- Patrick Lennon (ex-Jay hit .265, 1991-99)
- David McCarty (misspelled, true, but as close as we get)
- Roric Harrison (RHRP, 1972-78)
- Ray Starr (WWII All-Star RHSP, 1932-33, '41-'45)
... BASEBALL'S BEATLES. (Just plug in "John, Paul, George and Ringo" for "Patrick, David, Roric and Ray" ... see?) Your challenge is to pick a famous band, name their members (provide a link so we can check your work, kids) and those members' Baseball Hall of Names equivalents.
Actually, nobody named anything close to LeBon has ever played major league baseball, or I would have started with Duran Duran. (And actually, thanks to Dan Duran of the 1981 Rangers and Roberto -- yes, that's right, Roberto -- Duran of the 1997-98 Tigers, we could have even had a band name Hall of Names equivalent. Alas!)
The only "rule," as you will have surmised from the Beatles examples, is that the name, while preferably an exact match, be close enough that you might mistake it for the real thing when shouted in a loud bar over the sounds of a live cover band. So if you try the Rolling Stones, for instance, don't go sneaking Reggie Jackson onto your list claiming it sounds enough like "Jagger." But if you're looking for a Pete Townshend soundalike, any of the four Townsends who have played big league ball will answer to "Who Are You?".
Solo artists -- former STL RHRP John "Elvis" Costello, for instance -- are perfectly appropriate for this challenge. First/last name switches are not, so don't go trying to slide Joel Pineiro into Billy Joel's Piano Man seat.
Five million bonus points to anyone who finds an exact match for any member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; that may be easier than I think, I haven't looked. Try http://www.rockhall.com/hof/ for ideas; and you already know http://www.baseballreference.com, right?
Now, Bauxites ... Rock on!
