Fabulous Fielders Survey Results and New Survey Announcement 6/25/12

Hey Guys!

In another very close contest, the winner of the Fabulous Fielders nickname survey was........... the Wizard of Oz!!  Once again, another Cardinal wins a group survey.  The Vacuum Cleaner came in second and Scoops Carey was a distant third.  Thanks to all of those who voted.  By the way, I just discovered that there was an outfielder named Garry Maddox who won eight gold gloves with the Phillies and had the nickname of the Secretary of Defense (unfortunately, it was too late for the survey, but I wanted to give Garry a shout-out and show you his picture below).

And now that you're all excited, I'm announcing that the poll is now up for the third of the five nickname group surveys, about Proficient Pitchers (see part one and part two) nicknames.  (There are no Cardinals.)  The survey appears in the right column of my blog above the Blog Archive, and there are six choices.  Please go ahead and vote.  This survey will be followed by the surveys of the last two nickname groups, Booming Batters and All-Around Athletes.  

Finally, when all of the group surveys are done, each winner will then be entered to compete in the unprecedented final best overall nickname survey.

Please tell all of your friends about the survey!!!!!!!!

All-Around Athletes 6/23/12

Hey Guys!

As I promised in my Booming Batters post, today I will be blogging about some of the greatest all-around nicknames in baseball history. Hope you enjoy:

Stan the Man - Stan Musial
From 1942-1963 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Musial had one of the best careers of all time. With 475 homers,  3,630 hits, and a batting average of .331, Stan helped the Cards to five pennants and three World Series championships. He is considered one of the best outfielders in the game offensively, and was always "the Man" for the job.

The Say Hey Kid - Willie Mays
From 1951-1973 with the New York/San Fransisco Giants and the New York Mets, Willie probably did have the best overall career of all time. 660 homers. 3,283 hits. 338 stolen bases. A lifetime .302 batting average. 1,903 RBIs. A total five tool player.  Wow!! Now that's a career!!!  He was dubbed "The Say Hey Kid" because people would say after he hit a homer or made his famous basket catch: 'Say, hey, did you see what that kid just did?' Along with those accomplishments, he also helped his teams to four pennants and one World Series Championship.  He had probably the most famous catch ever too (see picture).  He was just plain amazing.

Charlie Hustle - Pete Rose
With the most career base hits at 4,256, Pete should be in the Hall of Fame. But, during his career, he gambled for his team to win, which is against baseball rules, so he was banned from baseball. He did have a great career though with the Reds, Phillies, and Expos from 1963-1986. He had over 200 hits 10 times, and helped the Big Red Machine and the 1980 Phils to five pennants and four World Series wins (one against the Yanks in '76). He was called "Charlie Hustle" because he would give it his all on every single play. What do you think: should he be in the Hall even though he gambled during his career, or should he stay out? Send me a comment and tell me what you think about one of the most controversial careers in baseball.

Mr. October - Reggie Jackson
In a career from 1967-1987 with the A's, O's, Yanks, and Angels, Reggie became Mr. October because of his excellent post-season play. In the 1977 Word Series against the Dodgers when he was on the Yankees, he hit five homers in six games, with three in the finale. It is considered one of the best World Series performances in history. In 27 World Series games, he batted .357!!! With 563 career homers, he is also considered one of the greatest power hitters the game has ever seen.  He got into the Hall of Fame as a first ballot member, but, sadly, he wasn't inducted in October.

Iron Horse - Lou Gehrig
He is called the Iron Horse because his energy and strength was at the same level as a locomotive.  He is also famous because he played in 2,130 consecutive games.  Lou was great. From 1923-1939 with the Yankees, Gehrig hit 493 homers, 2,721 hits, and had a lifetime batting average of .340. He helped the Yankees to seven pennants and as many World Series Championships. Although his career ceased because of a disease called ALS, he is probably the best first baseman of all time. Here's a good question about the Yankees and ALS: Who's the only other Yank to die of this nerve-affecting disease? The answer is sadly Catfish Hunter. Still, the disease is nicknamed "Lou Gehrig's Disease".

Well, there you have it, some of the best all-around nicknames of all time. This will be the last nickname-pertaining blog I will be doing. I'm not doing a funny nicknames blog, because those nicknames aren't earned, they're just given. I am, however, still putting up surveys about the other nicknames, so please vote on them. Thanks for reading!

Splendid Speedies Survey Results and New Survey Announcement 6/18/12

Hey Guys!

In an extremely close contest which was led by the Man of Steal for most of the way, the winner of the Splendid Speedies nickname survey with 19 votes was ........ Larcenous Lou!!  The Man of Steal had 18 votes and Mick the Quick was third with 11.  Thanks for voting, if you did.

And now that you're all pumped up about the nickname survey, I'm announcing that the poll is now up for the next survey about Fabulous Fielders nicknames.  The survey appears in the right column of my blog above the Blog Archive.  Please go ahead and vote.  That survey will be followed by the surveys of the nickname groups relating to Proficient Pitchers (see part one and part two), Booming Batters and all around nicknames.  Finally, when all of the group surveys are done, each winner will compete in the unprecedented final best overall nickname survey.

Tell all of your friends about the survey!!!!!!!!

Booming Batters 6/17/12

Hey Guys!

Now that I've blogged about Proficient Pitchers nicknames (part one and part two), it's time for hitting nicknames. Here it is:

Splendid Splinter - Ted Williams
Ted's goal as a baseball player was that when he walked down a street, a dad would say to his son: 'Son, there's the best hitter that ever lived.' He accomplished that. Big time. Using his "splinter" (bat), he became a "splendid" hitter from 1939-1960 (missed 1943-1945 because of military service) with the Red Sox. He hit .344 lifetime, had 521 career homers, 1,839 RBIs, and is the only baseball player in baseball history to hit over .400 in the live ball era (hit .406 in 1941). In his last career at-bat, he used his "splinter splendidly" by hitting a home run. In the '41 All Star Game, one of his 17, he hit a walk-off homer. Now that's what I call hitting.

The Big Hurt - Frank Thomas
Called "The Big Hurt" because of his unbelievable power, Frank Thomas brought fear to every pitcher he faced. He hit 521 homers, had 1,704 RBIs, and he batted .301 in his career. From 1990-2008 with the White Sox, A's, and Blue Jays, he went to 5 All Star Games, and won 2 MVP Awards. Thomas  was injury-prone, so he missed a lot of games, but still had great stats. That proves how good of a hitter he was.

Hammerin' Hank - Hank Aaron
From 1954-1976 with the Braves and Brewers, Hank Aaron was awesome. 755 career homers: second all time, 2,297 RBIs: first all time, 3,771 career hits: third all time. He had such great numbers that the best all around hitters in the AL and NL are now given the Hank Aaron Award. That's how good of a player Hammerin' Hank was. Just that good.

Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth
The Babe was the best. He is the best player to play baseball and no one will top him. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Yankees fan. He hit .342 lifetime, 714 career homers, 2,213 career RBIs. That's impressive. Very. In 1927, he hit 60 homers, which at the time of his career (1914-1934 with the Red Sox, Yanks, and Braves) was the most hit in one season. Did you know he started out as a pitcher and he was great at that too?  He had to play the outfield due to a shortage of players during World War I, and the team then recognized his true hitting talent. A funny stat about Ruth is that Hank Aaron broke two records of his which were once career highs: homers and RBIs. Babe died in 1948 because of throat cancer, but his legacy will live on forever.

Those are some of the greatest nicknames pertaining to hitting of all time. Speaking of nicknames, don't forget to vote on my Splendid Speedies survey (on the right column above the Blog Archive). Only one day left, and then we will start the Fabulous Fielders survey!!!! I will be revealing the winners of the survey soon, so vote! My final nickname-themed blog will be posted in a few days and it will be all-around nicknames.

Thanks to all of you for reading my blog!  It just went OVER 3,000 PAGE VIEWS in less than three months since my first blog on April 2nd!!  If you like my blog, please tell others about it, and also sign up for emails of future blog posts (if you haven't done that yet) by submitting your email address where it says "Receive Blog Posts By Submitting Your Email Here" in the right column above the survey.

Proficient Pitchers Part Two 6/13/12

Hey Guys!

Here's part two of my blog of the Proficient Pitchers greatest nicknames ever:

The Rocket - Roger Clemens
Clemens, although not the most loyal person to the law, is called "The Rocket" for a reason. His blazing fastballs were a big part of why he won seven career Cy Young Awards, far more than any other player. Clemens is the only pitcher to start a season 20-1 (2003 with the Yanks) and he also started the memorable sixth game of the '86 Series, a game he was taken out of due to a blister on his pitching hand. His career from 1984-2007 with the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Astros is surely one to marvel at.

The Big Train - Walter Johnson
The second winningest pitcher in baseball history. How much more can you say? Well, from 1907-1927 with the original AL Washington Senators, Walter is considered by many a better pitcher than Cy Young (which I agree with)! He has a 2.17 lifetime ERA, surprisingly only good for 12th all time. However, his 417 wins is second all time to Cy Young. He also had 279 losses, but with numbers like his ERA, who cares. He earned his nickname because of his size and fastball. He was probably so intimidating, not even the best of his time could hit off him. He also has the most shutouts ever with 110, and had 3,508 career strikeouts (and held the strikeout record for over 50 years!!).

Ryan Express - Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan has the most strikeouts of all time (5,714), 324 career wins, and pitched seven no-hitters! Like Johnson, he did have many losses as well, 292. But with stats like his about no-hitters pitched, who cares (deja vu)?  His overpowering fastball, which still was in the high nineties well into his forties, earned him the nickname "The Ryan Express". He is considered by many to be overrated, because he pitched for such a long time, from 1966-1993 (with the Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers), and had he not pitched so long, he would not have reached 300 wins. Nonetheless, he's in the Hall of Fame and on my all time Dream Team for a reason, right?

Well, that's my list. Check out my blog in a few days for the greatest ever hitting nicknames.

Also, if you haven't voted yet, please be sure to take part in my nickname survey on the right column above the Blog Archive. Right now we are doing a survey of the Splendid Speedies group.  As of this moment, it's neck and neck between Larcenous Lou and the Man of Steal.  Remember, every vote counts!

Thanks for reading!

Nickname Survey Announcement 6/11/12

Hey Guys,

I just took down my White Sox survey and the results about whether they would stay in first were one Yes, four No's, two Maybes, and one Not Sure.

I've now decided to survey all of my blog readers to see which is their all time favorite baseball nickname from all the nicknames I have posted about and will post about soon.  So today, I'm putting up a survey for you to pick your favorite Splendid Speedies nickname.  After this group survey is done, I will put up surveys for the groups relating to Fabulous Fielders, Proficient Pitchers, best hitters and all around nicknames.  The winner of each group will then be put into the final survey round.  The survey is about halfway down on the right column of my blog, right above the Blog Archive.  Please vote!!!!  And tell your friends to vote too!!   In a few weeks, I will announce the ultimate nickname winner.

Thanks!

PS - you don't need a gmail account to vote, by the way.

Proficient Pitchers - Part One 6/10/12

Hey Guys!

As I promised in my last blog about fielding nicknames, today I will be blogging about some of the best baseball pitching nicknames of all time.  I will be splitting this topic in two blogs, because I have many good pitching-related nicknames, so here's blog number one:

Dr. K - Dwight Gooden
We all know this pitcher; won the World Series in 1986 with the Mets, no-hit the Seattle Mariners with the Yanks, and also won a World Series with the Bronx Bombers in '96. In a 16-year career from 1984-2000, with mainly the Yanks and Mets, Gooden earned his nickname rightfully by striking out 186 batters per year. Impressive, right? Well, he also won Rookie of the Year in '84 and a Cy Young Award in '85. Irrelevant to his nickname, but a funny stat, he won a Silver Slugger Award in 1992 with the Mets.

The Barber - Sal Maglie
In his 10 years in baseball, Sal had a 3.15 career ERA, 119 wins, and faced Don Larsen the day Don pitched his 1956 World Series perfect game.  The reason he was called "The Barber" was because he would throw the ball around batters' chins who were crowding the plate and gave them close shaves, but he only plunked 44 batters in his career. Fun fact about Maglie: he played for all three New York teams of his time, the Giants, Dodgers, and Yankees.

The Terminator - Jeff Reardon
From 1979-1994, for mainly the Mets, Expos, Twins, and Red Sox, Reardon had 367 career saves, 7th in baseball history. He is called "The Terminator" for his ability to "terminate" the team he was facing in the late innings to preserve his team's victory. He made it to a World Series with the Braves in '92, but lost to the Blue Jays. Reardon also had a career ERA of 3.16.

Check out part two of some of the greatest baseball pitching-related nicknames in baseball history in a few days. After I finish part two of pitching nicknames, it's on to hitting nicknames.

Fabulous Fielders 6/6/12

Hey guys!

Like I promised you all last time in my Splendid Speedies blog post, I will be blogging today about some great nicknames in baseball history, this time pertaining to fielding abilities:

The Vacuum Cleaner - Brooks Robinson
The excellent fielding third baseman won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves in his career (second most all time) with the Baltimore Orioles in the '60s and '70s, and was elected to the All Star Game 15 times in his career. He also had 2,848 career hits. Not bad for someone known for his fielding. By the way, Greg Maddux, the pitcher, holds the all time Gold Gloves record for any player with 18, but his nickname is the Professor (not very defense-sounding).

Scoops - Max Carey
Who's Max Carey? Well, aside from having only 2,665 career hits from 1910 to 1929 with the Pirates and Dodgers, he was a great fielder and is in the Hall of Fame.  He earned the nickname "Scoops" for his outfield plays throwing runners out. He has the most outfield assists in NL history since 1900 with 339, and was known as the greatest fielder of his era. He also has the most career double plays by an outfielder with 86. Max's actual last name was Carnarious, but he adopted the last name "Carey" in his first professional baseball game in order to retain his amateur status at Concordia College.

The Wizard of Oz - Ozzie Smith
Probably the best fielding shortstop who ever played the game of baseball, and you're hearing that from a Derek Jeter fan, Ozzie Smith put on a show at shortstop from 1978-1996 with the Padres and Cardinals. He fielded like "The Wizard of Oz", and his signature back flip made him even more legendary. What's kind of funny about this Hall of Famer is that he is one of the worst career hitters to be elected into the Hall; career batting average of .262, career homer total of 28, but he did have 580 career steals and 13 Gold Gloves. Still, to have hitting numbers like that, it must mean that he fielded like a "Wizard".

Well, there you have it; some of the greatest fielding-related nicknames in history. Thanks for reading! Check out my blog in a few days for the greatest pitching nicknames of all time.

And don't forget to do my survey.

Splendid Speedies 6/3/12

Hey Guys!

Today I will be starting a series of blogs about the greatest nicknames in baseball history. This blog will be about the nicknames pertaining to speed:

Commerce Comet - Mickey Mantle
I know what you're thinking: Mickey Mantle was speedy? Well, the answer is yes. Although he never was a stealing kind of guy, he could run the basepaths in about 12 seconds! The reason he was called the "Commerce" Comet was that he was born in Commerce, Oklahoma. Mick is also on my all time dream team.

Larcenous Lou - Lou Brock
Lou was once the all time steals king, but the king was overthrown by someone else on this list. He still has the most steals in World Series history (14), and has the second most steals all time, with 938. For those of you who don't know, the word larcenous means acused of "stealing".

Mick the Quick - Mickey Rivers
Rivers is the only non-Hall of Famer on this list, but still earned his nickname. He did steal, but his real talent was hitting triples. He was also very speedy in the outfield.

Fordham Flash - Frankie Frisch
Frisch had 419 stolen bases in his career. Along with Mick the Quick, he was also great at legging out triples during the '20s and '30s. He is also sixth all time in World Series steals with nine.

Man of Steal - Rickey Henderson
Rickey is the all time stolen base king in baseball history, with 1,406 career SBs. He had 3,055 hits, which basically calculates to almost one steal per two hits. He also has the most career runs scored with 2,295. Want to know something funny? He also was caught stealing the most times, with 335.

Please check my blog in a few days for the next part of this series which will be fielding nicknames.  I am taking suggestions for how to title the next blog.

By the way, please fill out my new survey about the White Sox in the right column.  In the last survey about whether Albert Pujols would get out of his slump, the results were 8 yes, 4 no and 2 not sure.






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