When baseball finally returns, the game will be exciting enough, though how fun would it be if there were a few characters like former New York Mets reliever Turk Wendell to add to the entertainment.
We have been without baseball, all sports for that matter, long enough that when the game does return it’ll be entertaining enough. How great would it be though if a couple of Turk Wendell-type players came out of the woodwork to add some entertainment value to the mix as well.
Seriously, how great was Turk Wendell? I’m not even talking about the eleven year career he amassed as a reliever in Major League Baseball. I’m talking about all the superstitious shenanigans he pulled on a nightly basis.
If you want to talk about his performance between the foul lines (of which he leapt over each time he crossed), we can. In the five years he was with the New York Mets he pitched to the record of 22-14 with a 3.34 earned run average. Wendell had a 3-1 record in the playoffs and pitched on the Mets team which lost in the World Series to the Yankees in 2000.
Yes, he deserves accolades for his pitching credentials, but he deserves downright applause for his comedic acumen.
Cut from a similar cloth as the Mad Hungarian, albeit less mad and more theatrics, Wendell was best known for jamming wads of black licorice into his mouth and brushing his teeth in between innings.
Whenever his catcher would leave his crouching position, Wendell would go into one on the mound, and he always began every inning with a friendly wave to his centerfielder.
When he struck out hitters he was fist pumping and yelling and his shark tooth necklace added an element of wonder on how crazy the guy actually was. Baseball crazy that is, with top notch superstitions.
If Major League Baseball goes along with the proposed opening up of games without fans in the seats, there are going to have to be some alternative entertainment options, a sideshow to the main attraction if you will. Television cameras need to be focused on something other than the game. With Fernando Rodney, and his Experience, still looking for a home, players are going to have to pick up the slack some in the hijinx department.
What better to lead this crusade than the exploits rendered by Turk Wendell?