So, I was digging through some old boxes the other day, you know, the kind that have been sitting in the garage for ages. Found a pile of old sports magazines from way back. Flipping through them, mostly just glancing at old scores and faded pictures, when this one name jumped out at me from a small column: Kevin Rhomberg. The name tickled something in my brain, but I couldn’t quite place it. So, down the rabbit hole I went.
I fired up my old computer, started typing his name in, just to see what the fuss was about, or if there even was a fuss. And boy, oh boy, did I find something. It wasn’t about him hitting a million home runs or anything like that. It was something else entirely, something you just don’t see much of these days.
That Quirky Habit
Turns out, this Kevin Rhomberg guy had this thing… if you touched him, he absolutely HAD to touch you back. Like, it was a compulsion. Can you imagine that in today’s game? Players bumping into each other all the time. Teammates patting each other on the back. He must have been a busy guy, not just playing ball, but keeping his touch-ledger balanced!
I spent a good hour just reading anecdotes about this. Umpires, opponents, even his own teammates. It made me laugh, honestly. It’s just so… human. Not manufactured, not for show. Just a genuine quirk. It got me thinking about all the little superstitions and routines players have, but this one was on another level. It wasn’t just about him; it involved everyone he came into contact with.
Beyond the Touching Thing
So, once I got past the whole “gotta touch you back” saga, I thought, okay, what about the baseball part? Did he actually play? Or was he just famous for this one thing? So I started looking up his actual career. My process was simple: find his teams, find his years, look at some basic numbers. Nothing too fancy.
And yeah, he played in the majors. Wasn’t a Hall of Famer, not by a long shot. Played for a few seasons in the 80s. But he was there, you know? He made it. And I bet that made for some interesting times in the clubhouse and on the field. I tried to picture it:
- Managers trying to strategize around his need to touch someone back after a tag.
- Base runners maybe trying to mess with him, or maybe just being completely baffled.
- The sheer mental energy it must have taken him, on top of playing professional baseball.
It’s funny, the guys who stick in your memory sometimes aren’t the biggest stars. They’re the characters. The ones with a story that’s a bit different. And Rhomberg, well, he definitely had that.
What I Reckon Now
After going down this little Kevin Rhomberg exploration, I kind of felt a bit nostalgic, I guess. Not just for old baseball, but for that kind of individuality. Nowadays, everything feels so coached, so PR-managed. Everyone’s trying to be perfect, say the right things, fit the mold.
And here’s this fella from the 80s who just had to touch you back. No apologies, just how he was wired. It’s a small thing, a funny thing, but it says a lot. Maybe it says that the game had a bit more room for unique personalities back then. Or maybe I’m just getting old and romanticizing the past.
But honestly, I’ll take a guy like Rhomberg, quirks and all, over a perfectly polished but ultimately boring player any day of the week. That’s just how I see it after my little trip down memory lane.