Lots More Great Baseball Nicknames

Catfish Hunter,Three Finger Brown and Mr. October All Make The List

Apr 10, 2007

Here are ten more of the best nicknames, courtesy of our National Pastime; Major League Baseball.

Johnson got this nickname because hitters who faced him swore that the ball blew right past them like a Big Old Train.

Hargrove drove pitchers crazy by stepping out of the batter's box after each pitch and starting a routine which consisted of (1) adjusting his helmet, (2) adjusting his batting glove, making sure it was tight on his hand and especially the thumb, (3) pulling each sleeve on his uniform up about an inch, and (4) wiping each hand on his uniform pants before finally settling in the box. It took longer than 30 seconds to complete, and led to one of baseball’s truly great nicknames.

Brown picked up this nickname because he actually had only three fingers that worked.

While still in his teens, Mordecai lost his index finger when his hand slipped into a feed chopper. While Brown was still healing from that injury, he took a fall and broke two of his remaining fingers on the same hand. His middle finger was never set properly, and as a result, it permanently fused in a crooked position, leaving it virtually worthless.

His three fingers turned out to be a baseball blessing. Because of the odd grip he had to employ just to hold a baseball, Brown was able to put an amazing spin on the ball, resulting in one of the best curveballs in history.

This guy is six-five and weighs 275 pounds. He already has 488 home runs and over 1,500 RBI. Perfect nickname for a giant slugger.

This was another nickname created by Mickey Mantle, who called his best friend and favorite pitcher “The Chairman of the Board” for his ability to remain calm, cool and collected in even the toughest high pressure situations.

Although it may have been appropriate for his era, Frank Baker’s nickname ultimately proved to be one of the great misnomers in MLB history. It is true that Baker led the American League in home runs four times. However, he played in the Dead Ball era, when homers were about as plentiful as snowballs in August. In his best season, Baker hit 12 round-trippers, and he only hit 96 home runs in his entire fifteen-year baseball career. That’s only 23 more than Barry Bonds hit in one season.

Robinson is generally regarded as the best defensive third baseman in baseball history. His sixteen gold gloves would seem to support that statement. His manager, Earl Weaver, gave Robinson the nickname after Brooks made several incredible stops on hard grounders hit down the third base line during a 1969 game.

During his Baseball Hall of Fame career, Reggie Jackson played on five championship teams, won two World Series MVPs, and hit eighteen post-season homers, three of which came in the final game of the 1977 World Series. A perfect nickname indeed.

Athletics owner Charlie Finley created this nickname out of the clear blue sky. Seriously. Finley thought Hunter’s name was too bland for such a great young pitcher, so one day in 1966, he told the young star that his new nickname was Catfish. Finley also created a story around the nickname, claiming that when Hunter was a little boy, he ran away from home for three days. When his father finally found him, Hunter was fishing in a nearby creek and had already caught five giant catfish. It never happened. But, it’s still one of the best baseball nicknames.

Cepeda’s father was a great baseball player in Puerto Rico whose nickname was the Bull. Orlando was even better than his dad, putting together a Hall of Fame Career between 1958 and 1974. Along the way, he picked up the nickname.

Teammates apparenlty bestowed this nickname upon the Hall of Fame outfielder because of his premature grayness. Speaker is said to have gone gray by the time he was 32.

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