Baseball may not house many physical athletes, but Jon Rauch has changed the rules. For 11 years, Rauch was a right-handed reliever. At 6’11, this Louisville native was not to be messed with on the mound.
Rauch is not just tall, he is the tallest player to ever play in Major League Baseball, and that’s not even his greatest achievement – the man is an Olympic Medalist who won the gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. And don’t even ask about weight loss plans – he could eat you for breakfast and still want seconds.
Loek Van Mil – 7’1″
Currently, Dutchman Loek van Mil plays for Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League. The 34-year-old stands at 7’1 and is considered the tallest baseball player in the world.
Van Mil's long wingspan enables him to throw an impressive average speedball of 95 miles per hour (or 153 km/h), so he’s a force to be reckoned with!
Eddy Curry – 7’
With a height of 7 feet, Eddy Curry was practically born to be a basketball player, and it didn't take him long to start playing as a career. He joined the Chicago Bulls right as he graduated high school, and the road to becoming an NBA superstar was only natural to follow.
The last time he played an NBA game was for the Dallas Mavericks in 2012. After that, he got an offer he couldn't refuse from the Zhejiang Golden Bulls and started playing for them. He last played for the Zhuhai Wolf Warriors.
Troy Jackson – 6’10″
Athleticism must be running in the Jackson blood, as Troy Jackson is only one of the successful athletes his family produced. His brother Mark was an NBA player. The two must have made their parents very proud.
Jackson's latest documented weight was 375 lbs, which makes him big, to say the least. Surprisingly, however, he started his basketball career as a 500-pound beast. Sadly, Jackson passed away in 2011 at the age of 35 due to a heart condition.
Wladimir Klitschko – 6’6″ , 243 lbs
Sure, a basketball player of 6’6 isn’t tall, but when you’re in the boxing ring, it makes all the difference. Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko is a force to be reckoned with in the ring, and not many opponents can deny that. Luckily for Wladimir's brother, Vitali, their mother made them promise that no matter how much of a boxer one of them might be, they must never fight with each other.
And here’s a fun fact: Klitschko is almost a foot and a half taller than his ex-wife, actress Hayden Panettiere, which makes him look even taller.