Sports in general have always been filled with nicknames for players. In football, there has been Crazy Legs Hirsch, Sweetness, Prime Time, All Day, Beast Mode, The Galloping Ghost, The Honey Badger, among many others. Basketball offers Air Jordan, Dr. J, Wilt the Stilt, The Big O, Black Mamba, The Dream, The Greek Freak, Pistol Pete, The Mailman and many more. However no sport has utilized nicknames over the years like baseball.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Walter “Big Train” Johnson, James “Cool Papa” Bell, Pete Rose-known as Charlie Hustle, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb- the Georgia Peach, Joe DiMaggio-The Yankee Clipper, Ted Williams-the Splendid Splinter, Franklin “Home Run” Baker, Jerome Hannah “Dizzy” Dean, Paul “Daffy” Dean, Willie “The Say Hey Kid” Mays, Hammering Henry Aaron, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Reggie Jackson known as “Mr October, Ron “The Penguin” Cey, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Crime Dog Fred McGriff, Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas, Charles “Chili” Davis, and David “Big Papa” Ortiz is a short list of some of the great nicknames through Major League baseball history.