Straight from the heights of Canton, Ohio and the shores of Lake Ontario—the frigid heights and frozen shores. It’s 9* in Youngstown, NY right now.

This weeks’s baseball bios will focus on nicknames of great baseball players and guesses on what those names mean…your comments are always welcome. If you have your favorite nicknames please send them to the Most Valuable Network Baseball Bios—care of All Baseball.com.

Here we go fans, the wind-up, the pitch, and it’s off to spring training in Bradenton Beach, Fla. The tempestous and magnificent “sunshine state.”
Think warm, yanks and stay cool, boys from down south.

The first Hall of Famer that pops into my head is “Bullet” Bob Feller. Wonder if that meant he had a blazing fastball that could shave the hairs off your face? Many a player has been knocked in the dirt from the fear of a bullet bouncing off their skull. Not many could strike fear into a batter’s heart like Bob Feller. He combined that burner with an off- the -counter curve that made a guy feel he was bailing hay in Milwaukee. Our tribute to one of the greatest nicknames in baseball lore: “Bullet” Bob Feller. He could really fell ‘ye.

Rogers Hornsby, Hall of Fame 2nd baseman with the St. Louis Browns, was an awesome 2nd bagger and blistering hitter. His nickname was the the “Raj” or “Rajah.” Seemingly, for his mystical powers with the Louisville Slugger. “Raj” hit 400* a number of times in the era of the dead leather ball.
I think he’s still swatting balls off the fence at Sportsmen’s Park in the skies.

George Herman Ruth, the “Babe,” the “Sultan of the Swat,” the “Man who built Yankee Stadium,” had the greatest nicknames of all. Eprigrams who be a more apt term to describe one of the greatest baseball players that ever lived. To say his life was characterized by greatness is an understatement. Known for his gregarious and fun-loving nature, everything the “Babe” did was huge. Tape measure homeruns, 20 game-winning seasons, a voracious appetite for food and beer, mythical promises to sick children— Babe Ruth symbolizes all the great things baseball is to you and I:
Fun!!!

Lou Gehrig, the “Ironhorse,” a double meaning which signifies endurance and steadiness both on and off the baseball diamond. A classic 1st baseman with a golden glove and power hittting swing, the “Ironhorse” road all the way to the Hall of Fame on an Appaloosa steed. His famous speech at Yankee Stadium, when he was dying from “Lou Gehrig’s” disease, “Today I am the luckiest man alive,” posted his bronze bust at Cooperstown, New York as the greatest to prowl 1st base.

“Dizzy” Dean was a phenomenal pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who was a prototype of a Babe Ruth caricature. Large in size, about 6’4” and 260 lbs—“Dizzy” rose to fame with his brother Paul in the era of the “Gashouse Gang.” After retirement Dizzy teamed with another famous ballplayer, “Pee Wee” Reese, to form a dynamic broadcasting duo in the NBC Game of the Week of the late 50’s and early 60’s.

“Pee Wee” Reese, diminutive Hall of Fame shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 40’s and 50’s. Starred on a world class infield with Jackie Robinson, “Junior” Jim Gilliam, Billy Cox and my uncle, Stan “Happy Rabbit” Rojek. Pee Wee was such a dynamite ballplayer that my Uncle Stan was traded to the Pirates in 1948 because he couldn’t unseat him.
Stan finished 10th in the MVP vote that year, but “ole” Pee Wee” blasted his way to a Dodger World Series Victory over the feared Yanks in 1955— polishing his career with enshrinement at Cooperstown. Uncle Stan told me that Branch Rickey, the Dodger GM, put Captain Pee Wee in a pivotal role that allowed Jackie Robinson to play major league baseball. Not bad for a guy from down south.

Stan “the Man” Musial…what can I say about the “Man.” Down-to-earth, a people’s player, one of the greatest left-handed hitters to hit a baseball out of Busch Stadium. Known for his keen eye and power to any field, Stan flourished as the greatest hitter in the National League in Ted “Splendid Splinter” Williams’ era. We owned a bowling alley in North Tonawanda, NY and Stan the Man would visit my Uncle Stan to celebrate their friendship with a couple of piewa’s(beers) and a plate of pierogi and kielbasa. I remember the stories from childhood of his hitting prowess. Stan hit for triples, homers, doubles, singles, and played a mean glove in right field. Today his statue guards the entrance to Busch Stadium and he lives in his humble home not far from where his shots bounced off the right field scoreboard. Can you hear the balls echo down the bleachers?

Well, folks, that’s enough for this week’s Baseball Bios. Get’s some sleep and dream about the scent of horsehide; Kentucky bluegrass; and leather. The crack of wicked lumber; and thump of a Pete Rose sliding head first into Ray Fosse. A pigeon getting thumped by a screamin’ line shot. Mark, ” Bird” Fidrych, winning the World Series. The “Duke of Flatbush” plastering one out of Ebbett’s field. Mickey Mantle blasting a beebe into the upper decks at Yankee Stadium. Brooks “the Human Vacuumcleaner,” Robinson scooping a backhanded liner out of the dirt in the World Series. Sandy “the Dandy” Koufax striking out the Bronx Bombers in the “63” World Series. Guys who had names like “Mick,” “Raj,” Whitey,” “Clete,” and of course, “Yogi” Berra. And remember the pitchers and catchers are warming up the fields in cities around Florida and Arizona. See you guys next time and give a cheer to the young guy who’s writing this column with me, my favorite nephew, “AJ” Rojek. Hit! that ball, Willie! The Say Hey Kid.