MLB: Five Toughest Player Names To Spell

The annual Scripps National Spelling Bee once again proved to be must-watch TV this past Thursday. After a quick poll of Call To The Pen writers, we give you some of the most difficult player names in the history of baseball to spell correctly.

If you’re like Cleveland Indians’ shortstop Francisco Lindor, you spent Thursday night not watching game six of the the NBA’s Golden State Warriors-Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference Finals, but rather glued to two teenagers duking it out in one of the most epic Scripps National Spelling Bees in history. Through 25 championship rounds, Nihar and Jairam captivated America and proved that just because you can spell, doesn’t mean you can land a high five.

That got all of us writer types here at Call To The Pen thinking about our baseball card-memorizing, ballgame-attending, FanGraphs-scanning pasts, and wondering which players in the game’s history would’ve had a chance at stumping the finalists on the dais.

Baseball has had its fair share of memorable names. For every Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds that only takes a few letters to spell, there are those that prove much trickier.

Nihar and Jairam finished in a tie and proved themselves champions of vocabulary. Is your knowledge of baseball history on par with what those kids can do with a dictionary? Let us know in the comments if you could have spelled these tongue-twisting names from the national pastime.

Before we get started, it should be noted that the following players earned honorable mention: Yoenis Cespedes, Arquimedes Caminero, Mark Grudzielanek, Joaquin Andujar, Louis Sockalexis, Zoilo Versalles, Red Schoendienst, and George “Snuffy” Steinweiss. Doug Mientkiewicz was also left out because the author still can’t spell his name.

Next: Who cracked the top 5?