As Opening Day weekend in Major League Baseball winds down, we have all had the chance to watch dozens of games, if you're as fanatical as me, that is.
While many of baseball's veterans are very much set in their ways as far as their normal daily routines are concerned, still many of them tinker with either their batting stances or their pitching motions over the offseason, trying to either figure out a mechanical issue or straighten out some sort of a hitch.
For hitters, for instance, some may try to adopt a more open batting stance, in order to get around on the inside fastball a little quicker. A pitcher may tinker with his windup, in order to get more drive from his legs or to use the windup to adjust his release point.
Whatever the case may be, many players in Major League history are very well known for their perceived strange batting stances or pitching motions, and no doubt that players will continue to come along who boast equally as strange stances or motions, or even some peculiar pre at-bat routine.
Mike Hargrove was known as the "human rain delay" for his routine of stepping out of the batters box after every pitch, rubbing dirt on his hands, rubbing the bat down, adjusting his crotch, his helmet and whatever else he could adjust before stepping back into the batters box again.
Anyone who remembers baseball history can recall the antics of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, known for his many quirky movements around the pitchers mound, patting the dirt down around the rubber and talking to the ball.
With that in mind, we give you a list of the 50 strangest batting stances and pitching motions ever seen in Major League Baseball. The list is purely subjective, and no doubt you will chime in on other strange stances and motions as well. As always, we invite your suggestions and input.
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