Weirdest Athletes in Sports History

Michael Conroy / AP Photo
People are strange when you’re a stranger. Faces look ugly when you’re alone. But that’s what Jim Morrison said.
Us? We say these are some of the weirdest, craziest, most bizarre characters in the wacky world of pro sports. See just how weird.
30. Kevin Rhomberg

League: MLB
Career: 3 seasons (1982-84)
Teams: Cleveland Indians (1982-84)
Bottom Line: Kevin Rhomberg

Kevin Romberg is the best career .383 hitter that nobody heard of. Instead, the guy is known for one of the weirdest rituals in baseball history — he had to touch anyone (or any object held by said person) that touched him first. Ohhh-kaaay. If a perpetrator eluded him, he would send a letter that said, “This constitutes a touch.”
Fortunately, he retired after 41 games before things really got out of hand.
29. Hunter Pence

League: MLB
Career: 2007 (14 seasons)
Teams: Houston Astros (2007-11), Philadelphia Phillies (2011-12), San Francisco (2013-18, 2020), Texas Rangers (2019)
Bottom Line: Hunter Pence

There was a reason why Hunter Pence played baseball like a mad stork with his wings tied. He had a spinal disorder that limited flexibility.
Yet there’s no logical way to explain why so much else was strange about the guy, from his bugged-out eyes to goofy facial expressions to unorthodox on-deck ritual to unusual mode of transition to the home game — an electric scooter.