Might still have the record for strikeouts by a lefthander. . .married several women and loved to chase firebells. . .

This guy is like Bill Lee, if Bill Lee pitched liked Dizzy Dean (who also deserves a place in this listing.) Yeah, all of those nut-job things and the guy's one of the elite pitchers of all time. He deserves to top the list of great and looney characters.

In contrast to most of the names on this list, Waddell was indeed a big star, and a great left handed pitcher early in the 20th century. He struck out a lot of guys, was a big star on some great A's clubs, and made The Hall of Fame. However, Waddell was probably what you might call mentally impaired- he chased firetrucks, left the mound to join parades, wrestled aligators, played with toys, and LOTS of bizarre or childlike things like that. He was, many believe, either almost mentally retarded, mildly retarded, or possibly suffered from some kind of mental illness. He died at only 37 years old, he'd gone to the minors a few years before after a few pretty good years with the old St. Louis Browns. With that in mind, it's amazing that he was such a great pitcher. Easily one of the most fascinating if tragic figures in The Hall of Fame.