Carl Yastrzemski
What would this list be without a guy who sportswriters nicknamed “Yaz” just so they wouldn’t have to look foolish misspelling his name all of the time? One of the greatest players of all-time, Yastrzemski played 23 seasons for the Boston Red Sox and performed at a Hall of Fame level after picking up the Red Sox torch from Ted Williams.
Yastrzemski played in 3,308 games, which is second in big league history, amassed 3,419 hits, 452 home runs, drove in 1,844 runs, was an all-star 18 times, and famously won the American League triple crown in 1967. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1989, he has career totals that are still in the top ten in history in at-bats, plate appearances, hits, doubles, walks, and total bases.
The name is almost as unmistakable as Yastrzemski was as a player, and given the numbers he put up during his career, baseball fans will continue to have to learn to spell it for years to come.