Yankees’ Devin Williams reveals weird, ‘stinky’ pre-game ritual for success

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Baseball has always been a sport steeped in rituals and superstitions, from players refusing to step on baseline chalk to pitchers jumping over foul lines. Now, Yankees reliever Devin Williams has added his name to the sport’s long list of superstitious players with a particularly pungent pre-game routine that might make his teammates want to keep their distance.

Devin Williams surprises fans with superstitions

In a candid conversation with MLB’s official Instagram page, Williams acknowledged being “very” superstitious, adhering to specific patterns before taking the mound for each appearance.

“It’s like little things, you know,” he explained. “I always put my left shoe on first, just specifically with the way I put my uniform on. Like, when I get out of the shower, I do it the same way every day.”

While his dressing routine might seem relatively normal by baseball standards, Williams’ approach to his pitching sleeves ventures into decidedly more unusual territory.

“The two sleeves that I wear… if I put up a zero, they don’t get washed. If I gave up runs, then they got to go in the wash,” Williams revealed. “In ’21, I think I had like 28 or 29 innings in a row, so they were a little stinky by the end of that. But it worked, you know? You got to do what you got to do.”

A record-setting streak fueled by superstition

The impressive scoreless streak Williams referenced actually occurred in 2022 during his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers. Between May 13 and July 30, the ace closer assembled an extraordinary run of 30 consecutive scoreless appearances, covering 28.2 innings of work. This performance established a franchise record for the longest single-season scoreless stretch in Brewers history.

Throughout this remarkable period, his commitment to his superstition meant his pitching sleeves remained untouched by laundry detergent. By the conclusion of this historic streak, one can only imagine the olfactory experience those sleeves provided in the clubhouse environment.

Williams’ move to the Yankees

After dedicating his first six seasons to the Brewers organization, Williams joined the Yankees via a significant offseason trade. The transaction sent left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortés, infielder Caleb Durbin, and cash considerations to Milwaukee, bringing Williams to New York to solidify the back end of the Yankees’ relief corps.

Williams has cemented his reputation as one of baseball’s elite relievers. Over the previous three campaigns, he has maintained a stellar 1.66 ERA, demonstrating exceptional reliability in pressure situations. Despite being sidelined for much of the 2024 season with a back injury, he still managed to appear in 22 games, converting 14 save opportunities while posting a microscopic 1.25 ERA (allowing just three earned runs across 21.2 innings).

The 2023 season arguably represented Williams at his finest, as he concluded the year with a 1.95 ERA over 61 appearances while accumulating 35 saves. He stood as the only closer in Major League Baseball that season to record at least 35 saves while maintaining an ERA below 2.00.

What Williams means for the Yankees in 2025

The Yankees acquired Williams with a singular objective—to anchor their bullpen. Following Clay Holmes’ departure via free agency, Williams will assume the closer role, providing the Yankees with an elite ninth-inning option.

His signature changeup, commonly known as “The Airbender,” is widely regarded as one of the most devastating pitches in today’s game. If his previous success serves as any indication, the Yankees may have secured the final component needed for a championship-caliber relief unit.

While Williams’ superstition might appear strange, Yankees fans and teammates will likely embrace the “unwashed sleeves” tradition if it contributes to accumulating victories in the Bronx.

One certainty remains—if Williams’ pitching sleeves remain unwashed for extended periods during the 2025 campaign, it will signal excellent news for Yankees supporters everywhere.

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