Ducky Medwick
Joseph Michael Medwick (1911-1975)

Medwick was an outfielder and a hitting machine more commonly called Joe, also nicknamed "Muscles". He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and (briefly) Boston Braves. He's enshrined in Cooperstown, a Hall of Famer with a lifetime average of .324, recalled as an intense competitor who in 1937 had one of the most amazing seasons ever – he led the National League in batting average (.374), hits (237), doubles (56), home runs (31), runs (111) and RBI (154).

A teammate once criticized Medwick for failing to chase a fly ball; Medwick responded by knocking him out – during the game. Medwick was much better known for starting fights with opponents, however. It's thought that his temper is what kept him out of the Hall of Fame until 1968, twenty years after he retired – despite a career that seemed to warrant induction several years earlier.

He wasn't called Ducky for the way he walked, but for the way he swam. During an off day in the minors, he and some teammates went to a pool. A woman commented that Medwick swam like a duck, and from then on his teammates called him "Ducky Wucky", later shortened to "Ducky." Medwick much preferred being called "Muscles".

Medwick was taken out of Game Seven of the 1934 World Series for his own protection, after Detroit fans started throwing things at the outfielder. They were upset at Medwick's hard slide into Tiger third baseman Marv Owen. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ordered Medwick off the field in the sixth inning. By then it didn't make much difference to Medwick's St. Louis teammates because the Cardinals were ahead, 9-0, and would add a couple of runs before the rout was over.

Heinie Meine
Henry William Meine (1896-1968)

A classic, no matter how you pronounce the pitcher's last name. Meine made a big mistake early in his career by building his hopes around the spitball, his best pitch, which, unfortunately for him, was outlawed soon after he turned pro.

He adjusted, finally worked his way up to the major leagues and in 1922 made a four-inning relief appearance for the St. Louis Browns. He walked two batters, gave up five hits and two runs, which got him a a return trip to the minor leagues. He pitched one season for San Antonio-Wichita Falls of the Texas League, two with the Syracuse Stars of the International League, and one season for the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. Then, at age 30, he retired to run a tavern.

But retirement didn't last. In 1928 he returned to the Kansas City Blues and pitched well enough to attract the interest of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Meine was considered strictly a junkball pitcher when he entered the National League in 1929 as a 33-year-old rookie, but he stayed with the Pirates for six seasons, best of which was 1931 when he won 19 games, which tied Wild Bill Hallahan of St. Louis and Jumbo Elliott of Philadelphia for most victories. His 2.98 earned run average was fourth best in the league that season. It also was the only season he gave up less than a hit per inning. As a junkball specialist, Meine had few strikeouts, but he had good control, so his bases on balls also were few.

Meine had a 12-9 record in 1932 and was 15-8 in 1933. He won only seven games in 1934, his final season. Afterward he ran a tavern and liquor store in LeMay, MO, near St. Louis.

On June 23, 1930 he set on record he wished he hadn't – he gave up ten consecutive hits against the Brooklyn Robins (later the Dodgers) Dodgers in the sixth inning, courtesy of manager Jewel Ens, who kept Meine in the game.

Besides Heinie, Meine also was known as The Count of Luxemburg after his Missouri hometown, which later had its name changed to LeMay. Now Luxemburg is considered one of Missouri's forgotten cities.

Moxie Meixell
Merton Merrill Meixell (1887-1982)

Here's a guy who retired with a major league batting average of .500. It helps that he had only two at bats, in 1912 as a Cleveland pinch hitter. The left-handed hitter singled once, made an out the other time. What happened to Meixell after that? I'm still trying to find out if he remained in baseball, though one thing seems sure – that he led a full, long life, dying at the age of 95.

Catfish Metkovich
George Metkovich (1921-1995)

He was outfielder-first baseman for the Boston Red Sox for four seasons (1943-46) then bounced from team to team until 1954, with his longest stop being in Pittsburgh where he had his best season (.293) in 1951. He fared much better in the minor leagues, particularly in the Pacific Coast League where he had big seasons with both San Francisco and Oakland.

About that nickname. He didn't get it for the size of a catfish he caught, nor for a fondness for eating what many consider the best-tasting fish. No, Metkovich was so nicknamed by Boston teammates after he made the mistake of stepping on a catfish when he set out to remove a hook from the fish's mouth. If you know anything about a certain catfish peculiarity, you can guess what happened next: the fish punched its sharp dorsal fin through the sole of Metkovich's shoe, penetrating his skin. In stepping off the fish, the player also injured his ankle.

Cass Michaels
Casimir Eugene Kwietniewski (1926-1982)

His real name is the only reason I remember this infielder. He played with the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Athletics (1943-54), having his best season in 1949 when he hit .308 playing second base for White Sox. As I recall, he was once a highly regarded prospect.

Minnie Minoso
Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso y Arrieta (1922- )

Outfielder, sometimes third baseman Minoso played most of his games with the Chicago White Sox, though he came up with Indians and later spent two seasons in Cleveland (1958-59) before returning to Chicago. He led the American League in stolen bases three times and had a .298 lifetime batting average.

He attracted much attention when he went to bat in two games for the White Sox in 1980 when he was 57 years old. He did it to establish that he had played major league baseball in five different decades. He came up in 1949 and played three games with White Sox in 1976, twelve years after he had retired.

Vinegar Bend Mizell
Wilmer David Mizell (1930-1999)

Leakesville, Mississippi, was his birthplace, but he grew up in Vinegar Bend, Alabama, which accounts for his nickname. He was a pitcher who broke into the majors in 1952 with the St. Louis Cardinals, showing a lot of promise. However, he never won more than 14 games in any of his nine big league seasons. He also pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets before reitiring in 1962.

He went on to become a United States Congressman from North Carolina for six years (1968-74).

Mole was a first baseman who played just 10 games for the New York Yankees, all in 1949. His name makes him sound like an undercover agent. Whatever, it isn't a name you forget. The reason I noticed him at all, however, was his stint with the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League.

Mole certainly deserved his nickname – Muscles. He looked strong enough to knock the cover off the ball, but that batting stance of his drove me nuts – his feet seemed a mile apart, his right foot in a bucket, pointed toward first base. It didn't surprise me that he never returned to the majors.

Carlton Molesworth
Carlton Molesworth (1876-1961)

In 1895, at the age of 19, this left-handed pitcher made four appearances with Washington of the National League. He pitched 16 innings, gave up 33 hits and had an 0-2 record. Not much of a major league career, but he had a Hall of Fame name.

And that's where he now resides. Oh, not the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but in the Birmingham (Alabama) Barons Hall of Fame. Molesworth had turned outfielder by 1906, the year he joined the Barons. He led the team in hits three times and became player-manager in 1908. He remained the Barons manager until 1922. Among his players were two future major league Hall of Famers, Pie Traynor and Burleigh Grimes.

For awhile he was a scout for the Pittsbugh Pirates. Molesworth went on to live 85 years and die where he was born – in Frederick, Maryland.

Jo-Jo Moore
Joseph Gregg Moore (1908-2001)

Common, forgettable name. It's his nickname that landed him on this list: The Gause Ghost. (He was born in Gause, Texas.)

Moore was a New York Giants outfielder (1930-1941) who batted .298 in 1,335 games, had 200-plus hits in two seasons, scored more than 100 runs three times. I read that Moore was such a notorious first-pitch hitter that some managers fined their pitchers if they threw their first pitch to Moore anywhere near the strike zone.

Bitsy Mott
Elisha Matthew Mott (1918-2001)

The 5-foot-8 infielder played for the Philadlephia Blue Jays in 1945, hit .221. The Blue Jays? Yes, that's what the Phillies were called for two seasons during World War II.

More significantly for Mott, his sister married a guy named Parker who called himself Colonel, as in Col. Tom Parker, the guy who managed Elvis (as in Presley).

Bitsy Mott became a security guard for Presley, appeared (in the background, I'd guess) in five Presley movies, worked and hung around Graceland.

After Presley's death, Mott became a clown. Believe me, if I were making this up, I'd admit it right about now. But I won't because I'm not.

Van Lingle Mungo
Van Lingle Mungo (1911-1985)

Mungo was a promising pitcher with an amazing fastball when he broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1931. He would go on to win 16 games or more in four different seasons, but was criticized for relying on the fastball when he should have been expanding his repertoire.

Mungo was a free spirit whose lifestyle drove Dodger executives crazy. Once, while in Cuba for a series of exhibition games, he had a one-night stand with a woman only to be discovered by her gun-toting husband who chased Mungo from the premises.

He ended his career with the New York Giants, retiring the first time in 1943. He returned in 1945 to help the Giants, whose pitching staff was depleted by World War II. Mungo responded with one of his best seasons and a 14-7 record.

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