The Best Nicknames In The World of Baseball

[Dave Visbeck]

First let me say that the nickname his teammates used for him must of boosted his confidence immensely when he took the mound. In 1937, he led the NL in pitching appearances for Philadelphia with 56, of which 26 were starts... his name is Hugh Mulcahy.

I could see it now when one of his teammates would ask the manager "Who's going for us today?"

His nickname was "Losing Pitcher"

[Tommy John]

Originally posted by Dave Visbeck
First let me say that the nickname his teammates used for him must of boosted his confidence immensely when he took the mound. In 1937, he led the NL in pitching appearances for Philadelphia with 56, of which 26 were starts... his name is Hugh Mulcahy.

I could see it now when one of his teammates would ask the manager "Who's going for us today?"

His nickname was "Losing Pitcher"

He was the pitching coach for the White Sox in 1970. That year they
went 56-106. I guess that's what happens when you hire a pitching
coach with the nickname "Losing Pitcher."

[hellonewman]

19th century player Bob Ferguson was known as "Death to Flying Things" — my own personal favorite nickname.

[Babe Rules]

Originally posted by Dave Visbeck
First let me say that the nickname his teammates used for him must of boosted his confidence immensely when he took the mound. In 1937, he led the NL in pitching appearances for Philadelphia with 56, of which 26 were starts... his name is Hugh Mulcahy.

I could see it now when one of his teammates would ask the manager "Who's going for us today?"

His nickname was "Losing Pitcher"

Intersting things about him:

- He never had a season with more Ks than BBs (in a season he had an impressive 0.88 K/BBs)

- He never had a winning record. He was .500 twice: In 1936 (2 decisions) and in 1947 (0 decisions, does it count? )

Imagine a team with Mulcahy as the SP, Heredia the LOOGY and setup man with Chacon closing...

[hellonewman]

Originally posted by Babe Rules
Intersting things about him:

- He never had a season with more Ks than BBs (in a season he had an impressive 0.88 K/BBs)

- He never had a winning record. He was .500 twice: In 1936 (2 decisions) and in 1947 (0 decisions, does it count? )

Imagine a team with Mulcahy as the SP, Heredia the LOOGY and setup man with Chacon closing...

In fairness to old LP, those Phillies teams he pitched on were an absolute basket case, so he must have actually been one of their better pitchers to be used often enough to rack up all those losses. Also, it wasn't unusual in those days for pitchers to have more BBs than Ks — not that pitchers were wilder back then, but K rates were far lower than they are today.

I also believe Mulcahy was the first major league player to enlist in the armed forces after Pearl Harbor.

[#7forever]

Of course some guys nicknames we will never hear publicly. However I really like Dick Tidrow's nickname of "DIRT".

[expectTHEunexpected]

The Bird - forgot his name.. Tigers pitcher who always talked to himself and the ball

Fred "Bonehead" Merkle
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseb...erkle_Fred.stm

[hellonewman]

The Bird - forgot his name.. Tigers pitcher who always talked to himself and the ball

Mark Fidrych

[Casey37]

Of course some guys nicknames we will never hear publicly. However I really like Dick Tidrow's nickname of "DIRT".

Thanks for reminding me, I had completely forgotten about "Dirt".

[LDG]

I always wondered if Fred Stanley liked being called "The Chicken"...

[RIyankee]

Here one of my all-time faves...

Juan Marichal

a.k.a. "The Dominican Dandy"

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/maricju01.shtml

[1961]

Al Hrabosky had a very memorable nickname-
The Mad Hungarian

[Kiwiwriter]

I have a few favorites: "Peek-A-Boo" Veach is one. "The Squire of Kennett Square" Herb Pennock; "Naugatuck Nugget" Spec Shea; "Marvelous Marv" Throneberry. Also, Fred Merkle was a damn fine ballplayer. Aside from that rookie blunder in 1908, he was a solid, line-drive hitting first baseman and defensive standout for the New York Giants until 1916, playing in three World Series for them, and in 1916 for the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers. He finished up in 1925 as a backup first baseman for the Yankees. In that role, he replaced a young Lou Gehrig in the late innings.

[1961]

That whole Cards team (Gas House Gang) seemed to be full of colorful nicknames. Dizzy and Daffy always struck me as two of the best.

[Clete61]

He undoubtly hates it but I love the nickname John "way back" Wasdin. He signed a minor league deal with Texas for next year.

[Romeo the Yankee]

Don't know if this is a nickname but I love Bucky F.....n Dent just becasue of the meaning of the Home Run.

[Sixty one]

I know this may seem obvious, but is there any more famous nickname in all of sports than YOGI! I bet you could go almost anywhere in this country and perhaps throughout the world and say yogi and people would know that name and who it pertained to.

[1961]

I know this may seem obvious, but is there any more famous nickname in all of sports than YOGI! I bet you could go almost anywhere in this country and perhaps throughout the world and say yogi and people would know that name and who it pertained to.

Yogi Bear?

[stevethesoxfan]

Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown

"Oil Can" Boyd

Walt "No Neck" Williams

And this one isn't weird. Just a perfect testament to his abilities> Stan "The Man" Musial

[IntangiblesRule]

Rich "Goose" Gossage
Babe Ruth "The Sultan of Swat," "The Colossus of Clout," and "Bambino"
Whitey Ford "Chairman of the Board"
Walter "Big Train" Johnson
The Wizard of Oz -- Ozzie Smith

[penguin4]

Doug "Eyechart" Gwozdz
Ryne "The Peerless Wonder" Duren
"Marvelous Marv" Throneberry (who wasn't very marvelous at all and whose initials were MET)
Horace Guy "Dooley" Womack
Steve "Tennis Ball Head" Hovley

[Tommy John]

I am partial to Russ "The Mad Monk" Meyer, not to be confused with Russ
"King of the Nudies" Meyer.

I also like Arlie "The Freshest Thing On Earth" Latham.

[Dave Visbeck]

How about a Yankee player... Sammy Byrd. He was called "Babe Ruth's Legs"

[Sixty one]

How about Charlie "King Kong" Keller an outfielder with the Yanks in the 1940's?

[hellonewman]

Stubby Overmire
Shucks Pruett
Hank "Bow-Wow" Arft
"Bucketfoot Al" Simmons
Al "The Curveless Wonder" Orth
Jack "Crab" Warhop
Frankie "The Fordham Flash" Frisch
Ernie "Schnozz" Lombardi
Dick "Baldy" Rudolph
"Piano Legs" Hickman

[Dave Visbeck]

How about a Tigers pitcher... at least for most of his career, back in the 50's and early 60's. Frank Lary led the league with wins in 1956 - when he had 21. Also won 23 in 1961!

He was known as "The Yankee Killer"

[Casey37]

And here are a few more Yankee nicknames that haven’t been mentioned yet.

Allie Reynolds – The Big Chief, Superchief
Jack Chesbro – Happy Jack
Earle Combs – The Kentucky Colonel
Lefty Gomez – Goofy
Waite Hoyt – Schoolboy
Miller Huggins – The Mighty Mite
Johnny Mize – The Big Cat

And of course, my all-time favorite…
Casey Stengel - The Old Perfessor

[penguin4]

How about a Tigers pitcher... at least for most of his career, back in the 50's and early 60's. Frank Lary led the league with wins in 1956 - when he had 21. Also won 23 in 1961!

He was known as "The Yankee Killer"

They called A's slugger Geronimo Berroa the same thing in the mid-late '90s (though I'm not sure if it was official). He *was* a scary guy at the plate. What ever happened to him?

[longtimeyankeefan]

I find it amazing that no one has mentioned

The Commerce Comet

[ed]

Does Tony La Russa's nickname for Ruben Sierra count?

[Dave Visbeck]

Eddie Plank "Gettysburg Eddie" Won 326 games in his HOF career.

[gamesix1977]

Oil Can Boyd
Cy (Cyclone) Young (his given name was Denton!)

[gamesix1977]

The Scooter - Phil Rizzuto
"Moose" Skowron

Although he's not a baseball player, in the fine tradition of "Losing Pitcher", the Giants used to have a cornerback named Elvis Patterson who they nicknamed "Toast" because he got burned so much by wide receivers.

[Casey37]

I forgot...Thurman Munson, The Walrus.

[gamesix1977]

I think Graig Nettles was "Puff"

[CannonballTitcomb]

"Icebox" Chamberlain
"Cannonball" Titcomb
"Wee" Willie Keeler ("Hit 'Em Where They Ain't")

Thanks for the thread!

[Pancake]

I think Shoeless Joe Jackson is the best nickname along with Babe Ruth, simply because the nickname is always used with or instead of the actual name. I also like Pie Traynor. Dizzy and Daffy run a close 4th and 5th in this. The players in the Negroe Leagues had awesome names too.

[Dave Visbeck]

"The Hitless Wonders" - the 1906 Chicago White Sox, who won the World Series despite having a team that only batted .230 for the season. They were led by 2nd baseman Frank Isbell who hit .279.

[MikeyChalupa]

Bill "The Spaceman" Lee

-Mikey

[hellonewman]

Gene "Rubber" Krapp.

[ConnYanksFan]

"Preacher" Roe

[Tommy John]

"Moonlight" Graham. It just has an air of mystery about it.

Luke Appling "Old Aches and Pains" because he always had one ailment or another

Eddie "The Brat" Stanky

Leo "the Lip" Durocher

Ty Cobb "The Georgia Peach"

Moses Solomon "The Rabbi of Swat"

John "The Count" Montefusco

Lou "The Mad Russian" Novikoff

Bill "Swish" Nicholson

The 1974 White Sox had "Bugs" Moran. No Al Capone, though.

And of course,

Lou Gehrig "The Iron Horse" and

Joe McGinnity "The Iron Man"

[Pancake]

Murderers Row! How could we forget that one!

Here's one I would like to forget: The Idiots.

[hellonewman]

Choo-Choo Coleman
Pumpsie Green
Pea Ridge Day

Lon "The Arkansas Hummingbird" Warneke

Who was the guy they called "The Nashville Narcissus"?

[Pancake]

Ron 'The Penguin' Cey.

[Dave Visbeck]

Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni

[Dave Visbeck]

In memory of the passing of Dick Radatz...

Dick "The Monster" Radatz

[Dave Visbeck]

Lets not forget...

James "Cool Papa" Bell

[Dave Visbeck]

Lets not forget...

Dick "Cannonball" Redding

[Dave Visbeck]

Who was the guy they called "The Nashville Narcissus"?

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Red Lucas -or- Charles Fred Lucas... his birth name.