EMNLL Orioles

Is There Baseball In Heaven? Two old men had been best friends for years, and they both live to their early 90's, when one of them suddenly falls deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they're reminiscing about their long friendship, when the dying man's friend asks, "Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there's baseball in heaven." The dying man said, "We've been friends for years, this I'll do for you." And then he dies. A couple days later, his surviving friend is sleeping when he hears his friend's voice. The voice says, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that there's baseball in heaven." "What's the bad news?" "You're pitching on Wednesday."

Here's how ESPN ranked the best baseball nicknames of all-time: 1. "The Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams) 2. "The Sultan of Swat" (George Herman "Babe" Ruth) 3. Willie "Hit 'em Where They Ain't" Keeler 4. "Hammerin' " Hank Aaron 5. "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson) 6. "The Georgia Peach" (Ty Cobb) 7. Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown 8. "The Yankee Clipper" ("Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio) 9. Fred "Bonehead" Merkle 10. Walter "Big Train" Johnson Honorable Mention: "Big Mac" (Mark McGwire), "The Say Hey Kid" (Willie Mays), "Double X" (Jimmy Foxx), Paul "Poison" Waner and Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, "Dizzy" and "Daffy" Dean, "Donny Baseball" (Don Mattingly), "Rapid" Robert Feller, "The Chairman of the Board" (Whitey Ford), Willie "Pops" Stargell, "Junior" (Ken Griffey), Roger "The Rocket" Clemens, "Dr. K" (Dwight Gooden). After going through more than 2,000 letters, below is a complete rundown of the Top 10 vote-getters, along with some of the best letters about each nickname. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Charlie Hustle -- Pete Rose (121 letters) You have got to include Charlie Hustle for Pete Rose. If the guy can't get into the Hall, he's got to make the list. You can take away his credibility, his accolades, but you can't take away what he left on the field everyday -- everything. John Martinsville, Va. Anyone who sprints down the first base line after drawing a base on balls deserves a nickname like Charlie Hustle. Rob Steva Illinois 110 percent -- 24/7 Paul Cincinnati -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Stan the Man -- Stan Musial (103 letters) It says it all about this guy. When he stepped on the field, he was the man. Sometimes seemingly playing among boys. Doc Murdock Columbus, Ohio From left, "Stan the Man," "Charlie Hustle" and "Hammerin' Hank" take part in All-Century Team ceremonies in 1999. Short, to the point, and a bit lyrical. I'm pretty sure that the expression "You the man!" was not widely used during Musial's playing career but it's contemporary meaning certainly applies to his excellent career. Alan Trask Chicago This man is the most overlooked truly great player in history. He was "The Man" in every sense of the word. The epitome of what Tom Brokaw calls the greatest generation, he could field, hit with power, and hit for average. On top of that, he was modest, a team player, and as close to a true role model as we have had in baseball. My vote is for is career accomplishments and for the accuracy of his nickname as it describes his character. Tom Maurer Kingsport, Tenn. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shoeless Joe -- Joe Jackson (96 letters) How could you forget "Shoeless" Joe? It's probably the most colorful nickname in sports history, with a great story to back it up. John Fahey South San Francisco What a great image, to love the game enough to play shoeless. Besides, a simple guy who loved baseball and got mixed up with the wrong people and never lived it down. To never be allowed to play ball again, and now to not even make the Page 2 honorable mentions for nicknames, it's a shame! Nina Sewanee, Tenn. People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come. Brooks Delray Beach, Fla. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Sultan of Swat/The Babe -- George Herman Ruth (79 letters) Page 2 readers wouldn't let "Shoeless" Joe Jackson be slighted again. Ruth was the first big-time home run hitter, and he was king of sports culture in the 1920s. Both parts of the nickname denote his power and his position as the most popular player in his era. Christian Wheeler Berea, Ky. The Great Bambino's legend has out lasted them all. He was a titan and his lofty nicknames were well-deserved -- and earned. Bob Odenton, Md. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Donnie Baseball -- Don Mattingly (57 letters) Donnie Baseball (Don Mattingly), will always be remembered as the man who kept Yankee fans, Yankee fans...through the very lean years of mid- to late 1980s and early '90s. He played the game like an old-timer, and was able to touch all generations of fans! Scot Neri Portsmouth, N.H. Nicknames should be simple (like "The Great One") and what's simpler than using the sport itself as a nickname? Also, to those who watched him in his prime, Mattingly was everything you wanted from a baseball player, so a perfectly suited nickname. Elliot Chalom Brooklyn, N.Y. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.Oil Can -- Dennis Boyd (51 letters) Growing up a dyed-in-the-wool Yankees fan, one knew all of the great nicknames of the eras -- "The Babe", "Iron Man", "Scooter", "Catfish", "Donnie Baseball", etc., and their origin ... pretty much; but the sheer elegance in its simplicity of "Oil Can" along with the mystery of its origin, allowed this Yankees fan to think that the nickname of a hated Red Sox man was truly a classic. It wasn't until many years later, upon seeing an old, taped interview with Boyd, that the mystery was revealed. Seems that in the dog days of summer where he grew up and learned to play ball (somewhere in the deep south, I can't recall exactly), it would get so hot and he would get so thirsty that the beverage he would drink to refresh himself would go down very smoothly. "It was just like drinking oil [drankin' ole]." Again, classic. Brian D. Wiedeman Syracuse, N.Y. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. The Splendid Splinter -- Ted Williams (48 letters) "The Splendid Splinter" was poetry in motion at bat. Note: Ted Williams also received votes for "Teddy Ballgame" What Ted Williams could do with a bat was poetry in motion. Other players have bigger numbers but, even now, watching Ted swing the bat on grainy, old, black and white film shows a fluidity that few possessed. Daniel Consolazio Boston -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. (tie) The Wizard of Oz -- Ozzie Smith (39 letters) The reason I'm a baseball fan is because of The Wizard of Oz (Ahs?). No other shortstop could get to the ball as fast as, and utilize the fielders around him like Ozzie. When you can become one of the more popular athletes in baseball batting .260 and hitting one home run a season, you truly are a wizard. Drew Lewis Vancouver, British Columbia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. (tie) Hammerin' Hank -- Hank Aaron (39 letters) It is the only nickname added prior to the first name, no Big Units or Yankee Clippers -- fluffy imagery. Just that one added word that said it all about his career and accomplishments in the game. Tom Pendow North Little Rock, Ark. He epitomized grace under pressure and could hammer a ball in any position thrown. I was fortunate to watch him for a number of years in Milwaukee and really saw what a class act he was. You never heard about the death threats or negative press because he went about his daily business as one should -- with his mouth shut and his head held high. What I would give for more Hammerin' Hanks in today's crybaby game. Ron Benhoff Phoenix -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Mr. October -- Reggie Jackson (28 letters) Plain and simple when it counts, nobody -- nobody -- was better. Jamie Niles Tampa, Fla. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Honorable Mention "Nails" (Lenny Dykstra), "Iron Horse" (Lou Gehrig), "The Ryan Express" (Nolan Ryan), "The Mad Hungarian" (Al Hrabosky), "The Human Rain Delay" (Mike Hargrove), "Death to Flying Things" (Bob Ferguson), "El Guapo" (Rich Garces), "Dr. Strangeglove" (Dick Stewart), "Crime Dog" (Fred McGriff), "The Bird" (Mark Fidrych), "Space Man" (Bill Lee), "Wild Thing" (Mitch Williams), "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson), "The Big Hurt" (Frank Thomas), "Yogi" (Lawrence Berra), "The Rocket" (Roger Clemens)

Arguing with umpires is not a practice which can be justified at the Little League level. Families come to Sewell Park to see their children play baseball, not to witness overzealous adults argue over an occasional bad call. I apologize to all who were offended by my behavior on Saturday. Want to read more about hot-headed managers? Check out this story from ESPN.

"No baseball fan has to explain his mania to any other baseball fan. They are a fraternity. It is less easy, often it is hopeless, to try to explain it to anyone else. You grow technical, and you do not make sense. You grow sentimental, and you are deemed soft in the head. How, the benighted outsider ask you with no little condescension, can you grow sentimental about a cold-blooded professional sport?" - John K. Hutchens

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