NFBC Message Boards

Okay, I'm stealing this idea from someone else, but no baseball community could fill out this list better than the NFBC's.

I just saw a cool article on TheRinger.com where Shea Serrano compiled the NBA's greatest first name All-Star teams. He has Larry Bird on the Larrys as a 4th seed, with the Kevin's No. 1. Hard to argue with that Kevin team, I'll tell you that. Kevin Durant, Kevin McHale, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Johnson and Kevin Love. Wow, that's a good team. Check it out here along with the guidelines:

https://theringer.com/nba-first-name-game-e1a2249dcab0

Now doing this for baseball would be much, much harder, but I figured that the historians in the NFBC would at least wrack their brains getting some starting lineups going. You never know, maybe it's more obvious than I thought. I have no clue which first name it could be, but if you have some thoughts throw them on this thread and we'll fill in where we can. Let's try to get a starting nine and maybe a closer if we can for a few first names.

Who wants to lead off with a common first name of stars?

Okay, I'll start us out by sorting the Hall of Famers by first name. This should help:

1978 Addie Joss P Cleveland Indians 1902–1910 VC —1 [176]
1989 Al Barlick UMP — 1940–1943 VC —1 [213]
1980 Al Kaline RF Detroit Tigers 1953–1974 BBWAA 88.31% [182]
1977 Al Lopez MGR Chicago White Sox[c 11] 1951–1965 VC —1 [173]
1953 Al Simmons LF Philadelphia Athletics 1924–1941 BBWAA 75.38% [76]
1939 Al Spalding EXEC/PIO Chicago White Stockings 1871–1878 VC —1 [34]
2006 Alex Pompez EXEC New York Cubans 1916–1950 SCNL —2 [281]
1938 Alexander Cartwright PIO Knickerbocker Base Ball Club — VC —1 [23]
1977 Amos Rusie P New York Giants 1889–1895 VC —1 [174]
2010 Andre Dawson RF Montreal Expos 1977–1996 BBWAA 77.90% [304]
2006 Andy Cooper P Kansas City Monarchs 1920–1941 SCNL —2 [275]
1985 Arky Vaughan SS Pittsburgh Pirates 1932–1943 VC —1 [204]
1936 Babe Ruth RF New York Yankees 1914–1935 BBWAA 95.13% [12]
1937 Ban Johnson EXEC — 1900–1927 VC —1 [15]
2008 Barney Dreyfuss EXEC/PIO Pittsburgh Pirates 1899–1932 VC 83.33% [293]
2012 Barry Larkin SS Cincinnati Reds 1986–2004 BBWAA 86.40% [307]
2006 Ben Taylor 1B Indianapolis ABCs 1908–1929 SCNL —2 [286]
2011 Bert Blyleven P Minnesota Twins 1970–1992 BBWAA 79.70% [305]
2000 Bid McPhee 2B Cincinnati Red Stockings 1882–1899 VC —1 [259]
1954 Bill Dickey C New York Yankees 1928–1943 BBWAA 80.16% [79]
1996 Bill Foster P Chicago American Giants 1923–1938 VC —1 [238]
1953 Bill Klem UMP — 1905–1941 VC —1 [75]
2001 Bill Mazeroski 2B Pittsburgh Pirates 1956–1972 VC —1 [262]
1992 Bill McGowan UMP — 1925–1954 VC —1 [225]
1962 Bill McKechnie MGR Cincinnati Reds 1915 VC —1 [96]
1954 Bill Terry 1B New York Giants 1923–1936 BBWAA 77.38% [81]
1991 Bill Veeck EXEC Chicago White Sox 1946–1949 VC —1 [223]
1973 Billy Evans UMP — 1906–1927 VC —1 [145]
1961 Billy Hamilton CF Philadelphia Phillies[c 9] 1888–1901 VC —1 [94]
1975 Billy Herman 2B Chicago Cubs 1931–1943 VC —1 [160]
2008 Billy Southworth MGR St. Louis Cardinals 1929 VC 81.25% [297]
1987 Billy Williams LF Chicago Cubs 1959–1976 BBWAA 85.71% [211]
2006 Biz Mackey C Hilldale Giants 1920–1947 SCNL —2 [278]
1962 Bob Feller P Cleveland Indians 1936–1941 BBWAA 93.75% [95]
1981 Bob Gibson P St. Louis Cardinals 1959–1975 BBWAA 84.04% [187]
1976 Bob Lemon P Cleveland Indians 1941–1942, 1946–1958 BBWAA 78.61% [166]
2014 Bobby Cox MGR Atlanta Braves 1978–2010 VC 100% [312]
1986 Bobby Doerr 2B Boston Red Sox 1937–1944 VC —1 [206]
1953 Bobby Wallace SS St. Louis Browns 1894–1918 VC —1 [77]
2008 Bowie Kuhn EXEC — 1969–1984 VC 83.33% [295]
1967 Branch Rickey EXEC — 1925–1955 VC —1 [113]
1983 Brooks Robinson 3B Baltimore Orioles 1955–1977 BBWAA 91.98% [196]
2006 Bruce Sutter P Chicago Cubs[c 22] 1976–1988 BBWAA 76.90% [284]
1939 Buck Ewing C New York Giants 1880–1897 VC —1 [29]
1972 Buck Leonard 1B Homestead Grays 1933–1950 NLC 77.78% [137][141]
1975 Bucky Harris MGR Washington Senators 1924–1943 VC —1 [159]
2017 Bud Selig EXEC — 1992–2015 VC 93.80% [320]
1998 Bullet Rogan P Kansas City Monarchs 1917 VC —1 [248]
1964 Burleigh Grimes P Brooklyn Dodgers 1916–1934 VC —1 [105]
1976 Cal Hubbard UMP — 1936–1951 VC —1 [165]
2007 Cal Ripken, Jr. SS Baltimore Orioles 1981–2001 BBWAA 98.53% [292]
1939 Candy Cummings EXEC Hartford Dark Blues 1872–1877 VC —1 [28]
1939 Cap Anson 1B Chicago White Stockings 1871–1897 VC —1 [25]
1947 Carl Hubbell P New York Giants 1928–1943 BBWAA 86.96% [61]
1989 Carl Yastrzemski LF Boston Red Sox 1961–1983 BBWAA 94.63% [216]
2000 Carlton Fisk C Chicago White Sox[c 20] 1969 BBWAA 79.56% [258]
1966 Casey Stengel MGR New York Yankees 1934–1936 VC —1 [111]
1987 Catfish Hunter P Oakland Athletics[c 15] 1965–1979 BBWAA 76.27% [210]
1939 Charles Comiskey EXEC/PIO Chicago White Sox 1900–1931 VC —1 [27]
1939 Charles Radbourn P Providence Grays 1881–1891 VC —1 [32]
1949 Charlie Gehringer 2B Detroit Tigers 1924–1942 BBWAA 85.03% [65]
1971 Chick Hafey LF St. Louis Cardinals 1924–1935 VC —1 [129]
1953 Chief Bender P Philadelphia Athletics 1903–1917 VC —1 [72]
1936 Christy Mathewson P New York Giants 1900–1916 BBWAA 90.71% [11]
1980 Chuck Klein RF Philadelphia Phillies 1928–1944 VC —1 [183]
1946 Clark Griffith EXEC/PIO Washington Senators 1891–1914 VC —1 [51]
1937 Connie Mack MGR Philadelphia Athletics 1894–1950 VC —1 [17]
1974 Cool Papa Bell CF St. Louis Stars 1922–1938 NLC 100.00% [151][152]
2015 Craig Biggio 2B Houston Astros 1988–2007 BBWAA 82.70% [314]
2006 Cristóbal Torriente CF Chicago American Giants 1913–1928 SCNL —2 [287]
2006 Cum Posey EXEC Homestead Grays 1920–1946 SCNL —2 [282]
1937 Cy Young P Cleveland Spiders[c 1] 1890–1911 BBWAA 76.12% [21]
1945 Dan Brouthers 1B Buffalo Bisons 1879–1896 VC —1 [38]
1971 Dave Bancroft SS Philadelphia Phillies 1915–1930 VC —1 [127]
2001 Dave Winfield RF New York Yankees[c 21] 1973–1995 BBWAA 84.47% [264]
1955 Dazzy Vance P Brooklyn Dodgers 1915 BBWAA 81.67% [87]
2013 Deacon White 3B Buffalo Bisons (NL) 1871–1890 VC 87.50% [311]
2004 Dennis Eckersley P Oakland Athletics 1975–1998 BBWAA 83.20% [269]
2008 Dick Williams MGR Montreal Expos[c 23] 1967–1969 VC 81.25% [298]
1953 Dizzy Dean P St. Louis Cardinals 1930 BBWAA 79.17% [74]
1984 Don Drysdale P Los Angeles Dodgers 1956–1969 BBWAA 78.41% [198]
1998 Don Sutton P Los Angeles Dodgers 1966–1988 BBWAA 81.60% [249]
2010 Doug Harvey UMP — 1962–1992 VC 93.75% [302]
1980 Duke Snider CF Brooklyn Dodgers 1947–1964 BBWAA 86.49% [184]
1975 Earl Averill CF Cleveland Indians 1930–1941 VC —1 [158]
1996 Earl Weaver MGR Baltimore Orioles 1968–1982 VC —1 [240]
1970 Earle Combs CF New York Yankees 1924–1935 VC —1 [124]
1972 Early Wynn P Cleveland Indians 1939–1945 BBWAA 76.01% [142]
1953 Ed Barrow EXEC New York Yankees 1921–1945 VC —1 [71]
1945 Ed Delahanty LF Philadelphia Phillies 1888–1903 VC —1 [41]
1946 Ed Walsh P Chicago White Sox 1904–1917 VC —1 [57]
1962 Edd Roush CF Cincinnati Reds 1913–1929 VC —1 [98]
1939 Eddie Collins 2B Chicago White Sox 1906–1930 BBWAA 77.74% [26]
1978 Eddie Mathews 3B Milwaukee Braves 1952–1968 BBWAA 79.42% [178]
2003 Eddie Murray 1B Baltimore Orioles 1977–1997 BBWAA 85.28% [268]
1946 Eddie Plank P Philadelphia Athletics 1901–1917 VC —1 [54]
2006 Effa Manley EXEC Newark Eagles 1935–1948 SCNL —2 [279]
1963 Elmer Flick RF Cleveland Indians 1898–1910 VC —1 [100]
1985 Enos Slaughter RF St. Louis Cardinals 1938–1959 VC —1 [203]
1963 Eppa Rixey P Cincinnati Reds 1912–1917 VC —1 [102]
1977 Ernie Banks SS Chicago Cubs 1953–1971 BBWAA 83.81% [169]
1986 Ernie Lombardi C Cincinnati Reds 1931–1947 VC —1 [207]
1991 Ferguson Jenkins P Chicago Cubs 1965–1983 BBWAA 75.40% [220]
1970 Ford Frick EXEC — 1934–1951 VC —1 [125]
1955 Frank Baker 3B Philadelphia Athletics 1908–1914 VC —1 [82]
1946 Frank Chance 1B Chicago Cubs 1898–1914 VC —1 [48]
2006 Frank Grant 2B Cuban Giants 1886–1903 SCNL —2 [276]
1982 Frank Robinson RF Cincinnati Reds[c 13] 1956–1976 BBWAA 89.16% [192]
1999 Frank Selee MGR Boston Beaneaters 1890 VC —1 [254]
2014 Frank Thomas DH Chicago White Sox 1990–2008 BBWAA 83.71% [313]
1947 Frankie Frisch 2B St. Louis Cardinals 1919–1937 BBWAA 84.47% [59]
1945 Fred Clarke LF Pittsburgh Pirates 1894–1915 VC —1 [39]
1976 Freddie Lindstrom 3B New York Giants 1924–1935 VC —1 [167]
1955 Gabby Hartnett C Chicago Cubs 1922–1941 BBWAA 77.69% [84]
2003 Gary Carter C Montreal Expos 1974–1992 BBWAA 78.02% [267]
1991 Gaylord Perry P San Francisco Giants 1962–1983 BBWAA 77.20% [222]
1999 George Brett 3B Kansas City Royals 1973–1993 BBWAA 98.19% [250]
1998 George Davis SS New York Giants 1890–1909 VC —1 [245]
1983 George Kell 3B Detroit Tigers 1943–1957 VC —1 [194]
1973 George Kelly 1B New York Giants 1915–1917 VC —1 [148]
1939 George Sisler 1B St. Louis Browns 1915–1922 BBWAA 85.77% [33]
1971 George Weiss EXEC New York Yankees 1947–1966 VC —1 [134]
1937 George Wright PIO Boston Red Stockings 1867–1882 VC —1 [20]
1968 Goose Goslin LF Washington Senators 1921–1938 VC —1 [117]
2014 Greg Maddux P Atlanta Braves[c 15] 1986–2008 BBWAA 97.19% [313]
1938 Grover Cleveland Alexander P Philadelphia Phillies 1911–1929 BBWAA 80.92% [22]
1979 Hack Wilson CF Chicago Cubs 1923–1934 VC —1 [181]
1992 Hal Newhouser P Detroit Tigers 1939–1955 VC —1 [226]
1982 Hank Aaron RF Milwaukee Braves[c 12] 1954–1976 BBWAA 97.83% [189]
1956 Hank Greenberg 1B Detroit Tigers 1930 BBWAA 84.97% [89]
2013 Hank O'Day UMP — 1895–1927 VC 93.80% [309]
1982 Happy Chandler EXEC — 1945–1951 VC —1 [190]
1984 Harmon Killebrew 1B Minnesota Twins 1954–1975 BBWAA 83.13% [200]
1952 Harry Heilmann RF Detroit Tigers 1914 BBWAA 86.75% [69]
1971 Harry Hooper RF Boston Red Sox 1909–1925 VC —1 [130]
1953 Harry Wright MGR Philadelphia Quakers 1871–1893 VC —1 [78]
1964 Heinie Manush LF Washington Senators[c 10] 1923–1939 VC —1 [108]
1938 Henry Chadwick PIO — — VC —1 [24]
1948 Herb Pennock P New York Yankees[c 6] 1912–1934 BBWAA 77.69% [62]
2001 Hilton Smith P Kansas City Monarchs 1932–1948 VC —1 [265]
1936 Honus Wagner SS Pittsburgh Pirates 1897–1917 BBWAA 95.13% [13]
1985 Hoyt Wilhelm P Chicago White Sox[c 14] 1952–1972 BBWAA 83.80% [205]
1945 Hugh Duffy CF Boston Beaneaters 1888–1906 VC —1 [42]
1945 Hugh Jennings SS Baltimore Orioles (NL)[c 3] 1891–1918 VC —1 [43]
2017 Iván Rodríguez C Texas Rangers 1991–2011 BBWAA 76.00% [318]
2006 J. L. Wilkinson EXEC Kansas City Monarchs 1912–1948 SCNL —2 [289]
1946 Jack Chesbro P New York Highlanders 1899–1909 VC —1 [49]
1962 Jackie Robinson 2B Brooklyn Dodgers 1947–1956 BBWAA 77.50% [97]
2013 Jacob Ruppert EXEC New York Yankees 1915–1938 VC 93.80% [310]
1971 Jake Beckley 1B Pittsburgh Pirates 1888–1907 VC —1 [128]
2017 Jeff Bagwell 1B Houston Astros 1991–2005 BBWAA 86.20% [316]
1946 Jesse Burkett LF Cleveland Spiders 1890–1905 VC —1 [47]
1970 Jesse Haines P St. Louis Cardinals 1918 VC —1 [126]
1974 Jim Bottomley 1B St. Louis Cardinals 1922–1937 VC —1 [153]
1996 Jim Bunning P Detroit Tigers[c 17] 1955–1971 VC —1 [237]
1945 Jim O'Rourke LF New York Giants 1872–1893 VC —1 [45]
1990 Jim Palmer P Baltimore Orioles 1965–1984 BBWAA 92.57% [218]
2009 Jim Rice LF Boston Red Sox 1974–1989 BBWAA 76.44% [301]
1951 Jimmie Foxx 1B Philadelphia Athletics[c 8] 1925–1942 BBWAA 79.20% [67]
1945 Jimmy Collins 3B Boston Red Sox 1895–1908 VC —1 [40]
1974 Jocko Conlan UMP — 1941–1965 VC —1 [154]
1956 Joe Cronin SS Boston Red Sox 1926–1945 BBWAA 78.76% [88]
1955 Joe DiMaggio CF New York Yankees 1936–1942 BBWAA 88.84% [83]
2009 Joe Gordon 2B New York Yankees 1938–1950 VC 83.33% [299]
1971 Joe Kelley LF Baltimore Orioles (NL) 1891–1906 VC —1 [131]
1957 Joe McCarthy MGR New York Yankees 1926–1946 VC —1 [91]
1946 Joe McGinnity P New York Giants 1899–1908 VC —1 [53]
1968 Joe Medwick LF St. Louis Cardinals 1932–1948 BBWAA 84.81% [118]
1990 Joe Morgan 2B Cincinnati Reds 1963–1984 BBWAA 81.76% [217]
1977 Joe Sewell SS Cleveland Indians 1920–1933 VC —1 [175]
1946 Joe Tinker SS Chicago Cubs 1902–1916 VC —1 [55]
2014 Joe Torre MGR New York Yankees 1977–2010 VC 100% [312]
1999 Joe Williams P New York Lincoln Giants 1910–1932 VC —1 [255]
1963 John Clarkson P Boston Beaneaters 1882 VC —1 [99]
1937 John McGraw MGR New York Giants 1899 VC —1 [18]
2017 John Schuerholz EXEC Atlanta Braves 1966–present VC 100.00% [319]
2015 John Smoltz P Atlanta Braves 1988–2009 BBWAA 82.88% [314]
1964 John Ward SS New York Giants 1878–1894 VC —1 [109]
1989 Johnny Bench C Cincinnati Reds 1967–1983 BBWAA 96.42% [214]
1946 Johnny Evers 2B Chicago Cubs 1902–1917 VC —1 [50]
1981 Johnny Mize 1B St. Louis Cardinals 1936–1942 VC —1 [188]
2006 José Méndez P Cuban Stars 1908–1926 SCNL —2 [280]
1972 Josh Gibson C Homestead Grays 1930–1946 NLC 100.00% [136][137]
1983 Juan Marichal P San Francisco Giants 1960–1975 BBWAA 83.69% [195]
2006 Jud Wilson 3B Philadelphia Stars 1922–1945 SCNL —2 [290]
1975 Judy Johnson 3B Hilldale Daisies 1918–1937 NLC —1 [161]
2016 Ken Griffey Jr. CF Seattle Mariners 1989–2010 BBWAA 99.32% [315]
1944 Kenesaw Landis EXEC — 1920–1944 VC —1 [36]
1949 Kid Nichols P Boston Beaneaters[c 7] 1890–1901 VC —1 [66]
1968 Kiki Cuyler RF Chicago Cubs 1921–1938 VC —1 [116]
1945 King Kelly RF Chicago White Stockings 1878–1893 VC —1 [44]
2001 Kirby Puckett CF Minnesota Twins 1984–1995 BBWAA 82.14% [263]
1998 Larry Doby CF Cleveland Indians 1942–1943 VC —1 [246]
1978 Larry MacPhail EXEC — 1933–1942 VC —1 [177]
1998 Lee MacPhail EXEC — 1958–1984 VC —1 [247]
1972 Lefty Gomez P New York Yankees 1930–1943 VC —1 [138]
1947 Lefty Grove P Philadelphia Athletics[c 5] 1925–1941 BBWAA 76.40% [60]
1994 Leo Durocher MGR Brooklyn Dodgers 1939–1946 VC —1 [230]
1995 Leon Day P Newark Eagles 1934–1939 VC —1 [233]
1967 Lloyd Waner CF Pittsburgh Pirates 1927–1942 VC —1 [115]
1970 Lou Boudreau SS Cleveland Indians 1938–1952 BBWAA 77.33% [123]
1985 Lou Brock LF St. Louis Cardinals 1961–1979 BBWAA 79.75% [202]
1939 Lou Gehrig 1B New York Yankees 1923–1939 BBWAA —4 [30]
2006 Louis Santop C Hilldale Daisies 1909–1926 SCNL —2 [283]
1984 Luis Aparicio SS Chicago White Sox 1956–1973 BBWAA 84.62% [197]
1964 Luke Appling SS Chicago White Sox 1930–1943 BBWAA 94.00% [103]
1977 Martín Dihigo P Cuban Stars (East) 1923–1931 NLC 87.50% [170][171]
1961 Max Carey CF Pittsburgh Pirates 1910–1929 VC —1 [93]
1951 Mel Ott RF New York Giants 1926–1947 BBWAA 87.17% [68]
1947 Mickey Cochrane C Philadelphia Athletics[c 4] 1925–1937 BBWAA 79.50% [58]
1974 Mickey Mantle CF New York Yankees 1951–1968 BBWAA 88.22% [156]
1973 Mickey Welch P New York Giants 1880–1892 VC —1 [150]
2016 Mike Piazza C New York Mets 1992–2008 BBWAA 82.95% [315]
1995 Mike Schmidt 3B Philadelphia Phillies 1972–1989 BBWAA 96.52% [235]
1964 Miller Huggins MGR New York Yankees 1913–1929 VC —1 [106]
1973 Monte Irvin LF Newark Eagles 1937–1942 NLC 75.00% [146][147]
1949 Mordecai Brown P Chicago Cubs 1903–1916 VC —1 [64]
1937 Morgan Bulkeley EXEC — 1874–1876 VC —1 [14]
2006 Mule Suttles 1B Newark Eagles 1921 SCNL —2 [285]
1937 Nap Lajoie 2B Cleveland Indians 1896–1916 BBWAA 83.58% [16]
1996 Ned Hanlon MGR Baltimore Orioles (NL) 1889–1890 VC —1 [239]
1997 Nellie Fox 2B Chicago White Sox 1947–1965 VC —1 [241]
1999 Nestor Chylak UMP — 1954–1978 VC —1 [252]
1999 Nolan Ryan P California Angels[c 18] 1966 BBWAA 98.79% [253]
1999 Orlando Cepeda 1B San Francisco Giants 1958–1974 VC —1 [251]
1976 Oscar Charleston CF Pittsburgh Crawfords 1915–1950 NLC —1 [163]
2002 Ozzie Smith SS St. Louis Cardinals 1978–1996 BBWAA 91.74% [266]
2011 Pat Gillick EXEC Toronto Blue Jays 1978–2008 VC 81.30% [306]
2004 Paul Molitor 3B Milwaukee Brewers 1978–1998 BBWAA 85.20% [270]
1952 Paul Waner RF Pittsburgh Pirates 1926–1945 BBWAA 83.33% [70]
2015 Pedro Martinez P Boston Red Sox 1992–2009 BBWAA 91.07% [314]
1984 Pee Wee Reese SS Brooklyn Dodgers 1940–1942 VC —1 [201]
2006 Pete Hill CF Chicago American Giants 1899–1926 SCNL —2 [277]
1997 Phil Niekro P Atlanta Braves 1964–1987 BBWAA 80.34% [243]
1994 Phil Rizzuto SS New York Yankees 1941–1942 VC —1 [231]
1948 Pie Traynor 3B Pittsburgh Pirates 1920–1935 BBWAA 76.86% [63]
1977 Pop Lloyd SS New York Lincoln Giants 1906–1932 NLC 87.50% [171][172]
1965 Pud Galvin P Buffalo Bisons 1875 VC —1 [110]
1954 Rabbit Maranville SS Boston Braves 1912–1933 BBWAA 82.94% [80]
1975 Ralph Kiner LF Pittsburgh Pirates 1946–1955 BBWAA 75.41% [162]
2015 Randy Johnson P Seattle Mariners[c 24] 1988–2009 BBWAA 97.27% [314]
2006 Ray Brown P Homestead Grays 1931–1945 SCNL —2 [273]
1987 Ray Dandridge 3B Newark Eagles 1933–1939 VC —1 [209]
1955 Ray Schalk C Chicago White Sox 1912–1929 VC —1 [86]
1964 Red Faber P Chicago White Sox 1914–1933 VC —1 [104]
1967 Red Ruffing P New York Yankees 1924–1942 BBWAA 86.93% [114]
1989 Red Schoendienst 2B St. Louis Cardinals 1945–1963 VC —1 [215]
1993 Reggie Jackson RF Oakland Athletics[c 16] 1967–1987 BBWAA 93.62% [228]
2008 Rich Gossage P New York Yankees 1972–1989 BBWAA 85.82% [294]
1995 Richie Ashburn CF Philadelphia Phillies 1948–1962 VC —1 [232]
1984 Rick Ferrell C Boston Red Sox 1929–1945 VC —1 [199]
2009 Rickey Henderson LF Oakland Athletics 1979–2003 BBWAA 94.81% [300]
2011 Roberto Alomar 2B Toronto Blue Jays 1988–2004 BBWAA 90.00% [305]
1973 Roberto Clemente RF Pittsburgh Pirates 1955–1972 BBWAA 92.69% [144]
1976 Robin Roberts P Philadelphia Phillies 1948–1966 BBWAA 86.86% [168]
1999 Robin Yount SS Milwaukee Brewers 1974–1993 BBWAA 77.46% [256]
1991 Rod Carew 1B Minnesota Twins 1967–1985 BBWAA 90.52% [219]
1945 Roger Bresnahan C New York Giants 1897 VC —1 [37]
1976 Roger Connor 1B New York Giants 1880–1897 VC —1 [164]
1942 Rogers Hornsby 2B St. Louis Cardinals 1915–1937 BBWAA 78.11% [35]
1992 Rollie Fingers P Oakland Athletics 1968–1982 BBWAA 81.16% [224]
2012 Ron Santo 3B Chicago Cubs 1960–1974 VC 93.75% [308]
1972 Ross Youngs RF New York Giants 1917–1926 VC —1 [143]
1969 Roy Campanella C Brooklyn Dodgers 1948–1957 BBWAA 79.41% [119]
1981 Rube Foster MGR Chicago American Giants 1902–1926 VC —1 [186]
1971 Rube Marquard P New York Giants 1908–1925 VC —1 [132]
1946 Rube Waddell P Philadelphia Athletics 1897 VC —1 [56]
2005 Ryne Sandberg 2B Chicago Cubs 1981–1994 BBWAA 76.16% [272]
1957 Sam Crawford RF Detroit Tigers 1899–1917 VC —1 [90]
1963 Sam Rice RF Washington Senators 1915–1934 VC —1 [101]
1974 Sam Thompson RF Philadelphia Phillies 1885–1898 VC —1 [157]
1972 Sandy Koufax P Los Angeles Dodgers 1955–1966 BBWAA 86.87% [140]
1971 Satchel Paige P Kansas City Monarchs 1927–1953 NLC —1 [133]
2006 Sol White EXEC Philadelphia Giants — SCNL —2 [288]
2000 Sparky Anderson MGR Detroit Tigers[c 19] 1970–1995 VC —1 [257]
1969 Stan Coveleski P Cleveland Indians 1912 VC —1 [120]
1969 Stan Musial LF St. Louis Cardinals 1941–1944 BBWAA 93.24% [122]
1994 Steve Carlton P Philadelphia Phillies 1965–1988 BBWAA 95.82% [229]
1955 Ted Lyons P Chicago White Sox 1923–1942 BBWAA 86.45% [85]
1966 Ted Williams LF Boston Red Sox 1939–1942 BBWAA 93.38% [112]
1964 Tim Keefe P New York Giants 1880–1893 VC —1 [107]
2017 Tim Raines LF Montreal Expos 1979–2002 BBWAA 86.00% [317]
1953 Tom Connolly UMP — 1898–1931 VC —1 [73]
2014 Tom Glavine P Atlanta Braves 1987–2008 BBWAA 91.94% [313]
1992 Tom Seaver P New York Mets 1967–1986 BBWAA 98.84% [227]
1980 Tom Yawkey EXEC Boston Red Sox 1933–1976 VC —1 [185]
1997 Tommy Lasorda MGR Los Angeles Dodgers 1976–1996 VC —1 [242]
1946 Tommy McCarthy RF Boston Beaneaters 1884–1896 VC —1 [52]
2007 Tony Gwynn RF San Diego Padres 1982–2001 BBWAA 97.61% [291]
2014 Tony La Russa MGR St. Louis Cardinals[c 15] 1979–2011 VC 100% [312]
1991 Tony Lazzeri 2B New York Yankees 1926–1939 VC —1 [221]
2000 Tony Pérez 1B Cincinnati Reds 1964–1986 BBWAA 77.15% [260]
1982 Travis Jackson SS New York Giants 1922–1936 VC —1 [191]
1937 Tris Speaker CF Cleveland Indians 1907–1928 BBWAA 82.09% [19]
2000 Turkey Stearnes CF Detroit Stars 1920–1942 VC —1 [261]
1936 Ty Cobb CF Detroit Tigers 1905–1928 BBWAA 98.23% [9]
1995 Vic Willis P Boston Braves 1898–1910 VC —1 [236]
2005 Wade Boggs 3B Boston Red Sox 1982–1999 BBWAA 91.86% [271]
1969 Waite Hoyt P New York Yankees 1918–1938 VC —1 [121]
1983 Walter Alston MGR Los Angeles Dodgers 1954–1976 VC —1 [193]
1936 Walter Johnson P Washington Senators 1907–1927 BBWAA 83.63% [10]
2008 Walter O'Malley EXEC Los Angeles Dodgers 1950–1979 VC 75.00% [296]
1979 Warren Giles EXEC Cincinnati Reds 1937–1951 VC —1 [179]
1973 Warren Spahn P Milwaukee Braves 1942 BBWAA 82.89% [149]
1974 Whitey Ford P New York Yankees 1950 BBWAA 77.81% [155]
2010 Whitey Herzog MGR St. Louis Cardinals 1973–1990 VC 87.50% [303]
1945 Wilbert Robinson MGR Brooklyn Dodgers 1902 VC —1 [46]
1972 Will Harridge EXEC — 1909–1925 VC —1 [139]
2006 Willard Brown CF Kansas City Monarchs 1935–1950 SCNL —2 [274]
1995 William Hulbert EXEC — 1876–1882 VC —1 [234]
1939 Willie Keeler RF New York Highlanders[c 2] 1892–1910 BBWAA 75.55% [31]
1979 Willie Mays CF San Francisco Giants 1951–1952 BBWAA 94.68% [180]
1986 Willie McCovey 1B San Francisco Giants 1959–1980 BBWAA 81.41% [208]
1988 Willie Stargell LF Pittsburgh Pirates 1962–1982 BBWAA 82.44% [212]
1997 Willie Wells SS St. Louis Stars 1923 VC —1 [244]
1972 Yogi Berra C New York Yankees 1946–1963 BBWAA 85.61% [135]
1959 Zack Wheat LF Brooklyn Dodgers 1909–1927 VC —1 [92]

I couldn't help myself. I thought the Billy's looked good from the start, but it got better as I looked into it. I stretched it with Willie Keeler, but that seemed like a Billy to me!! Pretty strong team here.

Team Billy:

C Bill Dickey, New York Yankees 1928–1943
1B Bill Terry, New York Giants 1923-36
2B Bill Mazeroski, Pittsburgh Pirates 1956–1972
SS Bill Russell, Los Angeles Dodgers 1969-1986
3B Bill Madlock, 1973-1987
LF Billy Williams, Chicago Cubs 1959–1976
CF Billy Hamilton, 1888-1901
RF Willie Keeler, New York Giants, 1892-1910
SP Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox, 1945-64
RP Billy Wagner, Houston Astros, 1995-2010

I have a feeling I know what a section or two will be doing at the AFL this fall...

Arky

No that's not it.

Ok, Babe
No

Man, this is hard.

We can do better than first names
The All-Nickname team for describing body parts and player 'tendencies'...
With political correctness, the days of the great nicknames are gone....

C Lawrence 'Yogi' Berra
(If a nickname ever fit....)

1B- Willie 'Stretch' McCovey
(Even this nickname is no longer used)

Bachup 1B- Brandon 'Baby Giraffe' Belt
(Modern day, animal names are still ok. This one really fits.
Kung Fu Panda gets an honorable mention here too)

2B Johnny 'Ugly' Dickshot
(I cheated in that Dickshot (Love writing the name) was mostly an outfielder, but wanted to include him.
Dickshot (never gets old) gave himself the nickname. He thought of himself as the ugliest man in baseball.
Dickshot married and had five little Dickshot's. None of which, he thought, 'Ugly'.

3B Ron 'The Penguin' Cey
(Anybody who saw Cey walk across the field would enjoy the nickname)

SS Harold 'Pee Wee' Reese
Reese was a giant though when it came to 'The Boys of Summer')

LF Walter 'No Neck' Williams
(Look at a baseball card)

CF Jimmy 'Toy Cannon' Wynn
(Khris Davis is the modern day Jim Wynn)

RF Joe 'Ducky' Medwick
(Medwick's gait was similar to a duck's, much like Cey and a penguin. He took offense of the nickname.
His teammates called him 'Muscles' in overcompensating))

DH- William 'Dummy' Hoy
(He is widely credited for out and safe calls with the right hand up and the palms down. Also, the right hand going up when a strike was called.
Signals from the third base coach have also been attributed to Hoy.
'Dummy' was deaf and needed the signals by hand.
Back in the day, 'Dummy' was a common nickname for the hearing impaired.)

STARTER Mordecai ''Three Fingers' Brown
(He would be suing somebody for using that name today)

LEFTY STARTER- Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson
(This has to do with his height, right?)

REL- Don 'Ears' Mossi
(In the book, 'Ball Four', Jim Bouton wrote that when Mossi approached, he looked like a taxi cab with both doors open.
Seriously, look at his baseball card)

REL- Mark 'Scrabble' Rzepczynski
(Nothing to do with the body, just like the nickname)

REL- Ryne 'Coke bottle Glasses' Duren
(Hitters were terrified of Duren. He threw hard and looked like he couldn't see.
Casey Stengel said that if a player got hit in the head by Duren that he would be talked about in the past tense.
Duren was the inspiration for yet another nickname, Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn)

DJMDJM wrote:Arky

No that's not it.

Ok, Babe
No

Man, this is hard.

Fewer Yulieski's than I would have imagined.

greg- so you were willing to go with willie keeler- but not mays stargell or mccovey? i guess i should go look for some pitchers- but those 4 wllies kinda look good.

headhunters wrote:greg- so you were willing to go with willie keeler- but not mays stargell or mccovey? i guess i should go look for some pitchers- but those 4 wllies kinda look good.

Keeler's name is William, which has Bill as a nickname. Wilver Stargell was Pops given name and Willie is on Mays and McCovey's birth certificates.

I'm heading to an auction for a local gym that went out of business. If I buy anything, I'll spend the next few hours washing off the Legionnaire's disease, but I will take a crack at this later. The Jims and Mikes will be tough to beat.

I'm waiting for Bryan's all 'Middle Name' team....

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
2014 Greg Maddux P Atlanta Braves[c 15] 1986–2008 BBWAA 97.19% [313]
2015 John Smoltz P Atlanta Braves 1988–2009 BBWAA 82.88% [314]
1949 Kid Nichols P Boston Beaneaters[c 7] 1890–1901 VC —1 [66]
1997 Phil Niekro P Atlanta Braves 1964–1987 BBWAA 80.34% [243]
2014 Tom Glavine P Atlanta Braves 1987–2008 BBWAA 91.94% [313]
1995 Vic Willis P Boston Braves 1898–1910 VC —1 [236]
1973 Warren Spahn P Milwaukee Braves 1942 BBWAA 82.89% [149]

Quite a pitching staff.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:We can do better than first names
The All-Nickname team for describing body parts and player 'tendencies'...
With political correctness, the days of the great nicknames are gone....

C Lawrence 'Yogi' Berra
(If a nickname ever fit....)

1B- Willie 'Stretch' McCovey
(Even this nickname is no longer used)

Bachup 1B- Brandon 'Baby Giraffe' Belt
(Modern day, animal names are still ok. This one really fits.
Kung Fu Panda gets an honorable mention here too)

2B Johnny 'Ugly' Dickshot
(I cheated in that Dickshot (Love writing the name) was mostly an outfielder, but wanted to include him.
Dickshot (never gets old) gave himself the nickname. He thought of himself as the ugliest man in baseball.
Dickshot married and had five little Dickshot's. None of which, he thought, 'Ugly'.

3B Ron 'The Penguin' Cey
(Anybody who saw Cey walk across the field would enjoy the nickname)

SS Harold 'Pee Wee' Reese
Reese was a giant though when it came to 'The Boys of Summer')

LF Walter 'No Neck' Williams
(Look at a baseball card)

CF Jimmy 'Toy Cannon' Wynn
(Khris Davis is the modern day Jim Wynn)

RF Joe 'Ducky' Medwick
(Medwick's gait was similar to a duck's, much like Cey and a penguin. He took offense of the nickname.
His teammates called him 'Muscles' in overcompensating))

DH- William 'Dummy' Hoy
(He is widely credited for out and safe calls with the right hand up and the palms down. Also, the right hand going up when a strike was called.
Signals from the third base coach have also been attributed to Hoy.
'Dummy' was deaf and needed the signals by hand.
Back in the day, 'Dummy' was a common nickname for the hearing impaired.)

STARTER Mordecai ''Three Fingers' Brown
(He would be suing somebody for using that name today)

LEFTY STARTER- Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson
(This has to do with his height, right?)

REL- Don 'Ears' Mossi
(In the book, 'Ball Four', Jim Bouton wrote that when Mossi approached, he looked like a taxi cab with both doors open.
Seriously, look at his baseball card)

REL- Mark 'Scrabble' Rzepczynski
(Nothing to do with the body, just like the nickname)

REL- Ryne 'Coke bottle Glasses' Duren
(Hitters were terrified of Duren. He threw hard and looked like he couldn't see.
Casey Stengel said that if a player got hit in the head by Duren that he would be talked about in the past tense.
Duren was the inspiration for yet another nickname, Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn)

I was at Cooperstown on Thursday with my daughter and my GF for a belated Father's Day trip.
The GF was entertained by the nicknames on the plaques. One I wasn't familiar with was Tony "Poosh em up" Lazzeri.
While I had heard of the player, I had never heard of the nickname, nor could I even entertain a notion as to its origin.

This is what wiki says:
"He was nicknamed "Poosh 'Em Up" by Italian-speaking fans, from a mistranslation of an Italian phrase meaning to "hit it out" (hit a home run)."

lol...okay!!
It was the 1920's. after all.

You had me with the first four words of your post....


In the highest minors, Lazzeri once hit 60 homers and drove in 222 runs.
Just crazy.
That was 1925.
Two years later, Babe Ruth would equal the 60 homers at the highest level.

'Poosh 'em up' was something a fellow Italian yelled as Lazzeri entered the batter's box in Salt Lake City.
It caught on and soon became a normality to hear from many when Lazzeri approached the batters box.
The meaning? I guess only that first fan is the only one that knows for sure.

This wasn't the first time a fan had an effect on a nickname.
Stan Musial battered Brooklyn Dodgers pitching during a series.
It seemed to fans as if he was always up.
They'd mutter, "Oh no! Here comes that Man again"
Thereafter, Musial was known as 'Stan the Man'.

Can't forget Ty "The Georgia Peach" Cobb
Hank "The Hebrew Hammer" Greenberg
Mickey "The Commerce Comet" Mantle
Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose
Duke "The Duke of Flatbush" Snider
Ted " The Splendid Splinter" Williams
Willie " The Say Hey Kid" Mays
"Dizzy" Dean
"Home Run" Baker
Baseball nicknames are the best. Easy to make All Star teams out of great nicknames.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:You had me with the first four words of your post....

HA!
Haven't been there since my father took me as a kid. Really didn't remember much except for the Mickey Mantle HOF plaque-postcard he got me. It was really something to see it with the ladies.

They had a kiosk that you could test your trivia knowledge vs the others that came thru that day. My daughter was impressed that I had the 4th highest score (you probably were one of the 3 ahead of me )

I got to explain everything from "Say Hey" to Mr. November & Mr. October....which, living here in the NY Metro area,...they should have really known

They tried to stump me on where they were taking me. All I knew was the date and that we would drive Wednesday night to stay over to Thursday. After scanning the schedules and ruling out teams here on the east coast that were away, I frustrated them by guessing my gift. They know me too well.

I've tried some teams without Hall of Famers since they make it a little bit obvious
One of my favorites is 'Ron'..

C-, Ron Karkovice
1B- Ron Fairly
2B- Ron Hunt
3B- Ron Santo (The Hall screwed him over so long, that I consider him fair game)
SS- Ronny Cedeno
LF- Ron Kittle
CF- Ron Gant
RF- Ron LeFlore
DH- Ron Cey
RH- Ron Darling
LH- Ron Guidry
CL- Ron Perranoski

MGR- Ron Gardenhire

Aologies to Ron Swoboda.....

Here is one for you, Greg...

C.- Gregg Zaun
1B- Greg Colbrunn
2B- Gregg Jefferies
3B- Greg Garcia
SS- Greg Gagne
LF- Greg Gross
CF- Gregor Blanco
RF- Gregory Polanco
DH- Greg Vaughn
LH- Greg Swindell
RH- Greg Maddux
CL- Greg Holland

I'll bet there are a couple I missed. It seems like a couple of these players could be benched for better Greg's.

Since the Greg team went up, I've been pestered about another name....

C- Tom Haller
1B- Tommy Joseph
2B- Tom Herr
3B- Tom LaStella
SS- Tom Tresh
LF- Tommy Davis
CF- Tommie Agee
RF- Tom Brunansky
DH- Tommy Harper
LH- Tom Glavine
RH- Tom Seaver
CL- Tom Henke

MGR- Tom LaSorda

'Tom' is bolstered by Hall of Fame pitching. He also has a few more studs in the bullpen in Tom Browning and Tommy John.
Somebody can probably give the 'Tom's' a better 3B than LaStella....

Thanks for the subject, Greg.
Gave me something to think about while scorekeeping long, dull games.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:I've tried some teams without Hall of Famers since they make it a little bit obvious
One of my favorites is 'Ron'..

C-, Ron Karkovice
1B- Ron Fairly
2B- Ron Hunt
3B- Ron Santo (The Hall screwed him over so long, that I consider him fair game)
SS- Ronny Cedeno
LF- Ron Kittle
CF- Ron Gant
RF- Ron LeFlore
DH- Ron Cey
RH- Ron Darling
LH- Ron Guidry
CL- Ron Perranoski

MGR- Ron Gardenhire

Aologies to Ron Swoboda.....

Karkovice took over for Etchebarren as catcher on the All Ugly team.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:Here is one for you, Greg...

C.- Gregg Zaun
1B- Greg Colbrunn
2B- Gregg Jefferies
3B- Greg Garcia
SS- Greg Gagne
LF- Greg Gross
CF- Gregor Blanco
RF- Gregory Polanco
DH- Greg Vaughn
LH- Greg Swindell
RH- Greg Maddux
CL- Greg Holland

I'll bet there are a couple I missed. It seems like a couple of these players could be benched for better Greg's.

Jeez. Let's bend the rules and give the poor guy Craig Nettles at least.

Here is another one:
C Dave Duncan
1B Dave Kingman
2B Davey Lopes
SS Dave Concepcion or Dave "Beauty" Bancroft
3B David Wright
OF Dave Winfield
OF Dave Parker
OF Dave Henderson
DH David Ortiz

SP David Cone
SP Dave Stewart
SP Dave McNally
RP Dave Righetti

I admit I needed help from the internet for this one.
Not so much to 'cheat' but for verification of names and nicknames.
It was a learning experience for me and I love learning more about our game.
While score keeping and thinking of names for teams, I thought about having the 'Anti-Name team'.
A group of players who share their names with no other players. Unique names.
For instance, Rocco Baldelli may have had his career cut short, but he is the only 'Rocco' in baseball history.
I eliminated Asian names and limited Spanish names as they have not had the years to build names as our English names.
Nicknames, thought to be real names hurt me a couple of times. I will tell you more about that later.

Here is the team and trust me, there may be better alternatives, so chime in

C- Thurman Munson
1B- Harmon Killebrew
2B- Rogers Hornsby
3B- Hanley Ramirez
SS- Honus Wagner
LF- Arky Vaughn
CF- Tris Speaker
RF- Kiki Cuyler
DH- Kendrys Morales
RP- Christy Mathewson
LP- Madison Bumgarner
CL- Aroldis Chapman

Some notes while verifying...

Elston Howard came close to beating out Thurman Munson.

I wanted Pie Traynor on the team. I had thought that 'Pie' Traynor was his real name. It is not.
Traynor's real name was Harold. He was known as 'Pie' most of his life. As a young child, he would go to the grocer almost every day asking about pie. The grocer and others began calling him 'Pieface' for his pie fetish. It was shortened to 'Pie'.
A funny thing about Pie's real name, Harold.
As far as I can tell, there are only two players in baseball that went by the name, Harold.
Harold Baines and Harold Reynolds.
The rest of the 'Harold's' went by nicknames, most notably, Traynor and Pee Wee Reese.

I wanted 'Tug' McGraw as my Closer but found that was also a nickname.
He acquired the nickname at the earliest of ages.
It seems he was overly aggressive while breast feeding. Ouch.

If having a child and want him to become a great ball player, name him 'Robin'.
There are three 'Robin's' in baseball. All have turned out to be great baseball players.
Can you name them?
They are Robin Roberts, Robin Yount, and Robin Ventura.

Some of us grew up with 'Archie' comic books.
And know about Archie Bunker from the tv show 'All in the Family'.
But I believe that Archie Bradley is the only 'Archie' in baseball history.
Who knew that when Madison Bumgarner squared off against Archie Bradley that it was a battle of original baseball names?
I didn't.
Fun Stuff.

DOUGHBOYS wrote: For instance, Rocco Baldelli may have had his career cut short, but he is the only 'Rocco' in baseball history.

C'mon Dan, I think Mr. Rocco Domenico Colavito would have something to say about that!

whale4evr wrote:

DOUGHBOYS wrote: For instance, Rocco Baldelli may have had his career cut short, but he is the only 'Rocco' in baseball history.

C'mon Dan, I think Mr. Rocco Domenico Colavito would have something to say about that!

So right!
And it makes my point about nicknames being confusing.
Good catch!

Edit- I wish we could place Colavito in today's game.
Man, he had an arm. Some of the throws he made from right field were just amazing.

One more edit- How about a list of offensive players we would have loved to see pitch?
Shawon Dunston
Rocky Colavito
Bo Jackson