Many professional athletes have a pre-game ritual. Maybe they listen to the same song or execute the same warm-up routine or high-five the same teammate. Whatever works.
Twins pitcher Ryan O’Rourke vomits.
Yep, according to the Pioneer Press, O’Rourke has thrown up before almost every one of his 54 Major-League outings.
“I don’t do it in the public’s eye,” O’Rourke said Tuesday. “I go in the bathroom, or sometimes it’s just on the back of the mound. But, yeah, it happens.”
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As a starter in the minors, O’Rourke said it became a running gag for the grounds crew to wait at the trash can with a new bag “right before I went out there.”
“It just happens,” O’Rourke said. “I’m pretty pumped up out there. I think everything is culminating as I’m getting ready for my big moment, whether it’s energy or what. I like the competitive aspect. I think this is just a way for me to release a little bit of my nerves.”
O’Rourke defends this peculiar habit by pointing out that legendary NBA player Bill Russell also was prone to puking and still won 11 championships. Maybe that comparison makes O’Rourke’s barfing a little less embarrassing but definitely not much.
We should note that O’Rourke has some reason to be nervous when he takes the mound: He has a career 4.98 ERA and has walked 25 batters in 47 innings. Maybe if he pitches a little better his stomach will calm down.
