Another Hall of Names submission from erstwhile Bauxite Anders Whist, who today wakes up the echoes of old Tiger Stadium with this All-Detroit squad.

No, Mike "Thriller" Jackson didn't make the team (he's from Houston) but these Detroit Dandies would give many other squads a decent run for their money. The lineup's not much to look at –- Ernie Witt is DHing, so that might give you some indication. But when John Smoltz isn't good enough to crack the rotation -- he's the closer -- then you're cooking. Pat Hengten wasn't about to beat out Smoltz as closer, but he is one of three ex-Jays on ...

Pinch-Hit submitted by Craig Burley

Pennsylvania's rural Washington county, near the Ohio border, can put together a very thin but overall solid team. Washington County boasts the largest number of covered bridges of any county in the U.S., and two (soon to be three) Hall of Fame ballplayers. Thanks to the former, we're proud to introduce ...

Pinch-Hit by Colin Jaffray (username: 5hoursahead)

I couldn't resist finding out if we could put up a team from over the pond here [Editor's Note: That'd be the British Isles, kids] and I'm surprised, but delighted to say that we can. I had to take advantage of a few multi-skilled players and it shouldn't surprise anyone that the majority racked up most of their playing time in the late 19th century.

That said, this team ain't too shabby considering their home nations ...

When Batter's Box first issued what Craig Burley has taken to calling the "Hall of Place Names" challenge, to be honest, I expected a bunch of U.S. states (some are upcoming, incidentally) and some major cities (we've already seen Brooklyn, Mobile and San Francisco, with more on the way) to dominate the submissions. Barring that, perhaps a series of foreign countries similar to the All-Canadian team that started it all.

Wouldn't you know, the very first two teams received (from Bauxites Matthew Elmslie and Greg Williams, in that order, respectively) were for the same non-North American city? And if you think hard enough, you can probably guess that it's ... well, let's turn that description over to Elmslie:

One of the greatest baseball cities of them all, St. Louis has produced a little bit of playing talent along the way. Does your city need a catcher? How about a broadcaster? Plenty to spare here...

Apologies to the home of the Athletics, and Oakland has produced a number of fine diamond men, but today faithful Bauxite Anders Whist brings us this Hall of Names team composed entirely of San Francisco natives.

How good is this team? Here's a hint: Joe DiMaggio didn't make the roster. Let's see what that's all about as we meet a team that, even without Jim or Sam Rice, could only be called ...

At last, at long last, the Lobby of Numbers is back. We're changing leagues, we're changing coasts. Yes, it's time for the NL West. That means we have a couple of quick, light appetizers to get us back up to speed.

So following a year when the World Championship finally came to the Windy City, though much to Cub fans' dismay, across the city for the team Bill Veeck once dressed in shorts, it's a Hall of Names Second City display based primarily on work submitted by Bauxite Chuck Barkman, That's right, it's time to meet ...

In a continuing effort to assemble the perfect All-City baseball team (after Bauxites were challenged to try all-state, all-province or all-country ... the showoff!), longtime Batter's Box contributor Craig Burley realized his recent Mobile Homeboys, even with five Hall of Famers, might struggle in the Mean Streets of Flatbush.

You may recall, we recently started up a new chapter in the Hall of Names team-building business, as In All Thy Sons Command delineated a team made up entirely of native Canadians. That was followed by a bit of a challenge:

Now, here's the test ... Visit the BaseballReference.com page that breaks down major league player birth by U.S. state and/or nationality and build yourself your own Hall of Names team, one that's better'n this here Canadian one. Then send it [in] and we'll publish it here at Batter's Box.

Much to absolutely nobody's surprise, longtime Batter's Box contributor Craig Burley was the first to answer the challenge (okay, he was actually first through third, but the other two teams will wait until later this week) ... so it's time to see what sort of Hall of Names squad he was able to, uh, "Mobile-ize" ...

One of the most common given/first names in the English-speaking world is, of course, Robert. (Our own Dudek's and Pettapiece's ears -- er, eyes -- have certainly perked up at this point.) It's also one of the most common given/first names to not yet have its own Hall of Names roster published here on Batter's Box ... and it's time to take care of THAT little oversight.

Yes, this is (in part, anyway) a team made up entirely of players who appeared in the major leagues with "Robert" (not "Roberto" -- sorry Mr. Alomar, Mr. Bonilla and especially Mr. Clemente) as their first/given name (sorry, Jeffrey Robert Bagwell and Bret Robert Boone, among many others) and who actually went by (Sayonara, Robert Kevin Appier and Robert Britt Burns) some form of that name ...

New Year's Eve, New Year's Day ... warm up the pipes and clear the throats to sing along!

According to the information provided by Sean Forman's brilliant BaseballReference.com, there have been more than 200 Canadian-born major league ballplayers, men actually born in The True North Strong and Free.

Before we move on to an international Hall of Names challenge, let's see if we can't build the best possible 25-man roster from this considerable pool of candidates; your arguments and corrections are welcome and invited!

So here we go, let's welcome ...

Did you know that only 11 men in major league history have carried the name of "Troy"?

A grand total of 67 major league ballplayers have been born on Dec. 25, the date traditionally designated as Christmas Day around the world. And what do you know -- one of them was even named "Jesus," though he went by his middle name professionally, All-Star 2B Jesus Manuel "Manny" Trillo.

But alas for this (brace yourselves) "Christmas Trillo," he won't even get the starting nod at the keystone for the All-Born-on-Christmas-Day Hall of Names roster ...