Thursday, June 16, 2005
Seven Great Current Baseball Names
1. Stubby Clapp-3B Edmonton CrackerCats (Northern League)
Probably one of the best baseball names of all time, his skills, however, are not of the all time variety
2. Coco Crisp-LF/CF Cleveland Indians
His name is reminiscent of inaugral Met, Choo Choo Coleman. 'Coco Crisp' just say it aloud
3. Chone Figgins-IF Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
It's short for Dechone. I wish they would shorten the Angels name
4. Nook Logan-CF Detroit Tigers
5. Termel Sledge-RF Washington Nationals
I have two baseball autographs, Bill Lee's and Termel Sledge's
6. Pokey Reese-SS Seattle Mariners
Great field, no hit shortstop. You can't not love someone with the name 'Pokey' (Gumby &..., Pokey Reddick)
7. Lew Ford-LF Minnesota Twins
'Lew Ford' sounds like the name of someone from Glace Bay that you wouldn't fuck around with
One of the best 'name' stories in baseball is the story behind Jose Uribe's name change from Jose Gonzalez. Uribe changed his name to his mother's maiden name before the '85 season started. He complained that there were already too many players named 'Gonzalez' in the league, in fact there was even another Jose Gonzalez, and made the switch. Earlier in '85, before the switch, Uribe was traded from the Cardinals to the Giants. The name change after the trade prompted Giants coach Rocky Bridges to remark that Uribe was really "the player to be named later."
Uribe was a typical good field, no hit infielder. He had one season in which he posted a decent batting average, .291. The reason for the improvement was because he had his brother pitch peanuts to him in the off season.
1. Stubby Clapp-3B Edmonton CrackerCats (Northern League)
Probably one of the best baseball names of all time, his skills, however, are not of the all time variety
2. Coco Crisp-LF/CF Cleveland Indians
His name is reminiscent of inaugral Met, Choo Choo Coleman. 'Coco Crisp' just say it aloud
3. Chone Figgins-IF Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
It's short for Dechone. I wish they would shorten the Angels name
4. Nook Logan-CF Detroit Tigers
5. Termel Sledge-RF Washington Nationals
I have two baseball autographs, Bill Lee's and Termel Sledge's
6. Pokey Reese-SS Seattle Mariners
Great field, no hit shortstop. You can't not love someone with the name 'Pokey' (Gumby &..., Pokey Reddick)
7. Lew Ford-LF Minnesota Twins
'Lew Ford' sounds like the name of someone from Glace Bay that you wouldn't fuck around with
One of the best 'name' stories in baseball is the story behind Jose Uribe's name change from Jose Gonzalez. Uribe changed his name to his mother's maiden name before the '85 season started. He complained that there were already too many players named 'Gonzalez' in the league, in fact there was even another Jose Gonzalez, and made the switch. Earlier in '85, before the switch, Uribe was traded from the Cardinals to the Giants. The name change after the trade prompted Giants coach Rocky Bridges to remark that Uribe was really "the player to be named later."
Uribe was a typical good field, no hit infielder. He had one season in which he posted a decent batting average, .291. The reason for the improvement was because he had his brother pitch peanuts to him in the off season.
Blue Moon, Boom Boom
I first heard the song "The Anthem" by Buck 65 about 3 years. It's amazingly well written for a song that consists entirely of nicknames of baseball players. The song is brilliant and is probably one of the better pieces (lyrically) he's recorded in the last 3 years.
Intended as an oral piece, William 'Sugar' Wallace's poem, Anthem was re-printed in the 3rd Edition of the Fireside Book of Baseball. I bought a copy of that book just before I moved to Alberta and then subsequently left it at my parent's house. I don't remember ever reading the poem until about 3 months ago when I picked up the book looking for a story Mordecai Richler wrote about baseball in Montreal.
Buck 65's "The Anthem" is just a re-working of Wallace's work. Lines are re-arranged to allow for a less stilted delivery. Worth listening to regardless of whether you know the players referred to or not.
There's only one nickname that I feel should have made the list, 'Death to Flying Things'.
I first heard the song "The Anthem" by Buck 65 about 3 years. It's amazingly well written for a song that consists entirely of nicknames of baseball players. The song is brilliant and is probably one of the better pieces (lyrically) he's recorded in the last 3 years.
Intended as an oral piece, William 'Sugar' Wallace's poem, Anthem was re-printed in the 3rd Edition of the Fireside Book of Baseball. I bought a copy of that book just before I moved to Alberta and then subsequently left it at my parent's house. I don't remember ever reading the poem until about 3 months ago when I picked up the book looking for a story Mordecai Richler wrote about baseball in Montreal.
Buck 65's "The Anthem" is just a re-working of Wallace's work. Lines are re-arranged to allow for a less stilted delivery. Worth listening to regardless of whether you know the players referred to or not.
There's only one nickname that I feel should have made the list, 'Death to Flying Things'.
