Greatest Nicknames in Baseball History
Although baseball is not as popular as it once was, no other American-born sport can compete when it comes to historical nicknames.
MLB has given us some great nicknames over the years, and a few of mine are listed below. There are too many great ones to name, even in the “Honorable Mention” section, so please forgive the omissions. I tried to pick some that might not be as well-known as others (I didn’t include Babe Ruth’s many nicknames, for instance). Leave your favorite baseball nickname in the comments!
“The Wild Horse of the Osage” (Pepper Martin)
“Pepper” is the more well-known nickname of Johnny Leonard Roosevelt Martin, but his best nickname was “the Wild Horse of the Osage.”
Some claim this moniker was given because of the aggressive style in which he ran the bases, but the true source of the nickname goes back further, to when he played halfback for the Hominy Indians in the early 1920’s. The football team was backed by members of the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma.
As a baseball player Pepper won two World Series titles with the “Gashouse Gang” Cardinal teams of the 1930’s, and made 4 All-Star teams while leading the league in stolen bases three times. He retired in 1940, but came out of retirement 4 years later when WWII had taken many of the best ballplayers away. He handled himself well that year, at age 40, batting .279 in 102 plate appearances. The Wild Horse of the Osage also stole himself a pair of bases, because, why not?
“Casper the Friendly Ghost” (Jerry Adair)
Jerry Adair might not be a household name today, but the great Carl Yastrzemski once said: “he was the coolest clutch hitter I had ever seen.”
He only batted .254 for his career, but he played for 13 big seasons, won 3 World Series titles with the A’s, and led the league in fielding percentage for a second baseman a couple of times, including a then-record .994% in 1964.
The story behind his nickname is unknown, but it might have had something to do with his pale appearance (blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin), despite his Cherokee ancestry.
“The Greek God of Walks” (Kevin Youkilis)
Kevin Youkilis garnered his famous nickname in the wildly influential book “Moneyball” about Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s, because of his notable patience at the plate and penchant for drawing walks.
More than just a walk machine, Kevin Youkilis was a 3-time All Star who won a Gold Glove and two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox, including the curse-breaking 2004 run (although he didn’t appear in that series). He never led the league in walks, finishing only as high as 7th one time in his career. However he remains forever immortalized in the Moneyball book and subsequent film as “The Greek God of Walks.”
“Hit ’Em Where They Ain’t/Wee Willie” (Willie Keeler)
“Wee Willie” Keeler is the first Hall of Famer to make our list. He was one of the sport’s biggest stars around the turn of the 19th century, leading the league in hits 3 times and batting average twice (including a .424 mark in 1897). Standing 5'4" and weighing a 140 pounds made him an easy target to be called “Wee Willie.” However, he made his own nickname when, asked how he was such a prodigious hitter (career .341 average), he answered simply: “I hit ’em where they ain’t.” He still owns the National League record for most consecutive games with a hit, with 45.
“Babe Ruth’s Legs” (Samuel Byrd)
Sammy Byrd wasn’t a bad hitter (career .274 average in 1700 AB), but he’s more famous as a pinch runner. During the tail end of Babe Ruth’s career, he would often come pinch run for the corpulent slugger in the final innings of a game, earning the sobriquet that would follow him the rest of his life: “Babe Ruth’s Legs.”
Post-baseball he became a very successful golfer, winning 6 PGA Tour events and becoming the first player to ever play in the World Series and the Masters Tournament.
“The Human Vacuum Cleaner” (Brooks Robinson)
Ok, so this nickname is well known, but I had to include it. The nickname started out as “Hoover the Vacuum Cleaner,” which was given to Brooks by then-teammate Lee May, but has evolved into the more popular “Human Vacuum Cleaner.” Either way, Brooks deserved the title.
By the time he retired, after his 23rd season, Brooks Robinson had amassed 16 Gold Gloves, 18 All Star appearances, and a regular season, All Star game, and World Series MVP trophy. He won two titles with the Orioles, collected over 2800 hits, and was a first ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1983.
“The Old Woman in the Red Cap” (Charlie Pabor)
The bearer of one of the stranger nicknames to make our list, Charlie Pabor has the distinction of playing in what some consider the first professional baseball game ever on May 4th, 1871.
From where did his bizarre nickname originate? As best we can tell, it first appeared on one of the earliest baseball cards ever printed, an 1865 “set” that included Charlie with the name “The Old Woman in the Red Cap,” and Dave Birdsall as “The Old Man.” A painting of the same name was done by French artist Paul Gavarni around the same time, perhaps someone saw a resemblance?
Charlie might not have been a great player (.285 average in 170 games), but he left us one of the greatest nicknames in baseball history.
“Mo/The Sandman/Super Mariano” (Mariano Rivera)
Baseball’s only unanimous Hall of Fame selection, Mariano Rivera was the definition of a shut-down closer. A staple on 4 Yankees World Series-winning teams, he finished his career with a record 652 saves, 13 All Star appearances, and ALCS, All Star game, and World Series MVP trophies.
“Mo” and “Super Mariano” are predictable nicknames, but “The Sandman” came from a few Yankee staffers trying to find a entry song that befitted the feared pitcher. Trevor Hoffman, another fabulous closer, had recently started using “Hells Bells” by AC/DC whenever he entered a game, to much acclaim, and they wanted to find a song with a similar style for Rivera. So, in 1999, they started using “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, and the song was played for his entrance up until he retired in 2013.
Honorable Mentions:
- “The Left Arm of God” (Sandy Koufax)
- “The Freshest Man on Earth” (Arlie Latham)
- “The Goshen Schoolmaster” (Sam Leever)
- “Man of Steal” (Rickey Henderson)
- “The Wild Elk of the Wasatch” (Ed Heusser)
- “The Human Rain Delay” (Mike Hargrove)
- “The Iron Horse” (Lou Gehrig)
- “The Say Hey Kid” (Willie Mays)
- “The Splendid Splinter” (Ted Williams)
- “Mr. October” (Reggie Jackson)
- “Shoeless Joe” (Joe Jackson)
- “Wild Thing” (Mitch Williams)
- “The Flying Dutchman” (Honus Wagner, Herman Long & Bert Blyleven)
- “The Duke of Flatbush/The Silver Fox” (Duke Snider)
- “The Franchise” (Tom Seaver)
- “Kung Fu Panda/Round Mound of Pound” (Pablo Sandoval)
- “The Ryan Express” (Nolan Ryan)
- “Big Unit” (Randy Johnson)
- “Big Hurt” (Frank Thomas)
- “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers)
- “Prince Albert/The Machine” (Albert Pujols)
- “The Georgia Peach” (Ty Cobb)
- “The Mad Hungarian” (Al Hrabosky)
- “The Earl of Snohomish” (Earl Torgeson)
- “The Knight of Kennett Square” (Herb Pennock)
- “Stan the Man” (Stan Musial)
- “The Big Cat” (Johnny Mize)
- “The Little Napoleon” (John McGraw)
- “Big Mac” (Willie McCovey & Mark McGwire)
- “The Mick/The Commerce Comet/Muscles” (Mickey Mantle)
- “Mad Dog/The Professor” (Greg Maddux)
- “The Grand Old Man of Baseball” (Connie Mack)
- “The Yankee Clipper/Joltin’ Joe” (Joe DiMaggio)
- “The Freak” (Tim Lincecum)
- “The Yankee Killer” (Frank Lary)
- “The Claw/Kid K/The Minotaur” (Clayton Kershaw)
- “The Big Train” (Walter Johnson)
- “Hammerin’ Hank” (Hank Greenberg, Hank Aaron)
- “The Fordham Flash” (Frankie Frisch)
- “The Chairman of the Board” (Whitey Ford)
- “Rapid Robert/The Heater from Van Meter” (Bob Feller)
- “The Man Nobody Knows” (Bill Dickey)
- “Three Finger” (Mordecai Brown)
- “Old Aches and Pains” (Luke Appling)
- “The Arkansas Hummingbird” (Lou Warneke)
- “Stu/Dr. Strangeglove/Boston Strangler/Stonefingers/The Man With the Iron Glove” (Dick Stuart)
