Gabby

Gabby Hartnett

Normally, baseball nicknames are accurate reflections of the person (Red for a guy with red hair, Lefty for a left-handed player, etc.). Not so in the case of Charles Leo Hartnett.

Hartnett was a rookie with the Cubs when he acquired his enduring nickname -- Gabby. Must have been a motormouth, an incurable chatterbox, right? Well ... actually ... he was just the opposite -- shy and reticent -- and the veterans on that 1922 Cubs team were just having a little fun at his expense. Little did they know the name would stick.

Aside from the "Homer in the Gloamin'," Hartnett is probably best known for the unfortunate consequences of a good deed. On Sept. 9, 1931, during an exhibition game with the White Sox, he was called over to a nearby field box. A heavy-set man asked him to autograph a ball for his young son, who was seated beside the man. He obliged, and an enterprising photographer captured the moment for posterity.

Appearing the next day in papers across the country was a smiling Hartnett with this heavy-set man, who just happened to be Al Capone. When Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's iron-fisted first commissioner, saw the photo, he was not amused. He instructed Hartnett to never have anything to do with Capone again.

"OK, Judge," Hartnett replied, "but you tell him."

May

Who is this reticent receiver?

I was born Dec. 20, 1900, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the oldest of 14 children.

My given names were Charles Leo, but I am better known by my ironic nickname.

I joined the Cubs in 1922 as a backup catcher and finally cracked the starting lineup in 1924. I remained in the league for the next two decades, retiring after the 1941 season.

In 1925, I belted 24 home runs, which at that time set the single-season record for a catcher. Five years later, I had my best season, hitting .339 with 37 dingers and 122 RBIs.

In 1937, I hit .354, which was the highest batting average for a catcher until Mike Piazza hit .362 in 1997.

At midseason in 1938, I was named player-manager with the Cubbies mired in third place. We battled back to within a half game of the Pirates when, on Sept. 28, I hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Pirates, as darkness descended on then-lightless Wrigley Field. It quickly became known as the "Homer in the Gloamin'." We won the pennant three days later.

With my strong throwing arm, excellent defensive ability, and powerful hitting, I could easily be called the Johnny Bench of my era. My career batting average was .297, and I finished with 236 home runs and an on-base percentage of .370 (slightly higher than Bench's .342).

I was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955.

I died in Park Ridge, Illinois, on my 72nd birthday.

Bucky

Bucky Harris

You know how it is with short guys. Feeling cheated by fate, they try to make up for their lack of height by being extra tough. This was certainly true in the case of Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris, both as a player and a manager.

Once, during his playing days, Ty Cobb slid into second with spikes flying (as he was known to do). "Get out of my way or I'll cut you to ribbons, busher!" he yelled. "Try it," Bucky replied, "and I'll throw the ball down your throat."

He had no more problems with Cobb (or any other bully in the league) after that.

Later, as a manager, he encouraged his players to display the same unwillingness to back down. During the course of one season, Senators pitcher Earl Whitehill was really giving it to infielder Cece Travis for making a few errors behind him. Knowing Travis was feeling down, Harris put his arm around him and said: "The next time he does it, walk over to the pitcher's mound and punch him in the nose. I'll back you up."

Simple frontier justice.

April

Who is this "boy manager"?

I was born Nov. 8, 1896, in Port Jervis, New York.

I was christened Stanley Raymond but am better known by my nickname.

At 13, I worked as a breaker boy in the Pennsylvania coal mines.

I made my major league debut with the Washington Senators in 1919 and became their starting second baseman the following year.

In 1924, when I was just 27, I became the player-manager for the Senators, leading them to a World Series title that year and to an A.L. pennant in 1925.

I was traded to the Tigers in 1928, where I continued in the dual role of player-manager for a short while before becoming a full-time manager.

During my 29 years as a manager, which included three stints with the Senators, two with the Tigers, and one each with the Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees, I won a total of 2,157 games, placing me sixth on the all-time list. I led the Yankees to the World Series title in 1947, my second (and final) championship.

"He studies baseball as a medical student studies anatomy," wrote columnist Quentin Reynolds. "He seems to be able to get the best out of mediocre talent."

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

I died in Bethesda, Maryland, on my 81st birthday.

Lefty

Lefty Grove

The thing that jumps out at me about this photo is Lefty's left ear, which appears to be much larger than his right. Is that why they called him "Lefty"?

I don't think so. In other photos of him, his ears appear to be of equal size, so I don't know what's going on here. Perhaps he was suffering temporarily from the dreaded "swollen ear syndrome"?

His fastball was legendary. In 1928, he struck out the side on just nine pitches -- two different times. Only two other pitchers in major league history have done that: Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. Pretty good company. But Grove is still the only one to do it in the same season. Sportswriter Arthur Baer once said, "Lefty Grove could throw a lamb chop past a wolf."

His temper was also legendary. After his historic 16-game winning streak during the 1931 season came to an end, when the Athletics' left fielder muffed a fly ball, Lefty tore apart the visitors' clubhouse in St. Louis.

March

Who is this high-strung speedballer?

I was born March 6, 1900, in Lonaconing, Maryland.

My given first and middle names were Robert Moses, but I am much better known by my nickname.

I made by big league debut on April 24, 1925, with the Philadelphia Athletics on the same day that teammate Mickey Cochrane made his debut.

Between 1929 and 1931, I went 79-15 for three pennant-winning Athletics' teams. In 1931 alone, I went 31-4, with a 16-game winning streak.

I was traded to the Red Sox in 1934 and played the last eight seasons of my career in Fenway, retiring in 1941.

Overall, I won 300 games in the majors (and another 112 in the minors), led the A.L. in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons, and won nine ERA titles, by far the most in major league history.

February's featured player, Charley Gehringer, once said that my fastball was "so fast that by the time you'd made up your mind whether it would be a strike or not, it just wasn't there anymore."

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

I died on May 22, 1975, in Norwalk, Ohio, age 75.