Add New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams to the list of players with a random baseball superstition. MLB’s official Instagram page recently posted an interview with Williams in which he revealed a couple of his superstitions, one of them pretty normal and the other one probably not the best for the locker room’s scent.
Devin Williams Surprises Fans With Superstitions
When asked if he was superstitious, Williams said: “Yeah. Very, actually. It’s like little things, you know, like, 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.”
He is not alone in this thought, as many players in the past have said that the way they put their uniforms on is a big part of their pregame routine. Where it gets a bit funky is when Williams elaborates on another superstition.
“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 confessed. “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.”
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In fact, the streak Williams was referring to happened in 2022 when he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Between May 13 and July 30, Williams recorded 30 consecutive scoreless appearances (28.2 innings), a franchise record for a single season.
After spending his first six seasons with Milwaukee, the Yankees acquired Williams this offseason to be their closer. The two-time All-Star and two-time NL Reliever of the Year Award winner was traded to New York in exchange for left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortés, infielder Caleb Durbin, and cash considerations.
Williams has posted a 1.66 ERA over the past three seasons. Despite missing most of the 2024 season due to a back injury, Williams still appeared in 22 games last season and posted 14 saves with a 1.25 ERA (three earned runs allowed in 21.2 innings).
This came on the heels of a stellar 2023 season in which he allowed just 10 earned runs in 61 appearances, tied for fifth in the majors, but was the only closer with at least 35 saves and an ERA under 2.00 (1.95).
The Yankees are counting on Williams to anchor the back of their bullpen this season, and they certainly hope his two sleeves don’t get washed at all in 2025.