41 Touch Me, Touch Me: A Story of MLB Superstition

September 21, 1977

A Story of MLB Superstition

By: Jessica Scroppo Assistant Editor

College baseball is more than just a game; it can be a career. Getting to play in the Major Leagues is the goal for many amateur players. Then, if a player is lucky enough to get drafted, it’s a matter of how much playing time they’ll get.

Looking at the University of St. Francis (USF) and its NAIA ranking, Major League Baseball (MLB) may seem out of reach. However, according to www.baseballreferences.com, the University of St. Francis has had 23 baseball players drafted to the MLB since 1977. The first of these players drafted was Kevin Rhomberg.

Kevin Rhomberg was born in 1955 in Dubuque, Iowa. An athlete throughout high school, he continued to play baseball in college at Lewis University. Here, he was part of the NAIA World Series Championship team.

In 1976, he transferred to the University of St. Francis. According to a 2010 interview with www.sabr.org, Rhomberg stated, “Lewis threatened to cut some sports, and my coach, Gordie Gillespie, left for St. Francis. I learned 98 percent of what I know in baseball from him – a very giving man, a big influence on my life.”

Rhomberg played for only a year at USF before he was drafted to the Cleveland Indians in 1977. His career in professional baseball started playing in Minor League Baseball. In 1982, he made his first MLB debut for the Cleveland Indians and appeared for 16 games as a left fielder or pinch runner. He even came close to hitting .400 with a .383 career batting average (18 hits in 47 total at-bats).

His last MLB appearance would be just 2 years later in June of 1984. After going back and forth between leagues, he retired in 1985. If you could speak to Kevin Rhomberg, he may say that his time in the MLB was a result of luck or even superstition. Labeled as one of the most superstitious players in the MLB, he would feel the need to tap his bat or cleats four times in the dugout. When driving or walking he would avoid making any right turns- there are only left turns when rounding the bases.

Rhomberg, or “Touch Me, Touch Me” as he was nicknamed by then Cleveland Indian manager Mike Hargrove, would not allow anyone to touch him without touching them back. His teammates would tease him endlessly, tagging him and running or leaving for trips after poking him. To ease his superstition, Rhomberg would send a letter in the mail saying that receiving it would count as a touch back.

One story, according to www.theversed.com, consisted of Minor League player, Brook Jacoby, tagging Rhomberg with a baseball and throwing the ball out of a stadium. Rhomberg spent hours searching for the ball outside the fence, so he could “touch it back.”

University of St. Francis senior, Cosme Lozano, thinks, “Superstition in sports is not real until it is. Things like the Chicago Bears double doink and the Chicago Cubs 100-year curse seemed very real to fans.”

Although Kevin Rhomberg abandoned his superstitious ways after having children, his antics were a way for him to concentrate and have fun while playing in the MLB. One thing is for sure: it’s never that serious and even a small-town boy can make it to the MLB.

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