Of all the sports, baseball may have the longest history of great nicknames. In fact, many great players are only known by their nicknames, and their real names have been forgotten over the years.
The following quiz has 25 questions. Some of them will be pretty easy, but I’ll be amazed if anyone gets them all correct without the help of Google or ChatGPT. There are a few current players in the list, but these baseball nicknames come from all different time periods since baseball became a big deal.
Way too often, I see quizzes hyped up as being impossible, and then they turn out to be easy for even a casual fan. Other quizzes just seem to go on forever, and their primary goal seems to be to get as many clicks as possible. While we may at some point have ads or separate quizzes into a few pages for simplicity’s sake, we’ve worked very hard to make sure these quizzes are quick and fun. If you appreciate the work we’ve put in, it would help us greatly if you shared your results on social media when you are done.
Enough talking! It’s time to prove your knowledge of the game and show everyone how much you know about baseball’s greatest nicknames. Play Ball!
All-Time Great Baseball Nicknames Quiz (25 Questions)
Results
Impressive! You are a veteran of the game and will undoubtedly earn some Hall of Fame votes in the future.
Don’t worry, rookie, even some of the best players in baseball history have gotten sent back to the minors after slow starts. Keep training and one day you’ll be ready for the show.
#1. We’ll start off easy. Frequently discussed as maybe baseball’s greatest hitter, this slugger was known as, “The Splendid Splinter.”
Williams was also known as The Kid and Teddy Ballgame among a few other nicknames.
#2. Baseball nicknames aren’t just a thing from the distant past. This slugger terrorized pitchers in the 1990s and was known as “The Big Hurt.”
Frank Thomas picked up the Big Hurt moniker from a Chicago broadcaster who watched him belt a 450-foot homerun during the 1992 season.
#3. The Negro Leagues had plenty of nicknames as well. This speedster was known as “Cool Papa.”
James “Cool Papa” Bell was said to be so fast he could turn off the lights at night and be under the covers before it got dark.
#4. The Yankees are the most storied team in baseball history, but only one player is known as “The Yankee Clipper.” ? Marilyn says hi!
In 1939, Joe DiMaggio was nicknamed the “Yankee Clipper” by Yankee Stadium announcer Arch McDonald when he likened DiMaggio’s speed and range in the outfield to the then-new Pan American airliner.
#5. This pitcher was a national sensation in his rookie year, but his nickname of “The Bird” was given during his minor league time.
Evidently, a minor-league manager thought Mark Fidrych galloped like Sesame Street’s “Big Bird.” Later, Fidrych appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the character.
#6. Sometimes a nickname is the only name we know a player or manager by. Do you know what “Sparky” Anderson’s first name actually is?
A double-A radio announcer gave George Anderson the nickname “Sparky” in 1955 for his feisty play.
#7. In addition to having the most expensive baseball card of all-time, this great hitter of the early 1900’s was known as “The Flying Dutchman.”
Honus Wagner’s heritage was actually German, so it started as “Deutschman.”
#8. The Phillies of the mid-90s were a successful and colorful team, but also one surrounded by controversy. This scrappy player earned the nickname “Nails” for his scrappy play.
Dykstra certainly played the game hard, but his personal life has been just as hard. In 2011, he was arrested and charged with bankruptcy fraud, followed by grand theft auto and drug possession charges on an unrelated case, as well as indecent exposure.
#9. This fireballer from the first half of the 20th century was known as “The Big Train.”
Cy Young has the award named after him, but Walter Johnson may be the best pitcher ever, with an astonishing 110 career shutouts. Johnson’s size and fastball reminded sportswriter Grantland Rice of an express.
#10. Sometimes nicknames tell us a lot about a player. Sometimes they don’t. This hardnosed seemingly angry player was one of the top hitters in baseball, but his nickname was “The Georgia Peach.”
While many stories tell of Cobb’s racist and sometimes violent ways, his attitude on race underwent a change following his retirement, and he spoke favorably about black players joining the Major Leagues.
#11. “Hack” Wilson holds the MLB record of 191 RBIs in a season. Bet you don’t know his real first name.
There are contrasting stories on how Lewsi Wilson got his nickname. Most are in some way related to his 5’6″, 190 lb. frame.
#12. These two brothers were known as “Big Poison” and Little Poison.”
The nicknames aren’t as sinister as they seem. Biographer Clifton Blue Parker wrote that “poison” was Brooklynese for “person.”
#13. This pitcher won 245 games during his career and was referred to as “El Presidente.”
Dennis Martinez was the first Nicaraguan to play in the majors and is one of a handful of pitchers to have 100 games in each league.
#14. There have been a lot of characters during the history of baseball but only one earned the nickname of “Spaceman.”
Bill Lee was a good pitcher, but his antics often overshadowed his performance. In 1980, he admitted to using marijuana, which was pretty controversial at the time. When called into Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s office, Lee said he did not smoke the drug but just put it on his pancakes.
#15. This heavy hitter who played in the mid-2010s had several nicknames due to his stocky build, but maybe the best was “El Oso Blanco.”
Gattis was hitting mammoth bombs in the Venezuelan Winter League when the fans began to use the nickname El Oso Blanco, which means “The White Bear.”
#16. Duke Snider’s nickname was “The Duke of Flatbush,” but the name Duke was a nickname as well. Do you know his given first name?
Edwin Donald Snider was nicknamed “Duke” by his father at age 5.
#17. This pitcher was dubbed “The Barber” for his tendancy to pitch high and tight and give a few close shaves.
Sal Maglie was a very good pitcher who finished second in both the Cy Young and MVP voting in 1956. That same year, he was the opposing pitcher when Don Larsen tossed the only perfect game in World Series history.
#18. Many batters have intricate pre at-bat routines. This guy’s routine earned him the moniker “The Human Rain Delay.”
According to Wikipedia his routine went something like this; (1) adjusting his helmet, (2) adjusting his batting glove, making sure it was tight on his hand and especially the thumb, (3) pulling each sleeve on his uniform up about an inch, and (4) wiping each hand on his uniform pants – and then sometimes repeating the whole process again – before finally settling back into the box… Needless to say, he would have struck out in every at-bat with the current pitch clock.
#19. Bucky Dent hit a huge home run that broke the hearts of Boston fans in 1978. Bucky is not his real name. What is it?… And no, not the one Red Sox fans may have given him.
Nowhere in Russell Earl Dent’s name is there an F, contrary to what Red Sox fans may think. Dent hit one of the biggest homers in MLB history, but it was one of just 40 he hit in his entire career.
#20. Mookie Wilson is another player most of us only know by his nickname. Do you know his real first name?
The story goes that as a small child, William tried to say milk, and it came out more like mookie.
#21. This intimidating flame thrower was known as, “The Big Unit.”
I’m not sure, but Johnson’s 6-foot-10-inch frame just might have earned him the nickname.
#22. Most nicknames are for a singular player, but their have been two great catchers who were called by the nickname Pudge. Who are they?
Select all that apply:
Fisk was the first Pudge, but most current fans will most likely know Rodriguez as their Pudge.
#23. Which all-time great was known as, The Say Hey Kid?”
Willie Mays was nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid” because of his habit of using the word “hey” when greeting people, especially when he didn’t know their names. A New York sportswriter noticed this habit and started calling him the “Say Hey Kid” in his articles.
#24. This long-time player and manager was lovingly called, “The Gerbil.”
Don Zimmer was nicknamed “The Gerbil” by Bill Lee due to his facial resemblance to the animal, particularly after gaining some weight.
#25. This power hitter may have gotten the nickname Polar Bear because of his big burly appearance.
Evan Gattis was El Oso Blanco which means big white bear, and Alonso was The Polar Bear… Come to think of it, have you ever seen Gattis and Alonso together? Makes you go hmmm….
