Nicknames and baseball go together like peanut butter and jelly.
There are literally thousands of different nicknames that baseball players have acquired though their careers, and we all have our favorites.
Making a list of the top 50 nicknames is difficult, because there are some great players and nicknames that have to be left off the list. So I guess I’m apologizing in advance if I left your favorite off the list.
Here are the top 50 nicknames in MLB history:
The New York Yankees are proud to display their best collection of minor league talent since the early-to-mid 1990s. They also have a fan base that is now more abreast on prospects than ever before, which inevitably causes love affairs and limitless hype thrust in the direction of teenagers.
There has been a heightened interest in young stars across the MLB landscape in general, as players such as Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Bryce Harper, and Aroldis Chapman have captivated baseball circles.
All of this prospect hysteria has inspired me to create a list of the most hyped Yankees in team history—representing a caveat that cliffs lay waiting at each turn on the way to the mountain top.
These prospects will span more than six hype-filled decades, and will tell stories of both immortalized success and unbridled failure. Without further ado, let’s dive into the archives of Yankees minor league development:
It’s impossible to judge Miguel Cabrera. During a news conference yesterday, last season’s runner-up for the AL MVP award expressed regret and was apologetic for his actions that led to an arrest for suspicion of drunken driving and resisting arrest without violence nine days ago.
Cabrera, 27, will undergo treatment set up by doctors administrated by management and its players union.
Last season, Cabrera batted .328 with 38 home runs and 126 RBI, all team highs. Despite the treatment, it’s business as usual for Cabrera, who was on the field for team workouts today.
While Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Rob Manfield, the MLB‘s executive vice president of labor relations, did use words like “alcoholism” and “addiction” to describe Cabrera’s problem, Cabrera himself did not use those words.
And while this is not the first run-in with the law that Cabrera has had as a result of alcohol, it is the first time anyone has questioned the effect it could have on his on-the-field performance. In all honesty, it’s hard to question a guy who appeared in four straight All-Star games from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2010.
Cabrera has finished in the top 10 in every Triple Crown category every season since 2005.
It’s safe to say that whatever issues he might have off the field, Cabrera has remained unaffected on the field. That could be where the biggest problem started—no one was talking about it.
In October 2009, Dombrowski had to retrieve Cabrera from a jail cell. Since then, Cabrera has slugged his way past his alcohol problems and into the headlines for all the right reasons.
This time, Cabrera can’t homer his way past these issues. It’s too easy to say that as long as his on-the-field performance remains unaffected, then any addiction facing Cabrera remains secondary. I admit, even I have made statements to that affect.
But we can’t forget that Cabrera is a man, and a man with serious problems at that. It’s interesting to note that BaseballReference.com uses Mickey Mantle as a comparison to Cabrera’s performance through his current age.
Obsessed to a fault about his own mortality, Mantle partied and drank his way through his career. Late in life, finally realizing that he had lived well past the point he thought he’d reach, Mantle was finally able to recognize his addiction to alcohol.
“If I’d known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken a lot better care of myself,” Mantle said.
The years of drinking would take its toll on his liver. After his liver was so badly damaged by alcohol-induced cirrhosis and Hepatitis-C, Mantle needed a transplant, which he received in June of 1995.
Recognizing his status as a role model to millions of people, not just baseball fans, Mantle pleaded, “This is a role model. Don’t be like me.”
He died of liver cancer on August 13, 1995 and he remains one of the most talented, and tragic figures in baseball history.
No one wants that for Cabrera. I’m sure Cabrera doesn’t want that for himself.
All the awards and all the home runs cannot hide the addiction Cabrera must overcome. It’s no easy task and it won’t happen overnight. He first has to admit that he has a problem, and take steps to find the factors in his life which are contributing to his alcoholism.
His on-field performance can no longer be the only thing people talk about. Every time Cabrera strikes out, leaves men on base or goes through a slump of any length, people will be quick to blame his addiction.
That might be a bit unwarranted, but until he shows he’s ready to be healthy and leave the alcohol behind him, Cabrera won’t be able to slug his way past it.
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Legendary New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was without a doubt one of the best center fielders that ever played the game of baseball. His five-tool skills, combining hitting for average, hitting for power, base running skills and speed, throwing ability and fielding abilities were matched only by Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.
However, a new young buck has entered the fold. Los Angeles Angels top-rated prospect Mike Trout is already drawing comparisons to the great Mickey Mantle, and Trout has yet to play a game above the single-A level.
It’s a pretty heady comparison for a kid who has yet to play a game at the Major League Baseball level. But thus far, Trout has not done anything to dissuade those who marvel at his abilities.
Drafted by the Los Angeles Angels out of Milville, NJ in the first round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Trout has excelled at every stop thus far in the Angels’ minor league system, hitting .360 in the Arizona Rookie League after the draft, and then hitting a combined .341 at the single-A and advanced single-A levels last season.
Trout’s 56 stolen bases last season only added to his overall allure, and his .428 on-base percentage showed a disciplined plate attitude, considered exceptional for a player who was only 18 years old at the time.
The accolades and awards have already started to pile up for the young stud, being named the Most Valuable Player of the Midwest League and earning Class A All-Star honors by both Topps and Baseball America.
Late last year, Trout was named the number one minor league prospect by MLB.com.
However, the comparisons to the great Mantle are certainly premature. Remember when the sweet-swinging Will Clark was compared favorably to Ted Williams?
The Angels have already said that they have no intentions to rush Trout to the big leagues, despite his meteoric rise. The Angels have had a history of can’t-miss prospects who never lived up to the hype (Dallas McPherson, Casey Kotchman), so they are understandably taking their time with the young Mike Trout.
With Peter Bourjos, Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter manning the outfield for the Angels, Trout will have time to continue to develop the skills that many believe will lead to a Hall of Fame career. Abe Flores, the player development director for the Angels, says the hype is all great and good, but that it’s important to not get over-excited.
“I wish everyone would just take a deep breath here,” Flores told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s been a lot of momentum around him, but everyone should keep their feet on the ground.
“I’m trying to quash people who are losing their minds comparing this kid to someone in the major leagues.”
The Angels only have to look to Brandon Wood, who was the next can’t-miss prospect for the Angels. Wood suffered through a terrible 2010 season after being named the starting third baseman for the Halos, batting just .146 overall. While Wood will still battle for playing time in 2011, the expectations of greatness are far from fulfilled.
As for Trout, one baseball expert believes that the sky could be the limit.
“I haven’t talked to anyone who’s seen Trout who hasn’t raved about him,” said Jim Callis, an editor at Baseball America. “One scout I talked to said Trout was the favorite prospect he’s ever scouted.
“Another told me he saw him hit a 400-foot home run, and in his next at-bat, he dropped a bunt and got to first in 3.65 seconds. Four seconds is top speed for a major leaguer.”
Mickey Mantle was a legend. Mike Trout could be a legend in the making.
For continuing coverage of the Los Angeles Angels, follow Doug on Twitter @Sports_A_Holic.
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Most Americans (at least before the current depression) retired in their late 60s or early 70s, or not at all. Baseball players, even those with the most longevity, retire while they are still young.
Mickey Mantle retired in 1968 at the tender age of 36. Like old generals, old players never die, but unlike old generals, Mickey Mantle never fades away.
A few years before he passed away, in an interview with a New York newspaper, Mantle revealed that somewhere in the recesses of his brain he never really retired.
Shortly after the end of his career, Mantle had the same dream almost every night. He was in a taxi on his way to the real Yankee Stadium, and he was late.
”I could hear them saying, ‘Now batting, No. 7, Mickey Mantle,’ and I’d try to crawl through a hole into Yankee Stadium, and I’d always get stuck. “Looking through the hole, I could see Casey Stengel and Whitey Ford and all them out there and I couldn’t get in. And I’d wake up, and I’d be sweating like hell. I had that dream a long time.”
That dream went away, but it was replaced with another one which was even more disturbing. The saving grace was that it was sporadic.
“…I dream like I’m trying to pinch hit, and I can’t. I just can’t hit, and if I do hit the ball, I can’t get to first. I don’t even know the guys I’m playing, but I know one thing: they keep waiting for me to hit one out, and I never do. I’m thinking, ‘Jeez, I could at least hit one here,’ and everybody’s saying, ‘He’s really gonna hit one in a minute, boy!’ And then—phtt—I pop up or something. Well, baseball was my whole life. Nothing’s ever been as fun as baseball.”
Mantle is not alone. Almost any retired baseball player would express the same sentiments, at least older retired players. Money was important, but for many, it was less important than being a baseball player.
In 1968, Mickey’s salary was $100,000, which is equivalent to approximately $627,000 today, an amount that is not much more than today’s minimum salary for players.
To put things in perspective, Derek Jeter’s 2010 salary was $22,600,000, which has the buying power of over $3 million in 1968. Think Mickey was underpaid?
Many modern players love the game. Huge salaries, most of which are deserved, and free agency, which has resulted in few players remaining with one team, has resulted in most recently-retired players not missing the game as much as players of the Mantle era missed it.
They have made enough money to keep them busy for the rest of their lives.
References:
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Mickey Mantle matured on Aug. 14, 1960. The New York Yankees were embroiled in a tense pennant race with the defending American League champion Chicago White Sox and the upstart young Baltimore Orioles.
The Washington Senators were in Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader. The Yankees were in first place, but when the games had been completed, they were a third-place team.
Washington won the first game when pitcher Camilo Pascual hit a grand slam off Yankees starter Bullet Bob Turley. The nightcap was one of the most significant in Yankees history, but not because the Yankees lost.
Left-hander Jack Kralick started for the Senators against the Yankees pitcher whose claim to fame was that his last name needed one more vowel. Eli Grba held Washington scoreless until the fifth inning, when Hal Naragon’s force-out grounder scored Reno Bertoia from third with the game’s first run.
The bottom of the sixth changed the rest of Mickey Mantle’s career.
Leadoff hitter Clete Boyer singled to left off Kralick. Roger Maris singled to right off the tough lefty, moving Boyer to third with the potential tying run and bringing up Hector Lopez.
Hector, who had the pejorative nickname “What a Pair of Hands,” hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Jose Valdivielso, who flipped to second baseman Billy Gardner to force Maris. When the ball was hit, it appeared that the Senators would turn an easy double play, but Roger slid hard into second, taking out Gardner to prevent the twin killing.
Maris paid a price for his hustle. He hurt his ribs sliding into Gardner’s right knee and had to be taken out of the game.
Mickey Mantle was the batter with Lopez at first and one out. Kralick peered in to get the signal, checked Lopez and delivered. Mickey hit a hard ground ball to third. Bertoia fielded the ball cleanly and fired to second baseman Gardner for the force out, and Billy relayed to first to double up Mantle, who had stopped running hard halfway to first.
Manager Casey Stengel replaced Mantle.
“I took him out because he didn’t run and I’m tired of seeing him not run. If he can’t run, he should tell me.”
Before the games, Mantle had said that he “was not hurting.”
Mickey Mantle never again failed to run out a ground ball. The stark contrast between Roger Maris getting banged up when he hustled to break up a double play and Mickey not hustling to produce a double play was graphic.
Mickey realized that he had been wrong. He had as much natural ability as almost anyone who ever played the game, but he had disrespected that ability. He no longer would do so.
The next day, against the Orioles, Mickey demonstrated that he was, indeed, the Yankees’ leader.
References
By LOUIS EFFRAT. (1960, August 15). BOMBERS SUFFER 5-4, 6-3 SETBACKS: Senators Win in 15th After Grand Slam by Pascual Decides First Game. New York Times (1923-Current file), p. 27. Retrieved December 21, 2010, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 – 2007). (Document ID: 119110659).
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The 27 New York Yankees World Series Championships span over 87 years, hitting every decade but the 1980’s.
I scoured YouTube for the best video representation for each of the Yankee Championship years and this is what developed – everything from Ken Burns to old Newsreels to television and radio broadcasts to fan video.
It is amazing actually how often some of the greatest moments in Yankee history happened to coincide with a year ending in a championship. For example, DiMaggio’s hitting streak in 1941, the opening of both Yankee Stadiums in 1923 and 2009, Ruth’s 60th, and Maris 61st all occurred in championship years. There’s more too, you’ll see. It could be of course that there are just so many great Yankee moments and so many World Series titles that they happen to overlap.
Anyway, without much further adieu, here’s a quick Yankee video tour that looks at each of the 27 title years: a total of 61 clips, totaling nearly three hours for your indulgence. Final results included and a fact or two, too.
It’s a tour of American culture, as well. See and feel the evolution of the game, the player, the media, the fan, and American and Yankee history.
Enjoy.
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Then, check out Bleacher Report’s Yankees site for the latest in Yankees news.
Mickey Mantle has become better than Joe DiMaggio despite the fact that Mickey played his last game in 1968 and Joe played his last game in 1951.
How is this possible? The answer is that it is not possible.
During his career, the baseball writers and the fans excoriated Mickey because he wasn’t Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Joe DiMaggio rolled into one.
Mickey got a respite in 1956 when he won the Triple Crown, but in 1957, Mickey’s home run total dropped from 52 to 34 and he drove in a “paltry” 94 runs. The fact that he batted .365 was minimized.
The boo birds returned and continued until 1960, when the New York Yankees acquired the services of Roger Maris. The fleet ball hawk from North Dakota inherited Mickey’s Bronx cheers.
With the passage of time, more sophisticated statistical methods of evaluation have been created. A disclaimer is necessary, since many of the new measurements have been accepted without full acknowledgment of their shortcomings, but one result has been that Mickey’s 1957 season compared favorably with his Triple Crown season.
YEAR BA OBA SLG
1956 .353 .464 .705
1957 .365 .512 .665
Lifetime, Mickey batted .298 with a .421 on-base average and a .557 slugging average.
Joe DiMaggio was selected as the greatest living baseball player in 1969. During his career, he was considered the best player in the game.
Mickey was considered the best during and after his 1956 Triple Crown season, but more “experts” ranked Willie Mays as greater than Mickey.
Joe never won a Triple Crown—after all, Ted Williams was in the league—but Joe won two batting championships compared to Mickey’s one. Joe’s highest average in a season was .381.
Lifetime, DiMaggio batted .325 with a .398 on-base average and a .579 slugging mark.
Mickey would have had much better lifetime numbers if his last few seasons, when his injuries hampered him tremendously, were eliminated. From 1951-1964, Mickey batted .309 with a .429 on-base average. He slugged .582.
Joe DiMaggio suffered from injuries, especially after he returned from defending freedom from 1943-45. Imagine what his statistics would be if he had not missed three full seasons.
So far, there is little to choose from, but when one takes each player’s peak seasons, the results might surprise some, especially since Mickey hit 535 home runs to Joe’s 361.
Mickey Mantle from 1954-1958
BA OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.325 .451 .618 38 104
Mickey Mantle from 1960-1964
BA OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.304 .437 .612 35 91
Joe DiMaggio from 1936-1941
BA OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.345 .408 .626 33 136
It is close offensively, but DiMaggio gets a huge edge in batting average, a slight edge in slugging average, and a tremendous edge in batting in runs. Mickey comes out on top in home runs.
DiMaggio was better defensively and was a better baserunner, but Mickey was much faster, could bunt, walked, and struck out much more, and was a great base stealer.
It is difficult to compare two all-time greats, each of whom has become an American and even a worldwide legend, but the edge, although slight, must go to Joe.
References
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Wow! Roy Halladay just pitched a playoff no hitter for the Phillies.
I’m trying to remember the last time I remember a no-hitter in the playoffs. I’m sure Sandy Koufax had some. No? Curt Schilling? No? The Big Unit? No? All those Atlanta Braves guys? No?
Okay! You’re forcing Stan Silliman to Google. I’m too old to Google.
Don Larsen? The perfect game in the 1956 World Series? Geez, what was I doing October 8, 1956? Hmmm?
Game 5 was on a Monday so I was in school—junior high—in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. I remember a little of the series. Actually more interested in Darla of civics class, but that was my hormones talking. Darla was our school’s Annette (of the Mouseketeers) except without the dark hair…and the big mouse ears.
On top of that, I had just seen The Ten Commandments the night before and little did I know my heart was about to witness two major events in back-to-back days. Really, how often do see the waters of a sea part and a perfect game, back-to-back?
Well, actually I only saw part of the perfect game and I can’t really say I saw that much. I will explain.
I did have an interest in the Yankees-Dodgers series. It wasn’t my Cardinals with Stan (my name) Musial but it did have two Oklahomans—Mickey Mantle and Dale Mitchell. After finishing algebra and heading to Phys Ed, Joe Clark came up to me saying he heard on the principal’s radio a no-hitter was being pitched in the World Series and suggests we skip the final class, head to my house, catch it on TV.
I agreed even though I knew every time Joe Clark suggested a scheme, I always took the blame.
On the way to my house, Joe and I argued Doris Day versus Kim Novak. Both of them had the boobs. Not much diff but I favored Novak on the freckle factor. Didn’t care for the freckles.
We hit the door just in time to catch the eighth inning. My mom didn’t even know the game was on but we buzzed up the black and white. Snowy black and white…with a rolling bar. We couldn’t find the GAME! Either the reception was bad or they weren’t carrying it on a Monday afternoon in our part of the world.
We switched on the radio and you could hear the tension. My stomach started to knot. I got out my baseball cards to see how many of my cards were in the game. Jackie Robinson is up. Had his card. Grounds to first. Then Gil Hodges is at bat. Had his card. Lines it to third. Sandy Amoros is up. No card. Hits it deep, there’s excitement, flies out.
Then the Yanks come up at the bottom of the line-up – Larsen, Bauer, Collins. Sal Maglie, the Barber, clips them, shaves ’em, strikes out every batter. If it weren’t for Larsen doing the impossible, Maglie would have got praise for a special game. Maglie was the Debbie Reynolds to Larsen’s Liz Taylor.
Now it’s the ninth and our radio gets scratchy. Furillo, Campanella and Maglie are up. I get out my cards. I’ve got Roy and I’ve got Sal, no Furillo. Makes no difference as Furillo flies to right. Now Roy is up. He is one of my favorites and he can smack the leather off the ball.
Mom hears us screaming and walks in. Roy grounds to second. One more batter, Maglie! No, Dale Mitchell pinches. Not only do I have the card, but it’s autographed. MY autographed card is getting ready to ruin a perfect game. OU’s Dale Mitchell will be known as the guy who cost Don Larsen a perfecto.
Strike One. If Mitchell connects it better be a homer. Strike Two! He’s pressing. No chasing a slider, he’ll wait for a good one. Strike Three! A called strike three.
Joe jumps. Mom jumps. I didn’t know she could do that. My cards go flying…and my magazine with Marilyn Monroe on the cover lands on top of them with Mom still in the room. I said my little heart might not handle two big events back to back—10-C and a Perfecto—let’s make it three.
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I am the George Steinbrenner Plaque.
I am 760 pounds of solid bronze living in my new digs in Monument Park. I’m seven feet wide, wider than CC Sabathia is tall. And I’m five feet tall, taller than CC Sabathia is wide.
I dwarf all these other plaques around me of famous Yankees. Because I am the Boss. People walk by and look my way and say, “God, look at the size of that plaque.” It’s 35 square feet of STEINBRENNER!
When I say I am bronze, I mean it. I’m the color all these young muscle builders at the beach yearn to be.
Hey you, Joe DiMaggio plaque! How do you like ME now that I’m next door to you? Are you able to get a Mr. Coffee out here, Mr. Joe DiMaggio plaque? Does the ghost of Marilyn Monroe float by and say, “That’s my Joe’s plaque?”
Hey you, Babe Ruth plaque! Mr. Bambino, I’m in your house now. Aren’t you going to look my way? What’s the matter, Babe? You think I don’t belong here with all the Yankee greats because I didn’t play ball? I BUILT this new stadium; I mean GEORGE STEINBRENNER built this stadium. I’m his plaque. I belong.
Hey kid, I see you looking at the Mickey Mantle plaque. Why don’t you come over here and look at me? Am I too big for you? Yeah, get your Dad, have him come over here. Read ME!
Why does your Dad say my coat looks crumpled? That’s the way they do a plaque, kid. If my coat were smooth, it wouldn’t be interesting.
Ask your Dad who was responsible for building this new stadium. See that little girl over there? She’s cute, huh? Maybe she’ll come look at me…hang around, kid.
The sun is just starting to shine in my direction. Patina, kid!!! Look at the richness of my bronze. Check out the depth of me. That, kid, is what you call your bas-relief. No, wait a minute, it’s actually your high relief. Boss gets the HIGH relief. Not all cast bronze plaques get this much relief. Only the important ones.
I got so much relief I’m almost a statue. Pigeons have tried to land on my shoulder. Pigeons! And check out my border; that’s one inch thick, kid. Go ahead, you can touch it. You can’t hurt me, because I’m made of BRONZE. Big Bronze in the Bronx. He’s the Bronx Bomber. I’m the Bronze Bomber. Get it, kid?
Hey, Mickey’s Plaque, did you see the kid checking me out? He’s looking at you and you weigh 120 pounds! I weigh 760 pounds. Do you hear that, Mickey’s plaque? You weigh less than Pee Wee Reese. You weigh less than Wee Willie Keeler. You guys are all shrimp plaques. You were good ball players, but your plaques are shrimps.
Hey kid. Be sure to tell your friends to take a tour. Tell them, if they want to see the most gigantous, beautiful plaque in the world, come out here. Thanks, kid.
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