it's bad either way
― mookieproof, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:28 (six years ago) link
Oil Can Boyd because it gives me flashbacks to my youth in 80s Boston. Big Papi a close second.
― Moodles, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:28 (six years ago) link
agree all rise is terrible
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:34 (six years ago) link
lol yeah wtf
― k3vin k., Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:43 (six years ago) link
The Big Hurt is probably the only good thing Hawk has ever said.
― Van Horn Street, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:47 (six years ago) link
i appreciate nicknames that are complete non sequiturs. voted oil can
― mookieproof, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:53 (six years ago) link
Oil Can would be my pick though I have a fondness for the big hurt. yeah All Rise is garbage.
― nomar, Thursday, 24 August 2017 02:01 (six years ago) link
call him tallboy imo
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 02:02 (six years ago) link
Posnanski says in the piece that All Rise isn't really a nickname, so I'm not sure why he included it. Babe and Yogi and Satchel seem like a separate category to me--when the nickname eclipses the birth name, they don't seem like nicknames anymore. (And yet, Goose Gossage does seem like a nickname to me, even though I never heard anyone ever refer to him as Rich past a certain point.) There are lots of great nicknames throughout Ball Four, some of them pretty cruel. "Dr. Strangelove" for Dick Stuart was a great one, even though I don't know why they called him that. Surprised "Le Grand Orange" didn't make the list.
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 03:22 (six years ago) link
every pick more current than the big hurt is a bad choice
― qualx, Thursday, 24 August 2017 05:04 (six years ago) link
"corey's brother" come on, that's not even a nickname it's a one-off joke
I like Kung Fu Panda. Never cared much for Joey Bats, believe it or not--and I thought it had to do with Goodfellas, not The Untouchables.
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 05:22 (six years ago) link
"Dr. Strangelove" for Dick Stuart was a great one, even though I don't know why they called him that.
You mean "Dr. Strangeglove" (because he was a bad fielder)?
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 24 August 2017 09:25 (six years ago) link
There you go--I misread that every time I read Ball Four (even though I bet Bouton specifically mentions Stuart's defense).
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 19:14 (six years ago) link
"Thor" is the laziest one here
― nomar, Thursday, 24 August 2017 19:21 (six years ago) link
I don't think this is a minor point: Ozzie Smith's nickname is "The Wizard of Oz," not "The Wizard."
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:04 (six years ago) link
nah, it's the wizard
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:39 (six years ago) link
at least, that's what we all called him on the playground. and that's what jack buck called him in his famous call when he won game 6 of the 1985 NLCS against the dodgers:
Smith corks one into right, down the line! It may go!! ... Go crazy, folks! Go crazy! It's a home run, and the Cardinals have won the game, by the score of 3 to 2, on a home run by the Wizard!
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:42 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVVAf_fY5a0
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:44 (six years ago) link
great pic of Cool Papa
have you heard of the guy known as Babe Ruth's Legs?
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:44 (six years ago) link
game 6 5 of the 1985 NLCS
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:46 (six years ago) link
Obviously I'll defer to you here (and the Jack Buck clip is all the proof you need), but I always remember him as being the Wizard of Oz (what it says on his Baseball Reference page too).
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:51 (six years ago) link
oh, he was both! i was a bit confusing there, sorry, but i've definitely heard him called both. but at least in my area just plain ol' The Wizard seemed to be more commonly used
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:53 (six years ago) link
Something that always bugged me. When Tom Henke settled in as the Jays closer in '85 or '86, I remember the radio guys casting around for a nickname. Someone suggested "The Canadian Goose"--I thought that was perfect. Instead, "The Terminator" caught on, which was literally appropriated from another player; Jeff Reardon (still a big-deal closer at the time) was already the Terminator. "We're just gonna use this nickname and pretend it's not already in use."
― clemenza, Thursday, 24 August 2017 21:57 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/1X1lAxq.jpgTHE TERMINATOR
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 22:16 (six years ago) link
nope, but i like it
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 August 2017 22:17 (six years ago) link
paul waner = big poisonyounger brother lloyd waner = little poison
both spent 1927-1940 with the pirates, both are hall of famers (although paul, who was an inch shorter, was significantly better)
― mookieproof, Thursday, 24 August 2017 23:11 (six years ago) link
Isn't Lloyd, when viewed in the context of the 1930s, generally considered one of the worst HOF picks ever?
― clemenza, Friday, 25 August 2017 00:03 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 30 August 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
Kong was a great nickname. The Mad Hungarian or the Bird is my all-time favourite, but for what's listed, I'll vote for the Toy Cannon.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 30 August 2017 03:20 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 31 August 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
The Dodgers' starter today, Michael Grove, made his MLB debut. No nickname yet, but how can they pass up Righty Grove?
― clemenza, Monday, 16 May 2022 01:06 (one year ago) link