My Favorite Baseball Nicknames
In no particular order…
Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose – Dude worked HARD while he played. Apparently Whitey Ford named him when he sprinted to first after drawing a walk.
Babe “The Sultan of Swat” Ruth – Hit 60 home runs in 1927, placing him as a legend with mythic status.
Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval – Named because he is super fat and short. Barry Zito apparently named him after plays like this.
Jacoby “Tacoby Bellsbury” Ellsbury – During the 2007 World Series, Taco Bell had a promotion that for the first steal of the WS, they would give away a free taco to everyone in America. In perfect baseball fashion, Jacoby Ellsbury was the man to get that steal.
David “Cookie Monster” Ortiz – This is what David Ortiz’s daughter calls him. I bet he pounds cookies.
Carleton “Pudge” Fisk – Also the nickname for Ivan Rodriguez and William Heffelfinger (WOW what a name). Nickname for a dude that is just thick. Also, seems to be a good name for catchers. Pudges can’t be pushed over.
Rich “El Guapo” Garces – “The Beautiful One” was (also) really super fat.
Nomar Garciapopup – Nomar had a penchant for popping the ball up in super important at bats. Not a coincidence that the Sox won a WS in the season they traded him. Long live Orlando Cabrera!!!
“Orson” David Wells – Named because he is super fat. Man, there seem to be a lot of fat dudes in baseball. I will never understand how he pitched a perfect game.
Kevin “Sultan of Sweat” Youkilis – Because he sweats buckets ALL THE TIME.
Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra - Yogi got his "nickname" from Bobby Hofman, a childhood friend. While watching a movie about an Indian snake charmer, Bobby noted that Yogi had a striking resemblance to the Hindu man, saying "That yogi walks like Lawdie ( Larry) Berra," and the name stuck.
Burleigh Arland “Old Stubblebeard” Grimes – This is a great nickname. Burleigh Grimes never shaved on days he pitched, because the slippery elm he chewed to increase saliva irritated his skin, so he always had stubble on his face when he took the mound.
James “Cool Papa” Bell – Not sure where the name comes from, but many claim he was the fastest baseball player ever. Apparently he once scored from second on a sac fly. Satchel Paige (probably my favorite) once said: "If Cool Papa had known about colleges or if colleges had known about Cool Papa, Jesse Owens would have looked like he was walking."
“Joltin’” Joe diMaggio
Connie “The Tall Tactician” Mack - He was widely praised in the newspapers for his intelligent and innovative managing, and he was tall.
Brooks “The Human Vacuum Cleaner” Robinson – Generally considered the best defensive 3rd baseman of all time. He won 16 straight Gold Gloves.
Ted “Teddy Ballgame” or “The Splendid Splinter” Williams - Tall and thin like a splinter and with a glorious swing, Ted Williams was obsessed with baseball and played 22 seasons.
Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd –where he’s from in Mississippi, they call beer “oil.” Apparently he could throw ‘em back in his prime. I’d love to see him have a drink off with Wade Boggs.
Bill “Space Man” Lee – He frequently said some outlandish stuff. He once threatened to bite an umpire’s ear off and claimed that he was impervious to bus fumes because of all the pot he smoked.
“Gentile” James Francis Galvin – This dude had some sweet nicknames; “Pud” (because he made batters look like pudding); “The Little Steam Engine” (because he was super durable).
Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas – Huge dude who hit a ton of home runs. He apparently used to swing rebar in the on deck circle.
Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown – Lost parts of 2 fingers on his right hand. Was still super dominant.
Mike “Human Rain Delay” Hargrove – He took forever before he stepped into the box. He was the precursor to Nomar’s tics.
Dustin “Laser Show” Pedroia – “A couple of years ago of years ago, I had 60 at-bats and was hitting .170 and everyone was ready to kill me. What happened?? Laser show. Relax.” (He won the MVP in that season.)
Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff – Named after McGruff the crime dog, who told kids to live within the law.
Ed “Wild Elk of the Wasatch” Heuser – No info on this one, but it is awesome.
Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson – Comes from his prowess as a defensive player.
Henry "Big Bank Hank," "Hank," "H," "HP," "nufan54" Powell appreciates snow on the Sea Dog's field in March.