Chalk it up to his playing in the National League or my not paying attention, but I hadn’t heard of – or, better yet, seen – Giants closer Brian Wilson until last night’s All-Star game. Between his supremely bushy beard, wild Ted Nugent eyes and tattooed limbs, there’s a lot to like. Joe Buck also promised he was an eccentric odd-ball, which is always nice. So I took it upon myself to learn more about this left-of-center closer. Here are my findings:

- He likes booty shorts. Here’s proof!

- He’s really, really good at baseball. Wilson’s a three-time All-Star (2008, 2010, 2011), saves champion (2010) and World Series Champ (2010). For his career he has 160 saves in 184 opportunities with a 3.18 ERA; he averaged 42 saves per-season between ’08-’10 and is on pace for 50-plus this year.

- He’s a kick-ass interview. Here’s just one choice snippet:

- He’s a whiz with the New York Times crossword puzzle, history, religion and trivia. Oh, he’s also a graphic designer.

- He may be a born again Christian, but he doesn’t let that define him. In fact, he’s not shy with the rage:

- He shreds the harmonica.

- In keeping with everything you just read, he has an entertaining Twitter account. Again, just a snippet:

In a sports world dominated by bland athlete-speak and even duller personalities, Wilson is an aberration. Not only is he an idiosyncratic treat, his persona seems utterly genuine; it’s not just a marketing ploy or weird-for-the-sake-of-weird. We salute you Giants closer Brian Wilson – possibly the second coolest dude to ever own that name.

Update (7/14/11): He keeps getting cooler, if that’s even possible.

- by Jay Boller

[Photo: Guardian UK]