Oh, Mickey, You're So Fine

Thursday, July 21 2005 @ 12:01 AM EDT

Contributed by: Mick Doherty

As you all learned in your perusal of Batter's Box over the past 24 hours, yesterday was my birthday, and we tried something new in the Hall of Names arena, with a piecemeal all-July 20 team. And as promised, we continue this narcissistic trend with a followup ... the all-Mick(ey) team.

Now, there have only been 45 Mickeys (or Micks) to play major league ball, but three of those have made it to the Hall of Fame, including of course a particular Yankee CF you've all certainly thought up already. What it doesn't include ...

... is the very occasional Ed Mickelson or Glenn Mickens type, those being the two guys who had last/family named that started with the character string "Mick," but didn't actually go by that name/nickname. Regardless, Mickens comiled an 11.37 ERA in 6.1 IP with the 1953 Dodgers, while Mickelson was a STL/SLB/CHC 1B, who hit .081 over 18 games from 1950-57. So neither was really in any danger of making this team.

There were several players who have "Mick" listed as a secondary nickname by baseballreference.com, like OF Danny Walton, who hit .223 over parts of nine seasons from 1968-80 and was a teammate of Jim Bouton's with the Ball Four 1969 Seattle Pilots. Though Walton and others were nicknamed "Mickey," that was not their primary "nom de boule," if you will. So they're out.

In the "This is Quirky But Interesting" realm, LHRP Mickey Scott (who makes this team) was once traded even up from CHW to BAL for IF Mickey McGuire (who doesn't) in what appears to be the only All-Mickey trade ever made. In a completely unrelated nugget of information, there was both a weak-hitting middle infielder named Mick Kelleher (who makes this team) and an even weaker-hitting, much shorter-lived 1B named Mickey Keliher (who doesn't).

Only two Mickeys have ever taken the managerial reigns in the big leagues, in Mickey Cochrane, who was primarily a player/manager with the Tigers -- and who will pull the same double duty for this team as well -- and Mickey Vernon, who led the '61 and '62 Senators to 100-loss campaigns, and then was fired 40 games into the '63 season.

So now let's meet ...

The Rolling Stones (Mick and the Boys)
** indicates Hall of Famer
* indicates All-Star

LINEUP
Player/MGR Mickey Cochrane** (348-250, two pennants, one title)
C Mickey Cochrane** (.320, 119 homers, 1925-37)
1B Mickey Vernon* (.286, 172 homers, seven-time All-Star, two batting titles)
2B Mickey Morandini* (.268, 1990-2000)
SS Mickey Doolan (Tim Foli-type hit .230 in almost 6000 AB, 1905-18)
3B Mickey Witek (mstly a 2B, hit .277 for 1940-47 NYG, 1949 NYY)
LF Mickey Rivers* (.295, 267 SB in 15 years)
CF Mickey Mantle** (536 homers)
RF Mickey Stanley (.258 with DET, 1964-78)
DH Mickey Tettleton* (.241, 245 homers)

BENCH
C Mickey Owen* (.255 over 13 seasons)
SS/2B/3B Mickey Haslin (.273 for three teams, 1933-38)
SS/2B/3B Mick Kelleher (.213 over 11 seasons, 1972-82)
3B/SS/2B Mickey Klutts (.241 over 199 games, 1976-83)
OF Mickey Brantley (.278/28 homers/31 SB for 1987-88 SEA)
OF Mickey Hatcher (.280 over 12 seasons)

ROTATION
RHSP Mickey Welch** (307-210, 1880-92)
LHSP Mickey Lolich* (217-191, 1963-79)
RHSP Mickey Hughes (25-13 for 1888 BRK, 39-28 career)
LHSP Mickey Harris* (17-9 as '46 All-Star; 59-71 career)
LHSP Mickey Haefner (72-69, 1943-48 WSH, 78-91 career)

BULLPEN
CL Mickey McDermott (69-69, 14 saves, 1948-61)
LHRP Mickey Scott (8-7, 4 saves, 1972-77)
RHRP Mickey Weston (1-2, 1 save for four teams, 1989-93)
LHRP Mickey Mahler (14-32, 4 saves, 1977-86)
RHRP Mickey Callaway (4-11 through 2004)

As noted in yesterday's All-July 20 team, if you want to contribute a Hall of Names team based on your own birthday -- or as with this case, your own name -- just drop me a line and we'll work out the details. (See the complete list of what is now 101 teams that have already been published to find out if your name has already been done.)

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