Traveling for MLB teams is no big deal. These guys play 162 games a year; packing and unpacking is part of their everyday life. Players have routines, restaurants they frequent and old friends to catch up with. It's all part of the job.
It's a little different when playing the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin.
The itinerary omits The Pfister Hotel, where most visiting teams stay, is haunted. Say what you want about ghosts. Maybe you believe in them, maybe you don't. Enough players have come forward to prove something is up with the historic hotel in downtown Milwaukee.
Numerous MLB stars have been scared silly there, and even Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has recently opted for an AirBNB instead of taking his chances with the spirits while his team played the Brewers.
"You can tell me what happened after," he told the Orange County Register. "I just don't want to find out myself."
Let's hear what other MLB stars have experienced at the haunted hotel.
The Pfister Hotel: Baseball's Most Haunted Stay
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Located on Wisconsin Avenue, within walking distance from the Milwaukee Art Museum and Lake Michigan, the Pfister Hotel was opened in 1893 by Charles Pfister, the son of leather tycoon Guido Pfister. The younger Pfister completed his father's vision of building one of the finest hotels in the West. The luxury establishment is filled with gold leaf frames, a grand marble staircase and European decor.
Historic hotels of America have two paths as time goes on: get torn down or get haunted. The Pfister chose the latter. Guests have reported apparitions of Charles Pfister roaming the staircase, knocking, pounding, electronics turning off and on and objects moving. MLB players aren't immune to the hotel's spooky shenanigans.
In 2013, Stacey Pressman of ESPN The Magazine found several of the game's biggest stars had inexplicable experiences at the Pfister. It's enough to make the air on your arms stand up.
Bryce Harper: "It Really Creeped Me Out"
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
"One time last summer, before I went to sleep, I laid a pair of jeans and a shirt on that table at the foot of the bed, those things in hotels that you sit on to put on your shoes. I just laid 'em out, simple as that. When I woke up in the morning — I swear on everything — the clothes were on the floor and the table was on the opposite side of the room against the wall. I was so flustered. I honestly thought there might be someone in my room. I had no idea what the hell just happened, so I actually looked around, and then I checked to see if the door was still latched, and it was.
"I thought someone — maybe [Jayson] Werth — came into my room during the night and moved everything around, and I knew Tyler Moore and Lombo [Steve Lombardozzi] were both near me too, but they said that no one had done anything like that. Now, they could be lying to me. That's possible, and no one else seemed to have a weird experience, but it really creeped me out. I went downstairs and changed my room immediately. Different room, different floor. I said, 'I just need to get out of that room. I don't want to talk about it, I just need to get out.' So they moved me to a higher floor."
Giancarlo Stanton: "It Reminds Me of the Disneyland Haunted House"
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
"Man, I hate when we have four games there. Two, three, anything's better than four. It's freaky as s—-, with the head-shot paintings on the walls and the old curtains everywhere. It reminds me of the Disneyland Haunted House. The less time I'm there, the better."
Mike Cameron
"When somebody tells me when they wake up in the middle of the night out of the blue," Cameron told MLB.com, "and they feel like somebody's in the room with them and the door's wide open, that's enough to start making different plans."
Michael Young: "I Heard These Footsteps Inside My Room"
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
"Oh, f—- that place. Listen, I'm not someone who spreads ghost stories, so if I'm telling you this, it happened. A couple of years ago, I was lying in bed after a night game, and I was out. My room was locked, but I heard these footsteps inside my room, stomping around. I'd heard all these stories about this hotel, so I was wide awake at that point. And then I heard it again, these footsteps on the floor, so I yelled out, 'Hey! Make yourself at home. Hang out, have a seat, but do not wake me up, okay?' After that, I didn't hear a thing for the rest of the night. I just let him know he was welcome, that we could be pals, that he could marinate in there for as long as he needed to, just as long as he didn't wake me up."
Pablo Sandoval: "I Don't Like the Ghosts There"
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
"I don't like the ghosts there. In 2009 I went to take a shower, and I remember putting my iPod next to a speaker. When I came out, it was playing music, and I have no idea why. I left the hotel after that. I didn't want to stay there. In 2010 me and Edgar [Renteria] stayed down the street and paid for it on our own. Then last month, I decided to stay there again. I asked myself, 'Why do I have to be afraid?' The only thing I asked the ghosts was to let me sleep. And they did."
Carlos Martinez: "I Just Saw a Ghost"
The most recent reported incident came from St. Louis Cardinals players Carlos Martinez and Marcell Ozuna in 2018. Martinez posted an Instagram video talking about the experience.
"We are here in Milwaukee," Martínez said in Spanish in an Instagram video. "I just saw a ghost. In Ozuna's room, he saw another one."
"We are all here. We are all in Peñita's [Francisco Peña] room. We are all stuck here. We are going to sleep together...If the ghost shows again, we are all going to fight together."
The video has since been deleted.
So, you're probably wondering what a stay at the Pfister Hotel is like, right? Well, the good news is that, aside from the hauntings, the Pfister hotel offers scenic views of the city from their guest rooms as well as two on-site dining options, the Mason Street Grill and Blu, located off the lobby lounge and concierge desk after you check-in or when you're in the mood for brunch.
Outside of being haunted, the Pfister hotel has all the modern amenities: a fitness center, an indoor pool, room service, a business center, great views of downtown Milwaukee, Well Spa + Salon and more.
The Victorian Wisconsin Ave hotel is also pet friendly for those four-legged travelers looking to spend a night on the 23rd floor, as well as offering wifi/internet access and valet parking. As far as Milwaukee hotels go, especially the ones just north of the Third Ward and the ones close to the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the Pfister has an incredible art collection.
Seriously, if you're looking for a spooky stay in one of Milwaukee's best hotels, the Pfister hotel is ready to change your life...or your afterlife.
Plus, it's a short eight-minute drive to American Family Field. Some MLB players couldn't care less. The hauntings have gone far enough where some refuse to stay at the hotel. They're willing to spend their own money to avoid the voodoo.
My take? I think the ghosts are on the Brewers' payroll. They're playing chess before the first pitch is thrown.
