Great Baseball Nicknames

jon abbey

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I just read that Washington fans are calling Juan Soto "Childish Bambino", which I like so much that I thought I'd start a thread to see what other great nicknames there have been.

 

joe dokes

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Before my time, but I always liked Sal "The Barber" Maglie.

And, of course, Dick Stuart -- Dr. Strangeglove.
 

E5 Yaz

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John "clams" Castino is still my favorite.
There's a difference between nicknames that were actually used, and those from the Chris Berman Hall of Schlock.

I always thought "The Stick" was a great nickname. You can imagine someone just looking at Gene Michael and saying "He looks like a stick."
 

terrynever

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Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones, Phillies third baseman in the 1950s. South Carolina native. I have no clue.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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There's a difference between nicknames that were actually used, and those from the Chris Berman Hall of Schlock.

I always thought "The Stick" was a great nickname. You can imagine someone just looking at Gene Michael and saying "He looks like a stick."
Wait, so the didn't really call him Bert "I'll Be Home" Blyleven?
 

Sad Sam Jones

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From the 1920s:
"The Rabbi of Swat" Mose Solomon

From the 1800s:
"The Freshest Man on Earth" Arlie Latham
"Apollo of the Box" Tony Mullane... back when pitchers pitched from a "box", Mullane was possibly the first guy known for having the modern sports star persona. In other words, he was kind of an ass.
Phenomenal (John) Smith
Hugh "One Arm" Daily

*
 

Kliq

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I always liked "The Human Rain Delay" for Mike Hargrove.

There are a million from the old days, both in MLB and the Negro Leagues.

Bob "Suitcase" Seeds got his nickname because of how frequently he moved from team to team.

Charlie "Piano Legs" Hickman was named for his thick frame; but he was quite fast, amassing 91 career triples.

Frank "Creepy" Crespi was once described by a St. Louis sportswriter as running so low to the ground he "kind of creeps up on the first basebman."

Arthur "Rats" Henderson got his nickname when he was a teenager co-workers at a factory played a joke on him by putting a live rat in his lunchbox. When he opened the box the rat jumped out and gave Henderson such a reaction that from that day forward, he was simply known as Rats.

There is a Negro Leauge player whose name I cannot recall; his name was like Hi-Ya Thompson or something like that, because as he rounded the bases he would shot "Hi-Ya" over and over again. Does that ring a bell to anyone?
 

charlieoscar

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Sep 28, 2014
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Or you could go the other way...Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish, known as Cal but also nicknamed Bus/Buster.

But back to "normal" nicknames: Doug "Eyechart" Gwosdz.
 

charlieoscar

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Death to Flying Things
When the Everett Mariners switched to the Everett Aqua Sox back in the mid-90s they posted a notice on SABR-L saying they were looking for a name for their mascot. When I saw their logo, Bob 'Death to Flying Things" Ferguson came immediately to mind, so I suggested Ferguson. They called it Webbly but not long after, I received a package from the club with their home cap.
https://www.google.com/search?q=everett+aquasox+hat&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=WyZ6pEOTfhIdAM%3A%2Czu3PZKAiqQ4JpM%2C_&usg=__9vROEf2-s7aVuBPns9AHxFX-v-s=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSgafG8_nbAhWs6IMKHaIMAP0Q9QEIkAEwBA#imgrc=WyZ6pEOTfhIdAM:
 

Hank Scorpio

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No love for The Mookster?

I think these were exclusive to SOSH, but I’ve always enjoyed Fruitbat for Mariano Rivera and Sea Bass for Alex Gonzalez.

Which one was The Napkin? John Burkett or Mark Portugal? My memory has merged the two of them into one indistinguishable person.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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Some of the more unique negro league nicknames:

Cool Papa Bell
Jew Baby Bennette... maybe the most culturally insensitive, but not so unique since it was used for multiple players
Wooger Beverly
• Barney "Brinquitos" Brown (~Bouncy)
• Willard Brown... was Home Run Brown in the states, but "Esse Hombre" (~That Man) in Puerto Rico
Black Bottom Buford
• Bill "Dr. Jekyll" Cooper... who changed personalities when he stepped on the field as a college football star
• Alex "Murder Man" Crumbley
• Peanuts "Nyassas" Davis... I assume he was nicknamed for the lovebird, not coincidentally, he died young of a STD
• Trees "Tall Papa" Duncan... a 6'6" pitcher with two cool nicknames
• Bill "Gray Ghost" Evans
Cocaina Garcia... "his pitching was like giving the batters a dose of cocaine and putting them to sleep"
House Lady Harmon
• Chick "Popsicle" Harris, aka "Moochie"
• Byron "Jew Baby" Johnson
• Benny "Hoghead" Jones
• Cecil "Aspirin Tablet Man" Kaiser
• Rogelio "Ice Cream" Linares
"El Cucharo" John Henry Lloyd (~The Tablespoon) because of the way the infielder could dig grounders out of the dirt
Bang Long
• Cando "Police Car" Lopez... referred to his speed
One-wing Maddox... no information
"Dr. Cyclops" Max Manning,,, due to his thick glasses
• Terris McDuffie was "Terris the Terrible", but called "Elmer the Great" by newspaper writers after a 1933 baseball movie
• Clyde "The Dude" Parris
• Leonard "Fatty" Pigg... a 5'9", 230 lb. catcher
• Willie Powell had at least five documented nicknames, but my favorite was "Pigmeat"
• Donald "Andy Gump" Reeves was compared to the cartoon character with no chin
Skindown Robinson... no information
Kissing Bug Rose... no information
• Louis "Big Bertha" Santop... after the German's WWI long-range artillery piece
Chino Smith... you can guess what his eyes looked like
Darknight Smith
• Ed "Stainless" Steele
• George "Never" Sweatt
• Jelly "Satan" Taylor was said to play like the devil
• Walter "Banzai" Thomas
• Hank "Ametralladora" Thompson (~Machine Gun)
"The Catskill Wild Man" Edsall Walker
• Frank "The Weasel" Warfield... was unpopular, caustic, always carried a knife, and bit off part of Oliver Marcelle's nose
• Jimmy "Seabiscuit" Wilkes
• Jud "Boojum" Wilson... so called because of the sound his line drives made striking the outfield wall
"The Mysterious Shadow" Laymon Yokely... from a unique pitching windup, but was also known as "Corner Pocket"
 

Sox Puppet

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There is a Negro Leauge player whose name I cannot recall; his name was like Hi-Ya Thompson or something like that, because as he rounded the bases he would shot "Hi-Ya" over and over again. Does that ring a bell to anyone?
No, but it makes me think (sorry for the tangent) of the football player HaHa Clinton-Dix. I always assumed it had something to do with laughing a lot, but it turns out his actual name is Ha'Sean Treshon Clinton-Dix.