Also Read:
What’s
In a Baseball Name?
RED SOX
vs. YANKEES: The Great Rivalry
All
About (sort of)
“B” in Baseball Names
By Dr. Harvey Frommer
For all of you who enjoyed “All About “A” – here
is “All About “B.”
With the season upon us and baseball in the air and on the tongue,
herewith a primer for novices and super
experts. Enjoy, and keeps those
letters and suggestions coming.
THE
BABE George Herman Ruth leads off
the list and paces the list in most nick-names acquired. First called "Babe"
by teammates on the Baltimore Orioles, his first professional team because
of his youth, G.H.Ruth was also called
"Jidge" by Yankee teammates, short for George.
He called most players "Kid," because he couldn't remember names, even of
his closest friends. Opponents called him "The Big Monk" and
"Monkey."
Many of Babe Ruth's nick-names came from over-reaching sports writers who
attempted to pay tribute to his slugging prowess:
"The Bambino", "the Wali of Wallop", "the Rajah
of Rap", "the Caliph of Clout", "the Wazir of Wham",
and "the Sultan of Swat", The Colossus of
Clout, Maharajah of Mash, The Behemoth of Bust, "The King of
Clout."
Other Yankee nick-names, expressions, bon mots of note for "Babe" and
"Ruth." In spring training 1927, Babe Ruth bet pitcher
Wilcy Moore $l00 that he would not get more than
three hits all season. A notoriously weak hitter, Moore somehow managed to
get six hits in 75 at bats. Ruth paid off his debt and Moore purchased
two mules for his farm. He named them "Babe" and "Ruth."
BABE RUTH’S
LEGS
Sammy Byrd was used as a pinch runner for Ruth.
BAM-BAM
Hensley
Meulens could speak about five languages and had
a difficult name to pronounce.
BANTY ROOSTER
Casey
Stengel’S nickname for Whitey Ford because
of his style and attitude.
BAT DAY
In 1951, Bill Veeck ("as in wreck") owned the St.
Louis Browns, a team that was not the greatest gate attraction in the world.
(It's rumored that one day a fan called up Veeck and asked, "What time does
the game start?" Veeck's alleged reply was, "What
time can you get here?") Veeck was offered six thousand bats at a nominal
fee by a company that was going bankrupt. He took the bats and announced
that a free bat would be given to each youngster attending a game accompanied
by an adult. That was the beginning of Bat Day. Veeck followed this promotion
with Ball Day and Jacket Day and other giveaways. Bat Day, Ball Day, and
Jacket Day have all become virtually standard major league baseball
promotions.
BIG POISON and LITTLE
POISON
In the
Pittsburgh lineup. Paul was 5'8l/2'' and weighed 153 pounds. Lloyd was 5'9"
and weighed 150 pounds.
Paul was dubbed Big Poison even though he was smaller than Lloyd, who was
called Little Poison. An older brother even then had privileges. But both
players were pure poison for National League pitchers. Slashing left-handed
line-drive hitters, the Waners collected 5,611
hits between them. Paul's lifetime batting average was .333, and he recorded
three batting titles. Lloyd posted a career average of .316. They played
a combined total of 38 years in the major leagues.
BILLYBALL
the aggressive style of play utilized by Billy Martin
BLIND
RYNE Ryne
Duren because of his very poor vision, uncorrected -20/70 and 20/200.
BONEHEAD MERKLE The phrase "pulling
a bonehead play," or "pulling a boner," is not only part of the language
of baseball, but of all sports and in fact, of the language in general. Its
most dramatic derivation goes back to September 9, 1908. Frederick Charles
Merkle, a.k.a. George
Merkle, was playing his first full game at first
base for the New York Giants. It was his second season in the majors; the
year before, he had appeared in 15 games. The Giants were in first place
and the Cubs were challenging them. The two teams were tied, 1-1, in the
bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, the Giants' Moose McCormick was
on third base and Merkle was on first. Al
Bridwell slashed a single to center field, and
McCormick crossed the plate with what was apparently the winning run.
Merkle, eager to avoid the Polo Grounds crowd that
surged onto the playing field, raced directly to the clubhouse instead of
following through on the play and touching second base. Amid the pandemonium,
Johnny Evers of the Cubs screamed for the baseball, obtained it somehow,
stepped on second base, and claimed a forceout
on Merkle. When things subsided, umpire Hank
O'Day agreed with Evers. The National League upheld
O'Day, Evers and the Cubs, so the run was nullified
and the game not counted. Both teams played out their schedules and completed
the season tied for first place with 98 wins
and 55 losses. A replay of the game was scheduled, and Christy Mathewson,
seeking his 38th victory of the season, lost, 4-2, to Three-Finger Brown
(q.v.). The Cubs won the pennant. Although Merkle
played 16 years in the majors and had a lifetime batting average of .273,
he will forever be rooted in sports lore as the man who made the "bonehead"
play that lost the 1908 pennant for the Giants, for had he touched second
base there would have been no replayed game and the Giants would have won
the pennant by one game.
BROOKLYN SCHOOLBOY was what they
called Waite Hoyt for his time as a star pitcher at Erasmus High School.
BULLDOG
Jim
Bouton, for his tenacity.
BULLET BOB
Bob Turley, for the pop on his fastball.
BYE-BYE
Steve
Balboni, the primary DH of the 1990 Yankees had
17 homers but hit just .192.
Harvey Frommer is in his 38th year of writing books. A noted
oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 42 sports books including
the classics:
"New
York City Baseball, 1947-1957" and
"Shoeless
Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed
Remembering
Yankee Stadium was published in 2008 and his
Remembering
Fenway Park was published to acclaim in 2011.
The prolific Frommer is at work
on WHEN IT WAS JUST A GAME, AN ORAL HISTORY OF SUPER BOWL
ONE.
Frommer mint condition collectible sports books autographed
and discounted are available always from the
author.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated)
reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines
for extended periods of time.
