Sandalio Consuegra
Sandalio Simeon Consuegra (1920-2005)

Consuegra broke in with the Washington Senators in 1950. At the time the Senators led the league in Latin American players.

Consuegra's name was the only thing memorable about him until he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox and won 16 games (against only three losses) in 1954.

He was nicknamed Sandy, but I always preferred his given name. You can say Sandalio Consuegra with many inflections. It can be musical, humorous, romantic, even menacing. Makes you feel like you can speak Spanish – even when you can't.

Nardi Contreras
Arnaldo Juan Contreras (1951- )

The relief pitcher appeared in eight games for the Chicago White Sox in 1980. His name is a great way to begin a rebuttal: "Nardi contreras, fella. Here's how it really is ... "

After retiring as a player, Contreras became a pitching coach, working for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and (at last report) the New York Yankees.

Gavvy Cravath
Clifford Carlton Cravath (1881-1963)

He was baseball's home run king until Babe Ruth came along. Cravath led the National League in homers six times between 1912-19, with a high of 24 in 1915. He broke in with the Boston Red Sox in 1908, but didn't impress anyone until, at age 31, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1912.

Cravath also was called Cactus, as though people somehow assumed Gavvy was his real first name. Turns out the story behind Gavvy is almost too weird to believe, but, heck, if a Randy Johnson fastball can kill a bird that flew in front of home plate at the wrong time (it really happened; I've seen the tape), then I suppose a Clifford Cravath line drive could have killed a sea gull in flight. It happened while Cravath was playing with Los Angeles of the Pacific League. Spanish fans started chanting, "Gaviota! Gaviota!" ("Sea gull! Sea gull!") and other fans mistook this as a cheer for the player. Thus Gavvy was born, though Cravath always spelled his nickname with one v.

Oddly, the sea gull story would be better for perhaps baseball's most puzzling nickname, one for which I've seen no explanation. The player in question is Bob Ferguson, who played for and managed Hartford in 1876, the very first season of the National League. Ferguson was a major leaguer for several years afterward, and, according to The Baseball Encyclopedia, had this nickname: Death to Flying Things. I assume Ferguson made a few spectacular catches of line drives from his various infield positions.

Creepy Crespi
Frank Angelo Joseph Crespi (1918-1990)

Crespi was an infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (1938-42), seeing little major league action until 1941 when he played 145 games at second base. However, in 1942 he played just 93 games and in the World Series sat on the bench as Jimmy Brown, formerly the Cardinal third baseman, replaced him at second because Whitey Kurowski had taken over at third.

Crespi then went into the service where he broke a leg while playing Army baseball. He compounded the injury by breaking the leg again – in a different spot – during a wheelchair race. Crespi's baseball-playing days were over.

I have seen no explanation for the nickname, but will guess – from looking at this photo of Crespi (below, right) – that some thought the alliteration was appropriate or noted a slight resemblance between the player and actor Rondo Hatten, best known for creating a movie character called The Creeper.

Coco Crisp
Covelli Loyce Crisp (1979- )

One of the few modern day players whose name evokes that oldtimer spirit, even though the cereal that inspired it hasn't been around that long. Crisp is an outfielder who arrived in the major leagues in 2002 with the Cleveland Indians.

He's now a member of the Boston Red Sox and in an early summer interleague series in 2006 against the New York Mets helped preserve a Boston victory with what announcers declared was probaby the catch of the season. (It wasn't, but still it was a terrific play.) At season's end Crisp had a .264 batting average for Boston. A year later he improved it slightly, hitting .268.

General Crowder
Alvin Floyd Crowder (1899-1972)

Nicknamed for Gen. Enoch Crowder, originator of the WWI draft lottery, this pitching General had three 20-win seasons and appeared in three consecutive World Series (1933-35) with Washington and Detroit.

He was a 20-game winner three times, first with the St. Louis Browns in 1928 when he was 21-5, leading the American League in won-lost percentage. His 26 wins with Washington in 1932 were tops in the league, as were his 24 wins the following season. He started two games for the Senators in the 1933 series against the New York Giants, but was ineffective as Washington lost both games.

The Series was a sign of things to come in 1934 when Crowder had a 4-10 record with the Senators, who dropped to seventh place. However, Detroit, engaged in a pennant race with New York, wanted Crowder for their stretch run, banking on the pitcher's reputation as a Yankee killer. Washington gave Crowder to the Tigers for the waiver price, and the pitcher who was supposed to beat New York did just that – twice – in winning five of his six decisions for Detroit.

Crowder's reward was starting Game One of the 1934 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched well enough, but Tiger infielders made five – count 'em, five – errors, and St. Louis won, 8-3. Crowder didn't pitch again in that series until Game Seven, when he threw one shutout inning in a game St. Louis already had wrapped up, 11-0.

Finally, in 1935, Crowder got his World Series victory, 2-1 against the Chicago Cubs, in Game Four. Crowder was 16-10 for Detroit during the season.

Crowder retired a year later, winner of 168 games in his big league career.

Cookie Cuccurullo
Arthur Joseph Cuccurullo (1918-1983)

I'm a sucker for guys nicknamed Cookie. This one was a WW2 era relief pitcher for Pittsburgh.

Tomato Face Cullop
Henry Nicholas Cullop (1900-1978)

Also called Nick, but it's Tomato Face that helps keep Cullop's memory alive. The nickname also helps separate him from another Nick Cullop (no relation) who from 1913-21 pitched for Cleveland, New York and St. Louis of the American League and for Kansas City of the short-lived Federal League.

Tomato Face Cullop had a lucklustre major league career, playing for five teams (the Yankees, Washington, Cleveland, Brooklyn and Cincinnati) in five seasons. Cullop struck out 86 times in 1931, most in the National League (and he did it in only 104 games).

However, like several players on my list, Cullop was a minor league superstar. His 420 career home runs puts him in the top five on the all-time minor league list. His 1,857 runs batted in is a minor league record.

Cullop endured more than his share of tragedy along the way. During the winter that separated the 1929 and 1930 seasons, Cullop lost one child to an accidental fall from an apartment window and another child weeks later to illness. His wife had a breakdown and was ill for several months. And early in the 1930 season Cullop, playing for the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, was hit on the head by a pitch. The beaning affected his hitting for several weeks. Then Cullop went on a tear – and by season's end hit 54 home runs, the league record.

Kiki Cuyler
Hazen Shirley Cuyler (1899-1950)

Cuyler's nickname is pronounced Ky-Ky (rhymes with bye-bye) and was given him after he nervously stammered the pronunciation of his last name.

Cuyler was so highly regarded as a baseball player that some folks were disappointed his lifetime batting average was only .321. Still, you can't quibble too much about a guy who wound up in the Hall of Fame.

Cuyler played mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs and hit .350 or better four times. He also led the National League in stolen bases four times.

Cuyler was generally a pleasant, easy-going guy, but he had his moments. In 1927 Pirates manager Donnie Bush wanted Cuyler to bat second, but Cuyler refused, claiming he could help the team more if he remained third in the order. Bush benched Cuyler for much of the season and didn't use him in the World Series. Cuyler also was annoyed with Pittsburgh management when they wouldn't – as a matter of team policy – let the player take his wife on a road trip. A few weeks after the 1927 season, the Pirates traded Cuyler to Chicago.

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