20 Great Baseball Nicknames

Throughout the history of sports, there have been hundreds of athletes who have chosen to go by – or at least have allowed themselves to be called by – a variety of quirky, kooky, and downright hilarious nicknames. In my opinion, the game of baseball has seen some of the best nicknames. Some nicknames are a play on the person's actual name, while others are a reference to some physical attribute they may have. Still others are directly (or indirectly) related to the player's skills (or lack thereof) as an athlete. Regardless of the reason, here are 20 of the best baseball nicknames throughout the game's history. Feel free to comment with your own favorite baseball nicknames that I might have missed...


1)  Catfish Hunter  (born James Augustus Hunter)

2)  The Big Unit  (aka Randy Johnson)

3)  Coco Crisp  (born Covelli Loyce Crisp)

4)  Dummy Hoy  (born William Ellsworth Hoy)

5)  Goose Gossage  (born Richard Michael Gossage)

6)  Kung Fu Panda  (aka Pablo Sandoval)

7)  Losing Pitcher  (aka Hugh Mulcahy)

8)  Oil Can Boyd  (born Dennis Ray Boyd)

9)  Preacher Roe  (born Elwin Charles Roe)

10)  Shoeless Joe Jackson  (born Joseph Jefferson Jackson)

11)  Three-Finger Brown  (born Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown)

12)  Whitey Ford  (born Edward Charles Ford)

13)  Blackie Schwamb  (born Ralph Richard Schwamb)

14)  Heinie Manush  (born Henry Emmett Manush)

15)  Dazzy Vance  (born Charles Arthur Vance)

16)  Dizzy Dean  (born Jay Hanna Dean)

17)  Charlie Hustle  (aka Pete Rose)

18)  Pee Wee Reese  (born Harold Peter Henry Reese)

19)  Flash Gordon  (born Thomas Gordon)

20)  Babe Ruth  (born George Herman Ruth)