those Bottomley "there was no malice in any of my throws, just good, clean, strikes."

[Bluesteve32]

Yeah I goofed about Bill Lee on the Angels.

I guess Albert Belle is more famous for another kind of bird during baseball games. The one fingered kind. :grouchy

[T206King]

Yeah I goofed about Bill Lee on the Angels.

I guess Albert Belle is more famous for another kind of bird during baseball games. The one fingered kind. :grouchy

yeah he had alot of anger, hit alot of hrs for the time he was there. the hole trying to run kids over with his truck because he of an egging i think is funny as hell....

[125osprey]

Didn't Bill Caudill once pitch an inning with half a beard? That's not entirely normal.

[Taco De Muerte]

Moises alou is a wierd guy. Dude pees on his hands.

[Myankee4life]

Posada also pees on his hands.....Yogi was a playful kind of weird.

[Francoeurstein]

Pascual Perez, ace for the braves 2 years. During his windup he slapped his glove and screamed real loudly now is that wierd or not? And Otis Nixon ( he was just really ugly ).

[Sultan_1895-1948]

And Otis Nixon ( he was just really ugly ).

Willie McGee says hi :waving

[RedSoxVT92]

"The Bird" was a pretty weird guy. I believe while doing his strange stuff he jumped up and fell on his arm which predominalty ended his career.

[GaryL]

Don't forget Jay Johnstone.

I love Jimmy Piersall's quote about his roommate Jay Johnstone: "Don't blame me for Johnstone, he was crazy before I met him!"

[futurehalloffamer]

How in the heck can we ignore Steve Carlton in this thread? :crazy

[rsuriyop]

Interesting that no one has yet mentioned Manny Ramirez in this thread. Or Hideo Nomo for his wind-up. Or Craig Counsell for his batting stance...

Heh, I suppose the list could go on and on.

[west coast orange and black]

ruben rivera's baserunning folly in 2003 got him booted off the giants.

[west coast orange and black]

sultan: Willie McGee says hi

but dino sure is a heckuva nice guy. the best.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

sultan: Willie McGee says hi

but dino sure is a heckuva nice guy. the best.

I don't get it. Who was "dino" and was he uglier than Willie Mac?:noidea

[west coast orange and black]

dino is mcgee's nickname.
he got it from his mom as a kid 'cause of his long neck. (think "the flintstones")

lots of people still call him that.
next time you see him, yell out "dino!", and he'll spin around.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

John Rocker. (Cover your kids eyes and ears):eek: :eek: :eek:

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

Pascual Perez, ace for the braves 2 years. During his windup he slapped his glove and screamed real loudly now is that wierd or not?

Pascual Perez + Cocaine = The above mentioned. :waving

[west coast orange and black]

^^ yeah, that's weird, man. really weird.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

dino is mcgee's nickname.
he got it from his mom as a kid 'cause of his long neck. (think "the flintstones")

lots of people still call him that.
next time you see him, yell out "dino!", and he'll spin around.

Gotcha. Never knew his nickname was dino. He did kinda have a long neck huh. I remember he always had that cringing look like he just smelled something bad. Pretty weird lookin' dude. Definately a starter on a team of "all uglies."

[west coast orange and black]

not the most handsome man, no. but he'd give ya the shirt off his back without being asked.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

not the most handsome man, no. but he'd give ya the shirt off his back without being asked.

He always seemed like a real humble, down to earth guy.

[west coast orange and black]

he used his first big paycheck to buy a new house for his mom.
he took care of lots of the dudes from the old neighborhood.
he continues to contribute to east bay area children's charities.

[Bluesteve32]

What no love for the "Mad Hungarian"?

Was goning to mention heim, but I saw your post. ;)

[Eastvanmungo]

Joaquin Andujar had some pretty good quotes and also once (after being pulled from a game) took a shower in his uniform.

There's a story I heard about Dick Radatz being hired to throw baseballs at some guy's ass.

Bugs Raymond might have been weird or maybe he was just an alcoholic... or maybe both.

Rip Sewell should get some weird points for inventing the Eephus (blooper) pitch.

[Calif_Eagle]

Joe Charboneau, 1980 Rookie of The Year, with the Tribe. Had fights in railroad boxcars for money against migrant workers. opened beer bottles with his eye sockets. performed surgery on himself with needle and thread. Dyed his hair some outre color like purple or blue one season, endearing himself to manager Dave Garcia. Lived in the clubhouse one season on the "AAA" IL Charleston W. Va. Charlies. And Joe was only in the show for a short time because of back trouble that went either undiagnosed or was just flat out mistreated. Had he had a career the length of Cap Anson's, who knows what levels of weirdness he may have attained?? lol

[wamby]

Waddell was mentally unstable - he just played in an era few were sensitive to it. Today, he may be considered weird but people would be more considerate and get him under a doctor's care instead of calling names and making jokes.

In all likelyhood Cobb was unstable as well.

I don't know if fans would be considerate about Waddell today. I can picture him pitching at Fenway or Yankee Stadium and some classy fans at those places chanting 're-tard, re-tard, re-tard'.

I don't believe that Cobb was unstable at all. I think he was a man of his times and similar to a lot of white men from the deep south of that era.

[wamby]

Casey Stengel. He would lift his cap and birds would fly out. When Stengel heard the news during a rain delay that he was traded from the cellar dwelling Phillies to the Giants in 1920, he leapt off the trainers table, ran to the field and slid headfirst into every base.

Bluesteve, I think you are referring to Dave Winfield, not Belle, that killed a bird. It occured in 1983 between innings of a game in Toronto, when a Winfield toss struck a bird flying by. Winfield was actually charged by the police for killing the bird.

Around 1990, Belle threw a ball at an obnoxious fan in the left field stands at Cleveland Stadium. The fan was appently making fun of Belle's drinking problem (Belle had recently gone through rehab. This as the period when he changed his name from Joey to Albert.) I believe that he did hit the fan. I was at the game and couldn't tell what Belle was doing and I didn't find out about it until I was driving home.

[Brownie31]

Around 1990, Belle threw a ball at an obnoxious fan in the left field stands at Cleveland Stadium. The fan was appently making fun of Belle's drinking problem (Belle had recently gone through rehab. This as the period when he changed his name from Joey to Albert.) I believe that he did hit the fan. I was at the game and couldn't tell what Belle was doing and I didn't find out about it until I was driving home.

wamby: Was Belle the one who spit on an umpire and made a nasty crack about the ump's son who had leukemia? Brownie31

[wamby]

wamby: Was Belle the one who spit on an umpire and made a nasty crack about the ump's son who had leukemia? Brownie31

That was Roberto Alomar in 1996. He was suspended for it, and his suspension carried over to the 1997 season. That said, he was allowed to play in the 1996 post-season.

Belle had an incident where he shouted profanities at Hannah Storme during the 1995 World Series. She wanted him to move so that she could interview someone and he apparently told her to f--k herself. The way the National broacasters were talking about the Indians and their opponents in that post-season, Belle may have had a point.

[Brownie31]

That was Roberto Alomar in 1996. He was suspended for it, and his suspension carried over to the 1997 season. That said, he was allowed to play in the 1996 post-season.

Belle had an incident where he shouted profanities at Hannah Storme during the 1995 World Series. She wanted him to move so that she could interview someone and he apparently told her to f--k herself. The way the National broacasters were talking about the Indians and their opponents in that post-season, Belle may have had a point.

wamby: Thanks for clearing that up. Brownie31

[RuthMayBond]

Joe Charboneau, 1980 Rookie of The Year, with the Tribe. Lived in the clubhouse one season on the "AAA" IL Charleston W. Va. Charlies.My family went on vacation to Charleston in 1981. We were just going to catch a game and didn't find out until we got to Charleston that Joe had been sent down. He came over, signed for everyone

[EdTarbusz]

2- Ty Cobb- black man offered to shake his hand, he slapped him, then tried to stanggle his wife!! another time he ran into the stands and beat up a man with one arm(i beleive), he replies "i dont care if he has no arms"!! spiked men regularly and injurying most. but loved the game!!!

!

My feeling is that many white men from Georgia in Cobb's time would have had a bad reaction to a black person trying to touch them, especially if it was a stranger.

The man who Cobb went after in the stands had no hands. The man, Claude Leukker, alledgely called Cobb a 'half-******'.

[OleMissCub]

2- Ty Cobb- black man offered to shake his hand, he slapped him, then tried to stanggle his wife!!

That's not weird. That's just a racist with an unbelievable temper.



another time he ran into the stands and beat up a man with one arm(i beleive), he replies "i dont care if he has no arms"!!

Again, not weird. All of his teammates thought his actions were justified and went on strike when he was suspended for it. Under your definition I guess that would make his entire team weird.


spiked men regularly and injurying most.

Nearly all of those people that he spiked are on record as saying that they thought he played clean and that it was their fault if they got in his way. MANY of his contemporaries testify that they never saw him spike anyone on the basepath intentionally with any malice. However, the historical record shows that he DID spike a few intentionally during his 20+ years, but the fact that his contemporaries didn't seem to think his spikings were anything out of the ordinary rejects your assertion that he was "weird" because of that.


but loved the game!!!

Understatement of the century.

[OleMissCub]

My feeling is that many white men from Georgia in Cobb's time would have had a bad reaction to a black person trying to touch them, especially if it was a stranger.


Yes, but you have to clarify what "bad reaction" means. I'm not sure it's totally fair to blame it on a specific region either. I'd imagine a great many white men, regardless of region, wouldn't have appreciated being touched by a black man in 1908. It is my opinion that Cobb's absurd overreaction points much more toward his violent nature than his racist nature.

Instances like this where Cobb violently assaulted a black person are often pointed at as proof that Cobb was some sort of super giant racist, even more racist than most people of his time. I disagree with that notion. Cobb beat up a HELL of a lot more white people than he ever did black people. To be sure, it was definitely his racism that got him into those situations, but it wasn't some sort of uber-racism (for his time) that caused him to violently attack the black people, rather it was his uber-violent attitude that took his racism to the next level. I'm not sure if that makes any sense...I'll try and phrase it another way.

His racism was the cause of the initial confrontations in those instances, but his racism wasn't what caused him to take it to the next level and violently attack those unfortunates.

Tyrus definitely had some sort of chemical imbalance.

[EdTarbusz]

Tyrus definitely had some sort of chemical imbalance.

I don't think that I agree with that. Cobb came from the most viokent part of the country where violence against vlacks was especially common place. Parts of the deep south were in virtual anarchy after the civil war and Cobb must have grown up hearing stories about the violence in places like Louisiana and how was acceptable behavior. After reading more about him, I think he was high strung, especially after the circumstances of his early career, but I don't think he was unbalanced in any way.

[OleMissCub]

I don't think that I agree with that. Cobb came from the most viokent part of the country where violence against vlacks was especially common place. Parts of the deep south were in virtual anarchy after the civil war and Cobb must have grown up hearing stories about the violence in places like Louisiana and how was acceptable behavior. After reading more about him, I think he was high strung, especially after the circumstances of his early career, but I don't think he was unbalanced in any way.

Hey, I'm a child of the deep south too and got a Masters in American History (particularly Civil War) before I got my law degree. So I definitely know what you are talking about.

I'd be perfectly willing to believe that he wasn't unbalanced mentally. But it would also make sense to me if he were.

Tyrus' behavior was definitely a perfect storm of circumstances:

- He grew up in a time when Confederate Veterans were about the same age as Vietnam Veterans are today. Shelby Foote once said that what makes southerners so strange is that "they are the only Americans who have lost a war." That notion is still prevalent today, so it would have especially been prevalent in Cobb's time, when the vets of that war were just middle-aged. Ty's persecution complex comes from this.

- His unbelievable desire to win at all costs because of his desire to prove his father wrong and then later to honor his father's memory by being the best.

- His father's gruesome death at the hands of his mother screwed him up.

- The horrible hazing he received from McIntyre, Killian, etal, compounded his already unsteady persecution complex.

So, it is certainly plausible that he had no chemical imbalances and that his behavior was just a deadly combination of circumstances.

[Allie Fox]

Perhaps not the weirdest but definitely up there for me was John Pacella of the Mets, Yankees, Twins, Orioles and Tigers. I can remember watching a game he pitched circa 1980. His hat fell off after every pitch.

http://www.paulkatcher.com/images/pic_pacella.jpg