Alliterative Nicknames
Babe Ruth falls into this category over and over again with names like The Colossus of Clout or the King of Crash, but there are many other excellent examples in the eras of baseball. Names like The Mechanical Man (Charlie Gehringer), Everyday Eddie (Eddie Guardado), The Tall Tactician (Connie Mack), The Commerce Comet (Mickey Mantle), The Dominican Dandy (Juan Marichal), or the Sheriff of Swattingham (Mark Reynolds) are some of the best from the past. These kinds of nicknames are rare in today’s game, but there are a few good ones.
Best Alliterative Nicknames
- Honorable Mention:
- The Mississauga Masher – Josh Naylor
- The Millville Meteor – Mike Trout
- Winner:
- The Hawaiian Hustler – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- Honorable Mention:
- Chubbs Senior – Kirby Yates
- Field of Genes – Rich Hill
- Swipe Right – Chad Pinder
- Butters – Trent Thornton
- Tony Two Chains – Anthony Rizzo
- Winner:
- In Flanders Fields – Joey Votto (more on this here)
Nicknames that Come with a Story
Some nicknames are earned from such a specific event that there must be a story attached to get the complete picture. Yogi, Satchel, Shoeless Joe, and Nancy (for Buck O’Neil) all have backstories that are worth knowing. Other names like Old Aches and Pains (Luke Appling), Big Time Timmy Jim (Tim Lincecum), or the many players with the nickname of Death to Flying Things all require some explanation.
For modern day players, there are a few that seem to fit this category, most of the which come from Players’ Weekend jerseys.
Best Nicknames that Come With a Story