Connect with us

Dodger Baseball

Where Have All the Nicknames Gone

There was a time when nicknames were common in major league baseball. Today, there are a few, and some players wear them proudly. They may have been associated with a physical deformity, or some physical trait, like red hair. Many were very colorful, and some, you just wondered how in the world that guy got that handle.

The Dodgers have had more than their share of these characters. And some of those are in the Hall of Fame. Probably the most recognizable nickname in baseball history is Babe. And if you bring that name up, a fan will usually say, Babe Ruth.

The Dodgers had their own Babe in the 30’s, Babe Herman. He wasn’t as good as Ruth, but he still holds the team record for the highest batting average in any season. He hit .393 in 1930. That was arguably the best season ever by any Dodger player in history. Check this slash line, .393/.447/.678 with 35 homers, 130 RBIs and an OPS of 1.124. His OPS+ was 169. And he did not even win the batting title! Bill Terry of the Giants hit .401.

But let’s get back on track about nicknames in baseball. Babe’s real name was Floyd Caves Herman. Babe Ruth supposedly was hung with his nickname by his Baltimore teammates when he first arrived on the scene. He was a babe in the woods so to speak.

But he earned a couple of others along the way, The Bambino, and the Sultan of Swat. But nicknames go back much further than Ruth. One of my favorites is a player who was with the Phillies before the turn of the century. His name was Robert Ferguson. His nickname? “Death to all Flying Things”. Wow. How did that guy get that handle?

He got the nickname because of his prowess as a fielder. He wore many hats over his career in baseball, player, league official, umpire and manager. He also served as president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players from 1972-75. He had a 14-year career in the majors and hit exactly 1 homer. He was noted for his stubbornness and temper.

But the list of nicknames is very long, he is just one colorful name on the list. Some of them are just head scratching. For instance, former reliever, Don Stanhouse, was called Full Pack by his manager, Earl Weaver, because he would smoke a full pack of cigarettes when he was pitching. Made him that nervous. But his other nickname was hung on him by his teammates. Since there was already a Stan the Man, Musial, his teammates called him Stan the Man Unusual.

Harold Reese became Pee Wee in his youth because of his prowess with that particular marble. A game rarely played today. Carl Furillo, before he came to the Dodgers, was known as the Reading Rifle, a tribute to his hometown, and his strong right throwing arm. In Brooklyn, he earned another one, Ol Skoonj. A reflection on his love of the Italian dish, Scungilli.

The Cardinals had Dizzy and Daffy, the Dean brothers, the Dodgers had Dazzy. His nickname was related to his dazzling fastball. Charles would rarely be called Charles after that handle was laid on him. What is amazing about Vance’s career is the fact that he had won zero MLB games before his 30th birthday. From then on he won 197. And became a Hall of Fame pitcher.

Duke Snider got his nickname from his dad for his self-assured swagger. He earned a couple of others while in Brooklyn, “The Duke of Flatbush, and the Silver Fox. Chase Utley was called the Silver Fox towards the end of his career.

Here are some of the more recognizable and unusual nicknames. Mickey Mantle, The Commerce Comet, Stan Musial, The Man, The Donora Greyhound, Leo Durocher, The Lip, Hank Aaron, Hammer, Hammerin Hank, Bad Henry, Walter Alston, Smokey, Luke Appling, Old Aches and Pains. Wade Boggs, Chicken Man, Lou Gehrig, The Iron Horse.

Yasiel Puig, The Wild Horse, Lou Brock, The Franchise, Albert Pujols, The Machine, El Hombre and Tio Albert, Honus Wagner, The Flying Dutchman, which was weird because Wagner was German. The Waner brothers were known as Big Poison and Little Poison. Ozzie Smith,, The Wizard, Willie Mays, The Say Hey Kid, Don Sutton, Black and Decker.

There was Bill Spaceman Lee, David Big Papi Ortiz, Ted Williams, The Splendid Splinter, Joe DiMaggio, The Yankee Clipper, Mordecai, Three Finger Brown, Chief Bender, Mitch Wild Thing Williams, Oil Can Boyd, Adam Dunn was The Big Donkey.

As you can see, the list is long. Some of the names were known only to the players’ teammates.  Others were well known by the public. The Dodgers have CT3 and Code Red, Chris Taylor and Dustin May. The Catman, Tony Gonsolin, and JT was Redturn. I also liked when they had that players day promotion and the players put different nicknames on the back of their jerseys, one of my favorites was Ross Stripling, better known as Chicken Strip.

Koufax was “The Left Arm of God”, Roseboro was Gabby. Orel Hershiser, Bulldog, Ron Cey, The Penguin, Steve Garvey, Popeye, Frank Howard, Hondo, Lou Johnson, Sweet Lou, and Fernando was El Toro. They are not as prominent as they once were. They take us back to a simpler time.

 

 

 

Oldbear48

46 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
46 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
dodgerrick
dodgerrick
2 years ago

Most nicknames were made up by sportswriters and stuck. The writers were colorful back in the day. Not so much anymore.

Oldbear48
Oldbear48
2 years ago

I actually wrote this, not Jeff. But he is busy the next couple of days. Also it should be the Waner Brothers, not Wagner.

Bluto
Bluto
2 years ago

I love this post!

I think/know there are a ton of nicknames, however the Press no longer uses them.

Blame the AP styleguide, or the NYTimes’ but I think reporters are more inclined to use proper names, and frivolities like nicknames are a thing of the past.

Some current nicknames:
Kershaw: The Claw, Kid K, The Minotaur or Kersh
Urias: El Culichi
Treinen is Train.
My favorite:
Austin Barnes’ nickname is Sam!

Sam.

Last edited 2 years ago by Bluto
Singing the Blue
Singing the Blue
2 years ago

When I heard yesterday that Gonsolin had signed for 2 years/6.65 million, I thought that was really pretty low for him.

I just came across this note in the NY Post, of all places, and now I’m feeling better about his deal:

“Gonsolin gets $3.25 million this year and $3.4 million in 2024.
His salary in the second season can escalate by up to $3 million based on a points system in which he will be credited one point for each start, or each relief appearance of 3 1/3 innings: $500,000 apiece for 14, 16, 18, 20, 24 and 28 points. The 2024 salary also would increase by $1,125,000 for winning a Cy Young Award this year, $625,000 for finishing second or third in the voting and $500,000 for finishing fourth or fifth.”

So, he could actually earn a total of 9.65 million if every point incentive was reached. Since I have no clue how average salaries are calculated for luxury tax purposes, maybe this helps AF keep things lower for this year instead of having to include the 2024 incentives into this years AAV.

ScottL
ScottL
2 years ago

We have two Miggies Vargas and Rojas!

Bumsrap
Bumsrap
2 years ago

Outman and Miller could both be all-stars based on their tools and likewise fail if their weaknesses can’t be fixed. Outman struggles with contact and Miller struggles with control and apparently pitching from the stretch.

Dodgerrick
Dodgerrick
2 years ago

Some of my favorites – Dr. Strangeglove (Dick Stuart), Poosh ’em up (Tony Lazzeri), human rain delay (Mike Hargrove), Toy cannon (Jimmy Wynn), Crime dog (Fred McGriff), Shoeless Joe (Joe Jackson)

Jorge Valenzuela
Jorge Valenzuela
2 years ago

What is Rich Hill’s nickname? i think he has one… Dick Mountain?
Justin “Red” Turner

Last edited 2 years ago by Jorge Valenzuela
Oldbear48
Oldbear48
2 years ago

Bob Geren is no longer the Dodger Bench coach, Danny Lehman has been moved to that position. Geren is not the on field coordinator.

Bluto
Bluto
2 years ago

For the first time publicly, Dodgers brass today addressed the team’s decision to release Trevor Bauer during a meeting with local reporters

Full story coming later on @latimessports w/ quotes from Stan Kasten and Andrew Friedman, but for now here are a few notable takeaways:

Friedman was asked if he regretted signing Bauer in the first place:

“The way it played out is obviously not what we thought. But with the way things have transpired, we feel good about our decision to move on and focus on the guys that we have.”

Friedman also said that while the Bauer situation was a major unknown this winter, it wasn’t necessarily a hindrance to the team’s offseason:

“I don’t think it impacted what we either did or attempted to do this offseason.”

Dodgers president Stan Kasten said the team feels “we did make the right decision.”

He said they took the entire two weeks after Bauer was reinstated to decide whether to release him “to be sure we were making the right decision.”

More from Kasten on the decision-making process:

“We had the time to check all our bases, get all the input you could get to make a decision, which we did. And that included hearing from Trevor, because we had not spoken to him since the beginning of this.”

Kasten didn’t provide details about the team’s meeting w/ Bauer the day before they DFA’d him –– including his claim that the team told him they wanted him back

“I’m not gonna get into contradicting or agreeing with anything about what was supposed to be a private conversation.”

Kasten said they hadn’t made a final decision prior to the meeting with Bauer, but that “we all had a strong feeling all the way through the process of the right way to handle this”

He added they reached their decision to release him “within a very short time” after that meeting

Jeff Dominique
Admin
2 years ago

I will be away for most of today due to a medical procedure. Hopefully I will be able to resume writing by Saturday.

Bluto
Bluto
2 years ago

Keith Law continues the nearly unanimous industry praise for the Dodgers drafting and development team.

The Dodgers are #1 system in his rankings on TheAthletic.

Bumsrap
Bumsrap
2 years ago

Over at ESPN, they put together a column of bold predictions for some of this year’s top prospects. The prediction from Eric Karabell about Vargas is pretty great.

Miguel Vargas (3B): Will earn top rookie honors

Vargas would’ve helped the Dodgers last season had they only let him. While he has typically played third base, he’s their starting second baseman this year and his combination of power, patience and speed (let’s project .280/.360/.475, with 15 home runs, 15 stolen bases, 75 runs) earns him top NL rookie honors.

Diego Cartaya (C): Will be the next Will Smith — or better
comment image&h=60&w=60By the end of the year, it’ll be fair to wonder whether Cartaya can be just as good — if not better — than Smith, the current catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith, 27, is already one of the sport’s greatest catchers. But Cartaya’s combination of on-base ability and power, along with his plus arm strength and steadily improving defense, will soon make industry executives wonder if Smith might actually be expendable.

“Will is an All-Star,” one longtime scout said. “Cartaya has a chance to be a cornerstone.” — Alden Gonzalez

Last edited 2 years ago by Bumsrap

More in Dodger Baseball

46
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x