For My Baseball Sibs

[la_samtyr]

This is for *you* -- you know who you are. ;)

http://news.aol.com/article/baseball-teams-fear-haunted-hotel/566324?icid=main|aim|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fbaseball-teams-fear-haunted-hotel%2F566324



'Haunted' Hotel Spooks Baseball Teams
By CHRIS JENKINS and COLIN FLY
AP
posted: 3 HOURS 52 MINUTES AGO
comments: 159
filed under: National News, Weird News

MILWAUKEE (July 11) -- First Carlos Gomez heard voices. Then he watched his iPod go haywire after he got out of the shower, sending him scrambling for the lobby without stopping to put on his pants and shoes.
After last year's experience, the Minnesota Twins outfielder didn't want to go back to Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel. But Gomez had to stay there when the Twins were in town to play the Brewers last month, so he brought some protection: teammate-turned-roommate Francisco Liriano and a Bible.

Does this look a ghostly hideout to you? Some guests -- including a few Major League baseball players -- say it's just that. Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel often hosts baseball teams when they're in town for games, and some players have reported having odd experiences that left them spooked.

"Everything's scary," Gomez said. "Everything in the hotel, the paintings and pictures, it's a lot of old, crazy stuff. No good, man. No good."

The Pfister is Milwaukee's most regal address, having hosted every U.S. president since William McKinley and scores of celebrities who can take a self-guided tour of the hotel's Victorian art collection. Today, it's the place to stay for upscale business travelers and out-of-town visitors, including many Major League Baseball teams. Commissioner Bud Selig, a Milwaukee native, is a frequent visitor.

But some players don't care for the 116-year-old hotel's posh accommodations and reputation for privacy. They swear it's haunted.

Gomez, San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval, St. Louis' Brendan Ryan and several Florida Marlins all say they've had odd experiences, though Ryan later said nothing really happened. Others aren't willing to talk publicly about what they've seen and heard.

Brewers visiting clubhouse manager Phil Rozewicz has heard it all from sleepy-eyed players who would rather hang out at Miller Park than spend one minute more than they have to at the Pfister.

"There was a rookie ball player and he was back in his room and he woke up in the middle of the night and his blinds were open, the window was opened and he was panicked," Rozewicz said. "So he went into the bathroom, splashed water on his face, came back out and went to bed. Shut the blinds, the window. Woke up in the morning. Same thing. Slept on the couch in the lobby the next night. Refused to go to his room. Finally, went to a Motel 6 or whatever up the street and just stayed there."

Of course, some of this could be mischievous teammates pulling pranks. But Pfister ghost stories go well beyond the ballpark.

Allison Jornlin, who leads haunted history tours for the folklore research organization Milwaukee Ghosts, said guests have reported seeing a "portly, smiling gentleman" roaming the halls, riding the elevator and even walking his dog. The apparition is said to resemble Charles Pfister, who founded the hotel with his father, Guido.

"His ghost is thought, usually, to behave very well," Jornlin said. "But MLB players seem to bring out his mischievous side."

Why's that?

"Obviously, he's a Brewers fan," Jornlin said.

But even some of the Brewers won't stay there in the offseason.

Comments

[deviant-dev.livejournal.com]

I LOVE YOU. Thank you for this. It covers two of my passions. Baseball boys & haunted places. My Mom is a Paranormal Investigator & we're also partial members to the GRF(Ghost Research Foundation) who have worked with the guys from TAPS(The Atlantic Paranormal Society)... YAY! Too bad we don;t yet travel out of state, because THAT would be awesome! haha

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, very cool! I love all of the paranormal shows (but more on that in a different post.) Too bad you haven't been able to travel yet -- maybe you could work in a baseball game as well; research for a book you plan to write, and all that? Just sayin'. :)