Regular readers of Da Box may recall that we have introduced Hall of Names holiday themes before -- not just Christmas, either, as one of the very first Hall of Names entries was dedicated to (and published on) St. Patrick's Day. Other odes to Thanksgiving, the U.S. Independence Day, Canada Day, and several others, have also appeared.
And yes, we've tried Christmas -- like this less-than-successful group effort in 2003 and a rather better "ode" to Christmas Carols just last year, in '05. Earlier that same holiday season, we built a team called The Chrismas Presence made up of players born on Dec. 25 -- yes, including one guy born that day actually named "Jesus."
For this year, let's think a bit about those colourfully decorated boxes under the tree that get dismantled while the holiday turkey is in the oven. Yes, that's right, last year we met The Christmas Presence, and this year we're going for ...
The Christmas Presents
The rules here are simple -- nominate a player for the team based
on his last name being a reference to something you'd like to find
under the tree with your name on the gift card. Nominations for gifts
more appropriate to Batter's Box wives, girlfriends, children, nieces and nephews are also welcome and invited.
Just provide the name, position and a few details about the nominee (and if you are so inclined, a link to his BaseballReference.com player page. (Oh, and identify Hall of Famers and All-Stars while you're at it!)
Also, if necessary, explain or be prepared to defend your gift wish -- for instance, sure, we'd love to have Johnny Bench, the greatest catcher of all time, behind the plate, but are you really hoping to find a bench under the tree for yourself? (Hey, maybe your grampa is a carpenter -- the wood-working kind not the Chris-pitching kind -- and has his eye on a new workbench. Just say so!)
Oh, and no nicknames -- in the examples below, for instance, Virgil Trucks over Truck Hannah and Jim Toy over Jimmy "The Toy Cannon" Wynn are good examples.
So, some example roster nominees to join The Christmas Presents (Misspellings are fine; keep the pronunciations close, though!):
So let's get cracking! Who's on the list of your Christmas Presents?
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