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New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle returned to the team for the 2023 season after spending 2021 and 2022 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he is a unique personality, to say the least. Fellow relief pitcher Michael King recently revealed that Kahnle shaves his entire body when he allows a run.
“He's like, ‘It's a punishment. It's a punishment. You want to be hairy,” Michael King said, via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “I was like, ‘Okay… sounds good, dude.'”
Tommy Kahnle was with the Yankees from 2017 through the 2020 season. He needed Tommy John Surgery during the 2020 season, and signed a contract with the Dodgers ahead of the 2021 season, but did not pitch at all. He returned to the mound during the 2022 season, and signed back with the Yankees for 2023.
Kahnle brought a unique attitude and energy to the clubhouse, and with that comes some unorthodox practices, like King revealed above.
Luckily, Kahnle has not given up much this season. He has given up seven runs, six of them earned in 26 games for the Yankees so far this year, according to Fangraphs, so it seems that his punishment is working.
The Yankees have fallen to 4.5 games out of a playoff spot, and are trying to chase down the Toronto Blue Jays for a wild card spot. However, the bullpen has not been the problem. Scoring enough runs has been the problem. Kahnle's performance, along with the performance of others like King, Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta have kept the team afloat.
