Joseph Ross

The Nicknames of Major League Baseball 2021 Joseph Ross

Think "Babe." Who will you associate that with? Most people will say, "Babe Ruth." But there are 32 players whose nickname is Babe. And that is not the most prolific nickname.

There are 42 BUDs, 46 BUCKs, and 35 WHITEYs.

Most popular is the nickname of LEFTY. Nearly 190 players were nicknamed LEFTY, most of them pitchers. Position players tend not to carry that moniker.

RED appears more than 140 times, presumably when the player had hair. DOC or similar names appeared 100 times; some of those player were actually doctors.

This book explores nicknames for players who performed on the major league level. For those who like food, there is everything from BUTTERMILK to YAMS. Whether your taste runs to breakfast, dinner, snacks or treats, a nickname is here to describe it.

There are animals from ANT to WEASEL; birds from BIRD to WARBLER; fantasy characters from DRAGON to WEREWOLF.

The law is amply represented from CAPTAIN to COLONEL, even to the LONE RANGER.

No matter which player or which nickname, the reader is sure to enjoy the look into the pastime of the game and the names bestowed on those who have played the game at the highest level.

This book shows major league baseball players from the early days of professional baseball to the present. The front section of the book shows the players, their nicknames, the origin of those names if known, the teams each player played for, and the first and last year of major league play. The second part of the book is an alphabetical listing of nicknames and the players who used them.