DWIPP: 7- Turk Wendell, 2001
Posted by Amanda Orr, Wed, March 25, 2009 10:00 AM | Comments: 19
DWIPP, Posts
7. Turk Wendell in 2001
Wendell was quite the character. He insisted that the umpire roll the ball to him, rather than throw it. If the ump were to throw, Wendell let the ball to go past him, or bounce off his chest. He waved to the centerfielder before he pitched and wouldn’t continue unless the centerfield waved back. When the catcher stood, Wendell crouched. He slammed the rosin bag on the mound between outs, and drew three crosses in the dirt before he pitched. He brushed his teeth between innings and occasionally threw his glove into the stands after leaving a game. Those are just a few of his many rituals.
His superstitions did not work during the 15.2 innings he pitched with the Phillies in 2001.
Acquired from the New York Mets in a trade, Wendell was 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA and 2.11 WHIP. Opponents batted .320 and slugged .569 against him. In 51.1 innings with the Mets in the first half of the season, Wendell had an acceptable 3.51 ERA.In 2002, Wendell was better for the Phillies posting a 3.38 ERA. In 2003, he signed with the Colorado Rockies and had a 7.02 ERA. He was released; it was the last year he pitched in the major leagues.
Posts: 0 David W
wow, turk wendell….he was actually solid when he was with us…(Mets) you forgot the shark teeth he used to wear around his neck….lolol…this guy was beyond nuts….but he was a cool dude.
Posted: 10:06 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
I remember that guy. He was one of the all time wierdest guys Ive ever seen in baseball. Total space cadet.
Posted: 10:09 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Justin
Still the curse of the #99 continues i remember he came out that first game in that number and he was god awful then he switched out to 13 because he’s a supersitious guy like Amanda said. But only 2 players have ever worn the #99 since Mitchie Poo and it hasn’t seemed to work for either Turk Wendell and So Taguchi aren’t likely to leave lasting impressions in Philly, at least not good ones.
Posted: 10:11 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
I wonder what that guys doing now. I actually wouldnt even mind if they signed him and brought him back for like one game just so i could see all those wierd routines again. That guy was classic.
Posted: 10:20 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Phan in TN
I’ll say this: He was entertaining.
Back in 2001, everyone came to the Vet and beat the Phils. There were so few Phillies fans in the stands, I could hear individuals arguing with each other and the Ump.
Only Friday night and Sunday games were almost packed. Of course, the Sunday fans were there for the give-aways. (bandwagoners)
Turk was the opposite of Jose Mesa in my hirsute and underappreciated opinion.
Posted: 10:23 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
Wouldnt it be funny if they sent him out there just one more time, and left him in. He might be able to get some guys on the nationals out. It would be even funnier if he came back, did all that ritual stuff, and then gave up like 7 runs to the nationals.
Posted: 10:42 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Georgie
Yoy have to wonder if those weird superstitions carry over into his everyday life. It would probably be tough being married to the guy, who knows what would go on there!
Posted: 10:49 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Chuck P
There’s a name I would like to forget… what a nut case.
Posted: 11:07 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Jim
PHAN IN TN- not sure which 2001 phillies team your talking about.
the one i remember went 47-34 at home and was in first place for most of the season. they also sold nearly 2 million tickets which was the most since 1994 and 1993
Posted: 11:13 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Phan in TN
@Jim, I only had partial season tickets and sat in section 525, so I must have missed when we won.
I remember teams like the Cardinals etc coming in and sweeping us. I was always watching people like McGuire and Sosa hit them out of the park…our park.
I won’t be distracted by facts or numbers
feh
Posted: 11:19 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Jason B.
I used to have a poster of Turk that had all of his quirks listed on it. That guy was a screwball. I remember hearing a story about Lieby kept standing and turk kept squating. This continued until the ump intervened. That is classic.
Posted: 11:27 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 TBT
The 2001 team won 86 games and finished 2 games behind the Marlins in the standing.
Posted: 11:31 AM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Meat Balls
Never heard of the dude, but he sounds like he is a riot! I guess it makes the game just that much more entertaining. Reminds me of Mark Fidrych in the late 70′s. Now that guy was Whack!
Posted: 12:27 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Brett
If you search for him on youtube, there are a half a dozen clips of him advertising honey. It’s pretty funny if you’re bored.
Posted: 12:46 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 ryan
haha. i thorougly enjoyed reading that. i remembered him being a total nut, but that is just over the top
Posted: 01:32 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 matt
hey is that kenny powers?
Posted: 03:14 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Doug
TBT in 2001 they finished 2 games behind the Braves for first place.
Posted: 03:27 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 Joe O'Phillie
lol at the kenny powers reference
Posted: 03:42 PM on March 25, 2009
Posts: 0 the lopez!
turk wendell
the ocd kid
all those friggin rituals he had
entertaining though
Posted: 05:12 PM on March 25, 2009