Yankees’ Tommy Kahnle has bizarre way of responding to bad outings
Aug 17, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle (48) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle is known for his sometimes emotional reactions to poor outings. It turns out the veteran reliever goes even further than anyone knew.
Kahnle’s teammates shared a story of how the reliever shaves all his body hair following poor outings. Yankees reliever Michael King first took notice of the habit after Kahnle had a bad outing when both were playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2018.
“So then the next day, I walk in, and — I said whole body. It’s like from waist up,” King told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “He is covered in shaving cream. Just shaved his whole body. I was like, ‘What?’
“He’s like, ‘It’s a punishment. It’s a punishment. You want to be hairy.’ I was like, ‘Okay… sounds good, dude.'”
Kahnle confirmed the habit, which he does whenever he allows a run, even if it is an inherited runner from a previous pitcher.
“We’ll just say entire body, not the legs,” Kahnle clarified.
Baseball fans already knew that Kahnle can get a bit wild and frustrated when he struggles. This takes things to a whole other level. Fortunately, with a 2.13 ERA this season, he has not had to perform his shaving ritual too frequently.
