Players
The Bambino
The Bambino – Babe Ruth
The Sultan of Swat
The Sultan of Swat – Babe Ruth
The Great Emancipator
The Great Emancipator – Rube Foster
The Rocket
The Rocket – Roger Clemens
Uncle Charlie
Curveball
The Say Hey Kid
The Say Hey Kid – Willie Mays
The Yankee Clipper
The Yankee Clipper – Joe DiMaggio
The Man of 1,000 Faces
The Man of 1,000 Faces – Bill Veeck
The Big Train
The Big Train – Walter Johnson
The Heater
A common nickname for a Fastball, referring to a pitch thrown at maximum velocity.
The Iron Horse
The Iron Horse – Lou Gehrig
Stan the Man
Stan the Man – Stan Musial
Mr. Cub
Mr. Cub – Ernie Banks
Charlie Hustle
Charlie Hustle (Pete Rose)
It was an insult. Mickey Mantle saw the young Pete Rose playing like the Tasmanian Devil, and he shouted, "Oh, look at Charlie Hustle over there running around." Rose wore it as a badge of honor, sometimes running to first on walks, often diving headfirst into bases for no apparent reason, smashing into catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run in an All-Star Game.
The Yakker
Another classic slang term for a Curveball, specifically describing a pitch with a sharp, vertical "12-to-6" drop
The Splendid Splinter
The Splendid Splinter – Ted Williams
Mr. October
Mr. October – Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson slugged .755 with 10 home runs in five World Series appearances. That's impressive for anyone, but Reggie did it with the style and boldness and arrogance that marked his whole career. He loved the big stage. If Twitter had been around in Reggie's time, he would have blown it up numerous times.
Shoeless Joe
Shoeless Joe – Joe Jackson
He took his shoes off his before an at-bat in Greenville, S.C., because the cleats he had been wearing were giving him blisters, and that was that. "Shoeless Joe" remains very much alive in the minds of baseball fans, in part because of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal that cost him his career, and in part because of that indelible nickname.
The Ryan Express
Nolan Ryan – The Ryan Express
The Slip Pitch
An older, historical nickname for a Changeup (or a palm ball), utilized to trick hitters into swinging early by mimicking the speed of a fastball but arriving much slower. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Hammerin' Hank
Hammerin' Hank – Hank Aaron
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz – Ozzie Smith
It is not the most original of nicknames -- Ozzie Newsome was also called "The Wizard of Oz" -- but it perfectly describes the way Ozzie Smith played defense. He didn't just make great plays, he made magical ones.
The Big Unit
The Big Unit – Randy Johnson
Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific – Tom Seaver
The Offering
A modern umbrella term used by fans and analysts for any specialized or odd pitch a player throws (like the highly breaking "Sweeper")