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       Major League Baseball players spend 7 to 8 months a year traveling from city to city playing America’s favorite past time. There are beautiful ballparks located is many of the most prominent cities throughout the United States and Canada. And when professional baseball players travel to these cities they usually get to stay in some of the nicest hotels available. When playing in Milwaukee most teams book rooms for their players at the famous Pfister Hotel. But most players find these accommodations to be a little unnerving.

       For many years now professional baseball players staying at the Pfister Hotel have reported paranormal activity like creepy noises, strange sounds, and other phenomena. It has led to some players being too afraid to sleep in their rooms alone. Others have resorted to packing things like a bible and crucifix in their luggage. And some just simply refuse to stay there and usually end up sleeping at a nearby motel. Most players are too embarrassed to speak publicly about what they’ve witnessed but a few have come forward.

       St. Louis Cardinal’s shortstop Brendan Ryan has reported seeing strange orbs of light moving through his room.

       Pitcher Trevor Hoffman, who now plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, claims that in past years while staying at the hotel he and other teammates would hear what sounded like chains rattling in their rooms.

       Two unnamed Florida Marlins players have been frightened so many times that they always make it a point to share a room now.

       Infielder Adrian Beltre, while playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was so frightened by the sounds he was hearing in his room that he ended up sleeping with his baseball bat for protection.

       San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval claims to have heard and seen strange things in the hotel and never looks forward to staying there.

       Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Mike Cameron stayed at the hotel with his family one night during the off-season. So many creepy things happened that night that he moved his family to a different hotel the next day.

       Minnesota Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez has often heard strange voices in his room while staying at the hotel. One evening, after getting out of the shower, he noticed his I-Pod going haywire making strange static sounds. When he picked it up it rapidly began cycling through all of his songs. It scared him so much that he ran out of his room and into the lobby wearing only his towel. Today he only stays at the hotel if someone shares a room with him. He also keeps a bible next to his bedside.
 

       While it’s no secret that baseball players like playing practical jokes on each other, the stories that are told about the Pfister Hotel are hardly pranks. Milwaukee Brewers visiting clubhouse manager, Phil Rozewicz, says he’s been hearing the stories from baseball players for years now. He claims many of them are so afraid to go back to the hotel after the game that they make excuses to hang around the ball park. One story he remembers happened to a rookie he wouldn’t name. While staying at the hotel the unnamed player woke in the middle of the night to find the blinds and window to his room wide open. He was shocked because he knew he they were both closed when he went to sleep. He got out of bed and closed them and went back to sleep. In the morning he awoke to find them both open again. The next night when it happened again he left his room and end up sleeping on a couch in the lobby. After that he spent the remainder of the home stand staying at a motel down the road.

       The Pfister Hotel seems to bring out the worst in many ball players too. In 1998 two Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitchers, Marc Williams and Jeff Tabaka got into a fist fight in the lobby which led to Tabaka having a fractured jaw and a few weeks on the disabled list. In 1974, New York Yankee great Bobby Murcer broke his hand while trying to break up a fight in the hotel between two other teammates, infielder Bill Sudakis and catcher Rick Dempsey. The next day the Yankees lost an important game to the Brewers with their best hitter, Murcer, too injured to play. The loss was a pivotal point of their season and eventually led to the Yankees not making the playoffs.

      Williams                            Tabaka                       Murcer                        Sudakis                          Dempsey

      The Pfister Hotel is 116 years old and has had many famous guests from presidents and world leaders to famous actors, musicians, and athletes. Other guests and employees have also reported seeing and hearing many strange happenings in the hotel. However most claim the ghost, believed by some to be the original owner Guido Pfister, is harmless and usually doesn’t bother anyone. It seems he only likes to torment the visiting baseball players when they stay in his hotel. Apparently he’s a Brewers fan giving the local team quite a home advantage.