|

What’s in a name? Thanksgiving edition

For Thanksgiving, I decided to have a little fun with some nicknames (and a few given ones), via Baseball-Reference. So here’s a Turkey Day Team — Thanksgiving, food and eating related names — to chew on.

Managing the bunch is Hall of Famer Leo “The Lip” Durocher, Dodgers 1939-48, Giants 1948-55, Cubs 1966-72, Astros 1972-73

On the mound, HOF lefty Carl “The Meal Ticket” Hubbell, Giants 1928-43

Behind the plate, HOF catcher Gabby “Old Tomato Face” Hartnett, Cubs 1922-40, Giants 1941

At first base, HOFer Lou “Biscuit Pants” Gehrig, Yankees 1923-39

At second base, Stuffy Stewart, Cardinals 1916-17, Pirates 1922, Robins 1923, Senators 1925-29

At third base, HOFer Pie Traynor, Pirates 1920-37

At shortstop, Turkey Gross, Red Sox 1925

In the outfield:

HOFer Turkey Stearns, Negro Leagues, 1923-42

“Turkey” Mike Donlin, Cardinals 1899-1900; Orioles 1901; Reds 1902-04; Giants 1904-11, ’14; Braves 1911; Pirates 1912. And buried in West Long Branch

And in recognition of the “first Thanksgiving,” HOFer “Wahoo” Sam Crawford, Reds 1899-1902, Tigers 1903-17.

On the bench, we have:

RF/1B Frank “Turkeyfoot” Brower, Senators 1920-22, Indians 1923-24

Turkey Tyson, 0-for-1 for the Phillies in 1944

OF Manuel “Potato” Cueto, St. Louis Terriers 1914, Reds 1917-19

1B Hugh “Corns” Bradley, Red Sox 1910-12, Federal League 1914-15

Minor leaguer Arvie Pilgrim

And in the bullpen:

RHP Jeremy Guthrie, Indians 2004-06, Orioles 2007-10 (for Arlo, natch)

LHP Mark Guthrie, Twins 1989-95, Dodgers 1995-98, Red Sox 1999, Cubs 1999-2000, Devil Rays 2000, Blue Jays 2000, A’s 2001, Mets 2002, Cubs 2003

RHP Luke “Hot Potato” Hamlin, Tigers 1933-34, Dodgers 1937-41, Pirates 1942, A’s 1944

RHP Camilo “Little Potato” Pascual, Senators 1954-60, Twins 1961-66, Senators, 1967-69, Reds 1969, Dodgers 1970, Indians 1971

And, finally, HOF RHP Red Ruffing (rhymes with “stuffing”), Red Sox 1924-30, Yankees 1930-46, White Sox 1947

Makes me want to put on my Thanksgiving pants and chow down on the biscuits!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Similar Posts

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.