Dickens on the diamond: List of baseball players who share names with Charles Dickens characters
The Los Angeles Dodgers posted a recent promo that featured a sketch of third baseman Justin Turner, who was decked out in a beret and smock while holding a paintbrush in front of an easel. Legend identifies Turner as “The Artful Dodger”, an allusion to a character in Charles Dickens’ famous novel, Oliver Twist.
For all of us who catch the reference right away, I offer a complete list of baseball players who share a name with a character from Dickens’s writings.
First base: Wally Pipp
Young Lou Gehrig replaced him for what was supposed to be a day, but history tells us that the Iron Horse stayed there for the next 2,632 games. in the beautiful novel High expectationsPip was the protagonist who was bequeathed a fortune from an unknown benefactor.
Second Base: Jason Bates
He played five seasons for the Colorado Rockies in the 1990s while Charley Bates was a member of the gang of robbers in Oliver Twist.
Shortstop: Barry Larkin
The Hall of Fame shortstop spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. Miss Larkins was the first love of david copperfielda beautiful girl who ended up marrying a soldier in the book.
Third Base: Tommy Lastella
Hitting a combined .284 average over the past two seasons, he helped the Chicago Cubs win back-to-back NL West championships. When you drop the first letter of his last name, he matches the snobbish girl Pip falls head over heels for in High expectations.
Left field: Danny Heep
Uriah Heep was employed by Mr. Wickfield in david copperfieldwhile the baseball player was a constant hitter for the Astros and Mets during a ten-year career in the Major Leagues.
Center field: Fred Snodgrass
He spent nine years primarily with the New York Giants until he left the game in 1916, and Augustus Snodgrass appears in The Pickwick Papers as a member of the club named after the novel’s title.
Right field: Al Oliver
As if his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates hadn’t been impressive enough, Oliver went to the Texas Rangers and captured the American League batting title. His last name, of course, is the first name of the young Mr. Twist in the title of the Dickens novel that became a huge hit on Broadway.
Receiver: Bill Plummer
Dickensian The cricket in the home it focused on the Plummer family, and in the 1970s, Bill served as a backup to Johnny Bench on the Big Red Machine.
Starting pitcher: Bob Sykes
He was a lefty who played for both the Tigers and Cardinals in the 1970s and 1980s, while Bill Sikes was a guy Oliver Twist feuded with but later befriended.
Relief Pitcher: Hi, Jasper.
This right-hander who was part of the bullpens for the White Sox, Cardinals and Indians in the second decade of the 20th century, but Mr. Jaspers was the lawyer who finally married the female lead in gloomy house.