Splendid Splinter To Big Papi: Five Best Nicknames In Red Sox History

Aside from winning the a sports respective championship, one thing that never causes fans heartache are the nicknames of their favorite players. In Boston, there are some pretty spectacular ones that have graced us across the four major sports — especially the Red Sox.

There are some simple ones that really are a mere play on the name itself, like “Tek” for Jason Varitek or “Eck” for Dennis Eckersley. Some had a bit more thought or meaning behind them.

In no particular order, here are five of the best nicknames in Red Sox history.

The Rocket
Roger Clemens spent 13 of his 24 years in the big leagues with the Red Sox and his ferocious power from the mound earned him the nickname “The Rocket.” Clemens still owns the record for most Cy Young Awards with seven, four of which he won with Boston.

The Splendid Splinter
Ted Williams had a variety of nicknames in his career such as “The Kid” and “Teddy Ballgame” but the name “The Splendid Splinter” was because he was the best hitter of the modern era. One of the greatest baseball players of all time, George Herman “Babe” Ruth called Williams a “natural” and Joe DiMaggio said he was the best hitter he ever saw.

Mr. Red Sox
There have been a lot of players to wear a uniform for the Red Sox over the years but very few have been a player, manager, coach, special instructor and broadcaster as Johnny Pesky has. Pesky was associated with the club in some fashion for 61 years. The right field foul pole at Fenway Park was officially named “Pesky’s Pole” in 2006.

Oil Can Boyd
What actually is an Oil Can? Does anyone really know what Oil Can Boyd’s real name is? Boyd’s first name is Dennis and the reason he was known as “Oil Can” was that he began writing the name in his baseball caps when he was in high school in Mississippi. Boyd explained he got the nickname when he began drinking whiskey out of an oil can when he was just seven years old.

Big Papi
David Ortiz has one of, if not the most iconic nicknames in Red Sox history and it all started because Ortiz couldn’t remember people’s names so he called everyone “Papi.” Jerry Remy, the legendary color analyst for NESN, explained on an episode of the “TC and Jerry Podcast” how “Papi” turned into “Big Papi.”

Of the current Red Sox players, there are some creative nicknames born from some unique situations, like “Macho Man” for Masataka Yoshida and Rafael Devers being referred to as “Carita.”