Nick Castellanos needs a new nickname.
Baseball Reference has “Artist” listed as the nickname for the Philadelphia Phillies slugger and that just isn’t good enough anymore.
Castellanos blasted homer number five in the opening contest of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia’s 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Florida native hit a pair of homers over the last two contests in the NL Division Series as the Phillies eliminated the Braves.
Reggie Jackson is Mr. October, so that’s taken. Although I have always enjoyed the reference “The Straw that Stirs the Drink.” There’s not enough space to explain that, so just look it up LOL.
Since Castellanos and Jackson are now the only players in post-season history with five homers over three games let’s try “Mr. October II” … don’t like that either.
I know it’s Philadelphia, but for those old enough to remember the Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies we really don’t need any more Roman Numerals. Maybe we just need to wait to see what we can come up with after the World Series.
Reg-gie, Reg-gie
Jackson’s five homers were in the final three contests of the 1977 World Series as the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
After homers in the fourth and fifth games, Jackson blasted three in a row in sixth affair on three straight swings off Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough.
The list of accomplishments for Jackson during his Hall of Fame career is pretty long, so just listing 563 homers and five world championships with the Oakland A’s (1972-1974) and Yankees (1977-1978) along with the 1973 American Most Valuable Player Award is plenty to get the point of his nickname.
“Home Run”
Before the 1911 World Series the third baseman for the Philadelphia A’s was named John Franklin. He had just won his first of three straight American League home run titles with 11. He would have 10 in 1912 and a career-high 12 in 1913.
However for a guy who would have just 96 long balls over his 13-year career with the A’s and Yankees, he will forever be known as Home Run Baker because of his performance in the 1911 World Series.
Baker hit only two homers over the six games as the A’s beat the New York Giants.
In the second game, Baker hit a 2-run homer off Rube Marquard in the sixth inning that gave the A’s a 3-1 advantage they would hold the rest of the way.
Christy Mathewson was Baker’s victim in the third contest. Baker tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the ninth before the A’s would win 3-2 in 11 innings.
The A’s led the series two games to one, but thanks to rain the series was delayed six days. Sportswriters didn’t have much to write about, so Frank was transformed into “Home Run” Baker.
It only took a couple of days, but the Philadelphia hero became Home Run Baker in newspapers all over the United States as the A’s would go on to win the World Series. Eventually, Baker would be enshrined in Cooperstown in 1955.