Devin Williams is bringing some serious heat to the New York Yankees’ bullpen—and a couple of quirky superstitions that might just make his teammates hold their noses. The right-hander, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, spilled the beans on his pregame rituals in a recent interview on MLB’s official Instagram page, and let’s just say they’re raising eyebrows in the clubhouse. From a classic routine to a downright stinky habit, Williams is proving that baseball’s unwritten rules sometimes come with a whiff of weirdness.
Let’s start with the tame stuff. Williams is all about consistency when it comes to getting ready for a game. “I always put my left shoe on first, just specifically with the way I put my uniform on,” he said. “When I get out of the shower, I do it the same way every day.” That’s a pretty standard superstition for ballplayers—lots of guys have their go-to routines, whether it’s the order they put on their gear or the way they step onto the field. For Williams, it’s about keeping things steady, especially as he steps into his new role as the Yankees’ closer for 2025 after signing a one-year, $8.6 million deal to avoid arbitration.
But then there’s his second superstition, and this one’s a doozy. “The two sleeves that I wear, if I put up a zero, they don’t get washed,” Williams revealed. “If I give up runs, then they got to go into the wash.” Yeah, you read that right—if he tosses a scoreless outing, those sleeves stay unwashed, racking up the stink with every zero he puts on the board. Back in 2022, Williams went on a tear with 30 consecutive scoreless appearances, which means those sleeves were… well, let’s just say they were a little ripe by the end. “In 2021, I think I had like 28 or 29 innings in a row, so they were a little stinky by the end of that,” he admitted with a laugh. Good luck to his Yankees teammates if he strings together another streak like that in the Bronx—they might need to invest in some nose plugs for the dugout.
Williams’ quirks come with the territory of a guy who’s been lights-out on the mound. The Yankees traded for him to bolster their bullpen, sending prospect Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee in a deal that’s got some fans grumbling—posts on X show plenty of frustration, with comments like “Devin Williams sucks” and gripes about losing Durbin. But Williams has the pedigree to quiet the doubters. He’s one of baseball’s top closers, with a filthy changeup that’s made him a nightmare for hitters. Looking ahead, the Yanks might need to shell out big to keep him long-term—projections from The Athletic’s Tim Britton peg a potential extension at five years, $80 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid closers in the game.
For now, Williams is focused on locking down the ninth inning in pinstripes, and if his superstitions help him keep racking up zeros, Yankees fans might just learn to live with the locker room aroma. After all, a few unwashed sleeves are a small price to pay for a lights-out closer who can help get this team back to the World Series. Let’s hope his new teammates are ready for the ride—stench and all.
