There is a lot that goes into making a Major League Baseball player great. You have all the stats, the endless advanced stats, clutchness, and perhaps the most important, their name.
Baseball teams have a deep roster at the major league level; then you have all the guys in the farm. Although a name has no correlation to success, it is always fun to root for a player with a fun name.
Let’s rank the top 10 player names in the history of MLB. There will be guys you have never heard of that played forever ago, and the guys you know and love in today’s game.
10. Boots Poffenberger
Hang on; you are telling me you have never heard of the great Boots Poffenberger? Come on! He was a stud on the mound during 1937, the year World War II began.
Boots pitched for two seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched 267.1 innings and had 149 walks compared to 65 strikeouts. Perhaps this is why you have never heard of Poffenberger.
9. Dizzy Dean
We have yet another wartime player, but a much more memorable one here with Dizzy Dean. He played for both the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns, along with the Chicago Cubs.
Dean was a legend on the mound for 17 years throwing just under 2,000 innings!
8. Coco Crisp
If you are a fan of baseball–or even cereal–you probably know Coco Crisp. He is the first player on the list who played in the 2000s.
Crisp was known for being a great all-around player, but his defense and speed were critical throughout his career. He finished with 309 stolen bases and 639 RBIs.
7. Yogi Berra
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” said the wise man Yogi Berra. His quote lives on in history, and so does his name.
Yogi began his career right after WWII and was a New York legend. Unfortunately for Yankees fans, he switched sides to finish his career with the Mets.
6. Goose Gossage
We have a Hall of Famer on the list and a nine-time All-Star, Goose Gossage. He may be competing with Goose from Top Gun for the coolest Goose, but nonetheless, it is an iconic name.
5. Ichiro Suzuki
We are adding this name solely due to how iconic it is in the world of sports. Ichiro changed the baseball game in many ways, and for that, he gets on this list. Just one of many accomplishments from his career.
Arguably and statistically the greatest hitter of all time, Ichiro was loved worldwide. When you have over 3,000 career hits, that will happen.
4. Rusty Kuntz
I am sorry, this had to be included. The name students use in class was an actual baseball player, Rusty Kuntz.
Rusty played outfield for the Tigers and Twins in the 80s. Maybe he should have stuck to his birth name, Russell.
3. Phenomenal Smith
Smith is one of the most common last names in the world, yet, I do not think I have ever met somebody with the name Phenomenal. Mr. Smith, congrats on making our phenomenal list!
Smith pitched for a number of teams in the pros in the late 1800s. His career was far from what his name would suggest, as he had a 54-74 career record.
2. Bud Weiser
Man, imagine the NIL deals this guy could have got. Bud Weiser only played two years in the pros between 1915 and 1916, but he would have been loved had he played today. His career average of .162 might have had something to do with that, but do not hate the player; hate the game.
1. Johnny Dickshot
This baseball list was actually very hard to make. Having not heard of a lot of these guys prior to this article, there are a lot of players who were not born too far after the Industrial Revolution. Taking the top spot on the list is Johnny Dickshot.
You have got to expect Johnny hits the deep ball, right? It did not help that his nickname was “Ugly” either. Dickshot played left field for just under 10 seasons and had a .276 average with 116 RBIs.
