Drabowsky was well known as a prankster whose jokes involved, among other things, being rolled to first base in a wheelchair after claiming to be hit on the foot by a pitch while with the Cubs. (Teammate Dick Drott obtained the wheelchair and pushed Drabowsky to first—and was ejected from the game.) Frequently, he would make prank phone calls with the bullpen phones. While on the road at Anaheim Stadium in California, he once ordered a takeout meal from a Chinese restaurant—in Hong Kong. The year after he left Kansas City, when Baltimore was playing the Athletics on May 27, he called Kansas City's bullpen and, imitating former manager Alvin Dark's voice, ordered Lew Krausse Jr. to warm up, then sit down again. Not until the third call did someone recognize his voice. "You should've seen them scramble, trying to get Lew Krausse warmed up in a hurry," Drabowsky said. "It was really funny." Once, he inserted three goldfish into the other team's water cooler.