Contest: The All-Palindrome Team

Thursday, July 14 2005 @ 12:23 PM EDT

Contributed by: Mick Doherty

Gonna need some help on this one ... so let's throw it open to everyone.

On a team where Toby Harrah is almost certainly the shortstop, Dick Nen is the first baseman, his son Rob (oh, if he only went by Bob to be a double palindrome!) is the closer, 1980s lefty Dave Otto is quite likely to be a regular part of the rotation. You can see we need some help.

But wait, you ask, what IS a palindrome?

A palindrome is simply a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward; the most famous is what Napoleon supposedly said when arriving on his isle of exile (ex-isle?) ... "Able was I, ere I saw Elba." (Go ahead, read it backwards -- you'll see.) My dad, who hooked me on palindromes a long time ago, once came up with "Top speed at a deep spot," around the era Evel Knievel was threatening to jump the Grand Canyon on a jet-powered tricycle or somesuch.

We're looking for a team captain, who regardless of his position or skills, is a true palindrome -- that is, his whole name (first and last) is a palindrome, like Stanley Yelnats in the movie Holes.

Now let's be clear ... we're looking ONLY for last names or full names, or else every single player ever named "Bob" or nicknamed "Pop" or whatever would qualify. (Thus the Rob Nen comment earlier.) Harrah spelled backward is ... Harrah. Otto spelled backward is .. Otto, but sorry, Otto Velez, according to our rules, while the southpaw Dave is eligible, you are not.

I'm really flummoxed here (actually, I just really like the word "flummoxed"). So I beseech thee, loyal Bauxites, what palindromic ballplayers are out there now, or throughout the history of the great game? Minor League and Negro League players are perfectly acceptable as long as you can document them with a link.

I told you, this is HARD ... you can get frustratingly close with a Wally Pipp and glance longingly at a Pep Young, but no dice. What have you got, setixuaB?

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