As we put together the next in our line of alphabet soup teams (and no, that's not "All-Campbells" -- sorry Jamie), we reach the letter "J" -- with which we are already blessed with a fair amount of pre-existing Hall of Names research, based on our previous All-Jones, All-Johnson and very recent All-Jackson squads.

But to limit ourselves to those three surnames on this team made up entirely of players whose last/family name begins with the letter "J" would deprive us of Hall of Famers like Addie Joss and Fergie Jenkins, not to mention a certain shortstop currently starring in a leading role just off Broadway.

Jenkins and Joss notwithstanding, of the other six "J"s inducted into Cooperstown so far, two are Jacksons (Reggie and Travis) and three are Johnsons (Walter, Judy and Ban, who wasn't a player). That leaves Hughie Jennings, a .311 career hitter who could also play short for this team, but who will probably find himself busy managing it instead. Nobody named "Jones" is in the Hall, surprisingly, but Chipper and Andruw will make a case in 15 or 20 years, while Randy Johnson will beat both of them there by a decade.

Now, please meet ...

Surprisingly, only 31 men with the surname "Jackson" have played in the big leagues; maybe Reggie's mouth just made it seem like more.

Two of them, Reggie and Travis, are enshrined in the Hall of Fame (Gaylord Jackson Perry, while also in Cooperstown, is not elgigble for this team), while the best Jackson ever to play isn't in the Hall, as Shoeless Joe "ain't so" eligible for induction. Five of the other 18 have made All-Star team, and Bo knows that's an awfully good percentage.

But this looks like another team that, no matter how good its pitching is, will have an awful lot of passed balls ...

Initially Speaking, That Is

We continue our double twist on the Hall of Names (initially speaking) ... who are the best double-initial players for each of the first 23 letters of the English alphabet?

As mentioned last time (see AA through CC), that's not a random stopping point; there has never been a major league player whose last name began with "X" and none of the "Y" and "Z" players had alliterative first names. (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx, though a worthy Hall of Famer, here obviously is not a true Hall of Namer.) Well, unless you count RHRP George Washington "Zip" Zabel, who was 12-14 for the 1913-15 Cubbies -- that's your alliterative double-initial Chicago Cubs.

Then again, it turns out that three of the other letters -- I.I. and Q.Q. don't have any candidates, either, and there are just two V.V.'s while Ugueth Urbina is pretty much flying solo in the "UU" category, so we'll settle for, at best, 20 double-letter teams; here are three more ...

These days, it seems you can't go to a major league ball game without having a Rodriguez hitting in the middle of one team's order or trotting out of the other team's bullpen in the late innings. The name has become so pervasive that there is a generic blanket nickname for the Rodriguez boys: first-initial-Rod, from A-Rod to K-Rod, H-Rod to I-Rod and F-Rod, these less-than-creative nicknames so abound that one is tempted to scream, enough, all-Roddy!

Anyway ... it was not always thus. In fact, just 28 men have played in the big leagues bearing the surname/family name "Rodriguez," and all but six of those have debuted in The Show since Orwell's dystopian novel became passe in 1984.

In fact ...

Sorry, Wilson Alvarez, Wilson Betemit and Wilson Delgado. Sorry, Hall of Fame RHSP Amost Wilson Rusie and former Jay Woodrow Wilson Williams; this look at Hall of Names teams for the most common surnames in North America lands us on the 11th of the 25 of those most commone last/family names, and on #8 overall -- Wilson.

As of this writing, there have been 65 Wilsons to appear in big league uniforms, including one actually named George Wilson -- though presumably not the same one who lived next to Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell, as per the reference in the headline -- who spent some time in the outfield of the White Sox, Giants and Yankees from 1952-56.

George was just a .191 career hitter, though, so if he makes this roster, the All-Wilson squad is probably in some trouble. Not to worry though, as we have had eight Wilsons make All-Star teams, and one of those Hacked his way into Cooperstown.

Now let's meet ...

In honor of Labo(u)r Day in North America, here's a real "workmanlike" Hall of Names team and an invitation to make it better; I admit this one is slapped together with the three actual "Workmans" (and one Works) in big league history plus various Farmers, Carpenters, Millers and Smiths and a few other obvious hey-that-name-is-a-job folks.

And before anyone suggests it, no, we aren't making this an "All-Traded" team, as that would get unwieldy fast.

It'd be nice to have each name used only once -- although we're not close to doing that right now -- and to introduce all kinds of other artisans and occupations into the lineup ... just keep it to last/family names, okay?

So please welcome ...

What, you were expecting "H is for Halladay, Henke and Hillenbrand"? Sorry, Blue Jays fans, but not a single player on the 25-man All-H roster (which I suppose will be tagged "The Preparation H") spent his career primarily or even notably as a Blue Jay.

No, there's no room on this team made up entirely of players whose last/family name begins with the letter "H" for Roy Halladay or Pat Hentgen, Aaron or Glenallen Hill, Shea Hillenbrand or Orlando Hudson (or Eric Hinske for that matter) ...

I won't go into the long and tedious details, but I've spent some time thinking about game show hosts recently -- and that naturally led to a Hall of Names take on the topic.

That's right, a team made up entirely of players who share their last/family name with renowned game show hosts such as Len "Bob" Barker, Andre "Richard" Dawson and Blake "Ben" Stein.

As with any game show, of course, a loud nasty buzzing sound will occur ...

So we've seen the Chacin-Chen matchup; as recently as August 25, there was the legendary Chacin-Chacon matchup. But what are the Chances of working mid-1970s OF Charlie Chant, who is one of the few double-"Ch"s in big league history, into the discussion?

Incidentally, in a nice bit of symmetry, after five AB with the '75 A's, Chant was traded to the Cardinals for another double-initial guy, IF Larry Lintz, who once stole 50 bases in a season (1974 to be exact) for the Expos.

Alas, Choo Choo Coleman, does not qualify for this squad, as we are only considering last/family names ...

It's no exaggeration, and only slightly a groaner of a pun, to say, "Gee, this is a heck of a team." Consider that you could make a more than passably adequate Hall of Names team just with the 25 Gonzalezes and six Gonzaleses who have played in the majors, and you have some idea just how Good (and we're not talking Detroit/Toledo Tiger/Mud Hen Andrew Good here) this team can be.

There are no weak spots on this team made up entirely of players who had last names beginning with the letter "G" (yes, yes, go ahead and snicker -- there are no weak G spots. There, it's overwith) ...

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days. Thursday, Friday, Happy Days. The weekend comes, My cycle hums, Ready to race to you.

These days are ours ... happy and free. (Those Happy Days)
These days are ours ... Share them with me. (oh baby)
Goodbye gray sky, hello blue.
There's nothing can hold me when I hold you.
Feels so right, it can't be wrong ... Rockin' and rollin' all week long

Not to Mention Near, Far, North and South?

If you've been following along since Baseball's Hall of Names was introduced here back in March of 2003, you know I stole the idea from my dear ol' dad (that's Mike Doherty Sr. here on Batter's Box). His original concept became our inaugural HoN squad, the All-Food team.

Recently, he sent me an e-mail with a draft of an all-directions team, but suggested it couldn't be done; by his strict rules, that's correct. But since -- as he is aware, I am all too likely to do -- we can and have relaxed the rules, we are now headed in a whole new direction, as it were.

How? Well ...

Initially Speaking, That Is

An interesting twist on the Hall of Names (initially speaking) ... who are the best double-initial players for each of the first 23 letters of the English alphabet?

Put your mind at ease -- that's not a random stopping point; there has never been a major league player whose last name began with "X" and none of the "Y" and "Z" players had alliterative first names. (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx, though a worthy Hall of Famer, here obviously is not a true Hall of Namer.) Well, unless you count RHRP George Washington "Zip" Zabel, who was 12-14 for the 1913-15 Cubbies -- that's your alliterative double-initial Chicago CCubs. (Come to think of it, some of the others -- I.I. and Q.Q. won't exactly be a walk in the park either.)

The Cubs, of course, are the only non-Pennsylvania-based team to have an alliterative name; that is, unless you cheat just a little and count the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim along with your Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.

But we're not interested in teams here. We're looking for the very best alliterative, double-initialed players from AA to ... uh, WW. And as always, a few rules ...

In recent Hall of Names forays, we've been focused on common family names (like Davis, Lee and Miller) with occasional off-the-beaten path themes like All-Body Parts and a riff on a popular baseball song.

But now, let's return, by George (literally), to the roots of baseball's Hall of Names.

Consider: Greg Legg, IF, 1986-87 Phillies. Rollie Fingers, Hall of Fame reliever. Roy Face, All-Star closer, 1960s Pirates. Armando Benitez, All-Star closer, active.

That's right, it's time to build our all-body-parts Hall of Names team (and presumably Tom Cheek will be calling the games). As you can see ...