But to limit ourselves to those three surnames on this team made up entirely of players whose last/family name begins with the letter "J" would deprive us of Hall of Famers like Addie Joss and Fergie Jenkins, not to mention a certain shortstop currently starring in a leading role just off Broadway.
Jenkins and Joss notwithstanding, of the other six "J"s inducted into Cooperstown so far, two are Jacksons (Reggie and Travis) and three are Johnsons (Walter, Judy and Ban, who wasn't a player). That leaves Hughie Jennings, a .311 career hitter who could also play short for this team, but who will probably find himself busy managing it instead. Nobody named "Jones" is in the Hall, surprisingly, but Chipper and Andruw will make a case in 15 or 20 years, while Randy Johnson will beat both of them there by a decade.
Now, please meet ...
Two of them, Reggie and Travis, are enshrined in the Hall of Fame (Gaylord Jackson Perry, while also in Cooperstown, is not elgigble for this team), while the best Jackson ever to play isn't in the Hall, as Shoeless Joe "ain't so" eligible for induction. Five of the other 18 have made All-Star team, and Bo knows that's an awfully good percentage.
But this looks like another team that, no matter how good its pitching is, will have an awful lot of passed balls ...
We continue our double twist on the Hall of Names (initially speaking) ... who are the best double-initial players for each of the first 23 letters of the English alphabet?
As mentioned last time (see AA through CC), that's not a random stopping point; there has never been a major league player whose last name began with "X" and none of the "Y" and "Z" players had alliterative first names. (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx, though a worthy Hall of Famer, here obviously is not a true Hall of Namer.) Well, unless you count RHRP George Washington "Zip" Zabel, who was 12-14 for the 1913-15 Cubbies -- that's your alliterative double-initial Chicago Cubs.
Then again, it turns out that three of the other letters -- I.I. and Q.Q. don't have any candidates, either, and there are just two V.V.'s while Ugueth Urbina is pretty much flying solo in the "UU" category, so we'll settle for, at best, 20 double-letter teams; here are three more ...
Anyway ... it was not always thus. In fact, just 28 men have played in the big leagues bearing the surname/family name "Rodriguez," and all but six of those have debuted in The Show since Orwell's dystopian novel became passe in 1984.
In fact ...
As of this writing, there have been 65 Wilsons to appear in big league uniforms, including one actually named George Wilson -- though presumably not the same one who lived next to Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell, as per the reference in the headline -- who spent some time in the outfield of the White Sox, Giants and Yankees from 1952-56.
George was just a .191 career hitter, though, so if he makes this roster, the All-Wilson squad is probably in some trouble. Not to worry though, as we have had eight Wilsons make All-Star teams, and one of those Hacked his way into Cooperstown.
Now let's meet ...
And before anyone suggests it, no, we aren't making this an "All-Traded" team, as that would get unwieldy fast.
It'd be nice to have each name used only once -- although we're not close to doing that right now -- and to introduce all kinds of other artisans and occupations into the lineup ... just keep it to last/family names, okay?
So please welcome ...
No, there's no room on this team made up entirely of players whose last/family name begins with the letter "H" for Roy Halladay or Pat Hentgen, Aaron or Glenallen Hill, Shea Hillenbrand or Orlando Hudson (or Eric Hinske for that matter) ...
That's right, a team made up entirely of players who share their last/family name with renowned game show hosts such as Len "Bob" Barker, Andre "Richard" Dawson and Blake "Ben" Stein.
As with any game show, of course, a loud nasty buzzing sound will occur ...
Incidentally, in a nice bit of symmetry, after five AB with the '75 A's, Chant was traded to the Cardinals for another double-initial guy, IF Larry Lintz, who once stole 50 bases in a season (1974 to be exact) for the Expos.
Alas, Choo Choo Coleman, does not qualify for this squad, as we are only considering last/family names ...
There are no weak spots on this team made up entirely of players who had last names beginning with the letter "G" (yes, yes, go ahead and snicker -- there are no weak G spots. There, it's overwith) ...
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Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days. Thursday, Friday, Happy Days. The weekend comes, My cycle hums, Ready to race to you. |
If you've been following along since Baseball's Hall of Names was introduced here back in March of 2003, you know I stole the idea from my dear ol' dad (that's Mike Doherty Sr. here on Batter's Box). His original concept became our inaugural HoN squad, the All-Food team.
Recently, he sent me an e-mail with a draft of an all-directions team, but suggested it couldn't be done; by his strict rules, that's correct. But since -- as he is aware, I am all too likely to do -- we can and have relaxed the rules, we are now headed in a whole new direction, as it were.
How? Well ...
An interesting twist on the Hall of Names (initially speaking) ... who are the best double-initial players for each of the first 23 letters of the English alphabet?
Put your mind at ease -- that's not a random stopping point; there has never been a major league player whose last name began with "X" and none of the "Y" and "Z" players had alliterative first names. (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx, though a worthy Hall of Famer, here obviously is not a true Hall of Namer.) Well, unless you count RHRP George Washington "Zip" Zabel, who was 12-14 for the 1913-15 Cubbies -- that's your alliterative double-initial Chicago CCubs. (Come to think of it, some of the others -- I.I. and Q.Q. won't exactly be a walk in the park either.)
The Cubs, of course, are the only non-Pennsylvania-based team to have an alliterative name; that is, unless you cheat just a little and count the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim along with your Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.
But we're not interested in teams here. We're looking for the very best alliterative, double-initialed players from AA to ... uh, WW. And as always, a few rules ...
But now, let's return, by George (literally), to the roots of baseball's Hall of Names.
