What's In a Name?

The Bambino and Iron Horse

Nicknames have been part of baseball lore for over a century. Guys like "Shoeless Joe", "Dizzy" and "the Say-Hey Kid" are fondly remembered as much by their alternate names as their real ones. Applying a colorful nickname to a player has seemingly become a lost art (Chris Berman's contributions aside).

However, today's players are not short on their own nicknames. Here are a few of the better known nicknames for current players:

The Rocket - Roger Clemens
Gonzo - Luis Gonzalez
Flash - Tom Gordon
Junior - Ken Griffey Jr.
El Duque - Orlando Hernandez
Izzy - Jason Isringhausen
Big Unit - Randy Johnson
Chipper - Larry "Chipper" Jones
Moose - Mike Mussina
A-Rod - Alex Rodriguez
K-Rod - Francisco Rodriguez
Big Papi - David Ortiz
Pudge - Ivan Rodriguez
The Big Hurt - Frank Thomas
Boomer - David Wells

All of those players have put up big numbers in their careers, and are well known.

Here are some nicknames for players that you might not have heard before (some are quite humorous):

The Mayor - Sean Casey
Shaq - Shawn Chacon
X-factor - David Eckstein
El Duquecito - Adrian Hernandez
Hurricane - Bobby Hill
The Freak - Todd Hollandsworth
Shrek - Kevin Mench
Kung Fu - Magglio Ordonez
Fish - Tim Salmon
The Big Toe - John Smoltz
Ichiballs - Ichiro Suzuki
Reverend - Mike Sweeney

Here are some of the most well-known baseball nicknames of all time:

Charlie Hustle - Pete Rose
Stan the Man - Stan Musial
The Splendid Splinter - Ted Williams
Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth
Wizard of Oz - Ozzie Smith
Hammerin' Hank - Henry Aaron (and HOF'er Hank Greenberg)
Mr. October - Reggie Jackson
Georgia Peach - Ty Cobb
The Yankee Clipper - Joe DiMaggio (also Joltin' Joe)
Iron Horse - Lou Gehrig
Yogi - Lawrence Berra

and some of the most colorful nicknames:

Nails - Lenny Dykstra
The Mad Hungarian - Al Hrabosky
Psycho - Steve Lyons
Crime Dog - Fred McGriff
The Bird - Mark Fidrych
Space Man - Bill Lee
Wild Thing - Mitch Williams
Big Mac - Mark McGwire
Pops - Willie Stargell
The Cobra - Dave Parker
Chairman of the Board - 'Whitey' Ford

As an added bonus, here's a link to a long list of "Bermanisms", nicknames created by ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman.

What's your favorite baseball nickname of all time? Feel free to add any that I've left out.