Favorite Athlete: Tim Raines

Of all the kooky traditions the perpetually weird Montreal Expos had, none topped the scoreboard chickens. Every time a pitcher threw over to first, a supremely low-tech image of a chicken -- possibly an actual cardboard cutout -- would flash on the screen, "Bawk-Bawk-BAWWWWWK" echoing through the stadium. We lost our minds the day Tim Raines goaded an opposing pitcher into 13 chickens during one turn on first. Decades later, I finally got to interview Rock. "Did you ever notice the scoreboard chickens?" I asked. "Sure! We'd all compete to see who could get the most. I always won."

-- Jonah Keri is staff writer for Grantland, the author of the marvelous “The Extra 2%” about the rise of the Tampa Bay Rays and he is currently working on a 2014 must read -- a history of his beloved Montreal Expos.