I mean, Failure to Launch wasn't a very good movie, but this still seems extreme.

I mean, Failure to Launch wasn't a very good movie, but this still seems extreme.

They've been bottom three in runs scored each year he's been hitting coach except this year - they're fourth worst now!

How many hitting coaches are former pitchers?

Cal Eldred next, please.

How many hitting coaches are former pitchers?

Or former HoF Super Bowl winning quarterbacks turned broadcasters?

[Someone had to, sorry]

hitting coach Terry Bradshaw

If your name was the same as someone famous, wouldn't you use a different one to avoid confusion? I mean, especially somebody who's in a similar line of work as the famous one? Why doesn't he call himself Leon Bradshaw (his middle name) instead? He of course has the right to use any name he wants, but...is using the name Terry really worth having to put up with the dumb jokes and answer the same dumb questions Every. Single. Day?

I mean, that's your problem right there. You've got a football player coaching baseball.

If your name was the same as someone famous, wouldn't you use a different one to avoid confusion? I mean, especially somebody who's in a similar line of work as the famous one? Why doesn't he call himself Leon Bradshaw (his middle name) instead? He of course has the right to use any name he wants, but...is using the name Terry really worth having to put up with the dumb jokes and answer the same dumb questions Every. Single. Day?

Michael Bolton : Yeah, well, at least your name isn't Michael Bolton.

Samir : You know, there's nothing wrong with that name.

Michael Bolton : There *was* nothing wrong with it... until I was about twelve years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys.

Samir : Hmm... well, why don't you just go by Mike instead of Michael?

Michael Bolton : No way! Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.

You know you're getting old when you can't remember who it was that dumped Bradshaw on his head. Was it Too Tall?

wouldn't you use a different one to avoid confusion?

And rob Dan of his "not that one" links on the birthday teams?

So I actually had never heard of Terry Bradshaw the baseball player/coach until tonight. What I've learned:

1) So he is 53, and was born in 1969...the year before Terry Bradshaw the quarterback was the number one pick in the NFL draft. So the QB was sort of famous already when the baseball player was born (the football player by 1969 was a highly-regarded quarterback in college), but not every #1 pick ends up becoming a household name. I mean, there is probably some kid who was one year old when Rick Mirer or Ryan Leaf was drafted with their names, and that probably didn't follow them the rest of their life, right?

2) We all see the former quarterback on TV all the time, and have for decades now. He does all kinds of commercials, he is prominently on Fox Sports, he and his family did Celebrity Family Feud...I mean, he is one of the most famous people in the country, probably, still going at 72 years old.

So here's my question: We've all seen the replays of him getting obliterated with malice by defensive players for years, getting thrown on his head, concussed all the time, onto that concrete-painted-green that was artificial turf of the 1970s. Some of his teammates, like Mike Webster, were decimated by the injuries they suffered as players of the 1970s.

So how the #### is this guy seemingly still with it at 72 years old, doing tons of TV? What are the odds of the last 35 years of his life playing out for him as well as they have? (Good for him!)

3) Terry Bradshaw the baseball player was not much of a big leaguer - but he did play in the big leagues, which is more than most people will ever say. How many baseball players that made the big leagues have names where they are so clearly *not* the most famous person with that name?

I'll start: Kenny Rogers. Hell of a pitcher...but the singer is an all-time legend.

I don’t think it’s all that uncommon. Just off top of my head, there are two guys named George Burns that made the show.

#10 ... quite a few as shown in the old birthday teams which regularly (though not every day) had a "not that one" listed. Now some of those were guys with the same name as other famous ballplayers (Billy Williams, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Ryan Braun all spring to mind ... not even counting Jeff D'Amicos and Alex Gonzaleses) and a fair number of the "that ones" weren't particularly famous themselves.

I suspect there are hundreds.

What would be interesting is what would be the best baseball team you could put together of guys with more famous namesakes.


And are we talking right now? Because Hall of Famer Robin Robert’s is probably not as well known in the present as the TV personality.

no. 9, the player in question was joe "turkey" jones of the cleveland browns.

(which i only know because i live in cleveland.)

Walter Davis
Walter Davis
Walter Davis
Walter Davis

Most famous Walter Davis at BBTF is not much to cling to

#10 Bradshaw has had some widely publicized battles with mental illness that mostly don't look football-related. He's dealt with decades of depression, ADD that wasn't diagnosed until later in his life, and some serious self-medication via the bottle. But back in 2013 he also confessed to some memory loss and fuzzy thinking that was addressed when they started treating his depression. That could have been concussions, but it's hard to tell.

Bill Russell
Bobby Jones
Carlos Santana
Brian Wilson
Mike Myers
Corey Hart
Dave Stewart
Carl Edwards

And how about Evan Longoria?

John Kennedy
Joe McCarthy
Bob Welch

If you haven't seen the hit on Bradshaw, here it is over and over and over and over and over.

How many baseball players that made the big leagues have names where they are so clearly *not* the most famous person with that name?

They're all amateurs compared to former Pepsi, CBS, and EDS CEO Michael Jordan.

Billy Sunday; no wait doesn't count.

Brett Butler is the rare male/female combo.

George Scott and John Reilly if you add a 'C.' in the middle.

19th century stars Bill Bradley and Tip O'Neill for a little political flavor.

Howard Johnson, though I guess the name is more famous than the person. Man, I miss those fried clams.

Dave Stewart
Bob Welch

See now I think those are tough calls. The Eurythmics were of course pretty famous and Annie Lennox well-known on her own but is the proportion of average (American) Joes who know who Dave Stewart the musician is greater than those who know Dave Stewart the pitcher? And of course Bob Welch is most famous for being replace by Buckingham/Nicks which sent Fleetwood Mac into the stratosphere ... although he did have that one hit of his own. I suspect in both cases the musicians are better known but it's probably close and they are most known as basically trivia answers.

FYI ... these days (and retroactively) the RnR HoF inducts the entire lineups of bands so when Fleetwood Mac went in, so did the Peter Green lineup (not sure how they handle later lineups). However Welch and Fleetwood were still on the outs so Welch is not in the HoF (at least last I checked). I do recall reading about it but I don't recall whether Welch told them to F off or Fleetwood demanded he not be.


This guy not as famous as this guy although it's interesting to wonder what might have been; this guy justifiably less famous than this guy; and this guy and this guy weren't even in the same universe.

Chances I didn't screw up any of those links ...

Further on #15 ... how could I forget that time when I did not date Kim Basinger?

Ken Griffey (Sr)
Fernando Tatis (Sr)
Cal Ripken (Sr)

Vlad Sr should be safe at least until Jr is elected to the Hall of Fame.

I once played softball in the Detroit area with a man named Larry Bird. He was eight years old when the "Hick from French Lick" was born.

I had a friend in high school - born in 1962 - who has the same name as an ill-fated Beatle, who became famous 2 years later (the Beatle, not the toddler).

Another guy has the first name and a close call and rhyming last name of the guy who bought the Yankees in 1973...

Tracy Scoggins says Hello.

Bob Welch

I always wanted baseball pitcher Bob Welch (who attended my alma mater BTW) to record a cover version of the Everly Brothers song "Ebony Eyes". See, that way there would be two different songs called "Ebony Eyes" by two different Bob Welches. (Sadly, it can never be, as Bob died in 2014 of a broken neck slipping in the shower at age 57 [my current age!]. Folks, put down those adhesive ducks in your bathtub. You'll be glad you did.)

Lizard King Morrison used to play 3B for the Pirates. It was his second act after faking his death in Paris.

Charles Edward Finley was a fine pitcher, but probably not the most famous Charles Finley in baseball.

Michael/Mike Jackson's in the not-that-one bullpen.

There was also a Michael Jordan who played in 1890.

John Oates--nondescript baseball player, more successful as a manger, but not nearly as famous as the singer, a singer that was dominated in recognition by his duo partner.

There was JaCoby Jones, who some MLB announcer mistakenly thought WAS the NFL player who was on Dancing with the Stars.

Phillies pitcher David West died this week, his NBA counterpart is probably a bit better known.

Former Astros/Tigers pitcher Brian Williams has never been accused of embellishing his stories.

This also reminds me of the Cheers episode where Carla refuses to follow family tradition of naming her son after her father's first name and her mother's maiden name because it would mean naming her kid "Benito Mussolini."

There are Aarons Brooks in 3 sports; the quarterback is definitely the most well known.

Dee Browns in three sports too, the basketball one was probably best known.

Among the "within the family" set: Cy Twombly, major postmodern artist, and his father Cy Twombly, professional pitcher who started a few games for the 1921 White Sox.

So... do middle names count? 'cause I want to nominate Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.

Lizard King Morrison used to play 3B for the Pirates.

Or as Jayson Stark called him, Jim "Glove Me Two Times" Morrison.

I'm still trying to figure out which Joe Jackson is more famous. In America, you'd give the edge to Shoeless Joe - his is an iconic story that's been told in several popular Hollywood movies (Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out). Plus, the apocryphal 'Say it ain't so, Joe' is part of the American lexicon. But does his fame travel outside of the US?

When you talk about worldwide, that's when things become a bit muddier. Singer Joe Jackson has sold 3m+ albums and several of his songs are still played quite a bit (Steppin' Out, Is She Really Going Out With Him?). That said, though he's still touring and is popular in Germany and the Netherlands, his last big hits were in the 80s.

There's also the Jackson family (Janet, Michael, Tito) patriarch, but I felt he slotted into 3rd.

These are the issues that keep me up at night.

Charles Edward Finley was a fine pitcher, but probably not the most famous Charles Finley in baseball.

Hmm. Controversial owner… or married to Tawny Kitaen.

Dee Browns in three sports too, the basketball one was probably best known.

Which one? I would think the Celtics Dee Brown is who you're referring to, since he played in the NBA for 12 seasons and was famous enough to star in a "King Kong Jam" commercial for . . . Reebok I think. But the Illinois Dee Brown was a Wooden Award finalist and a key contributor to the Illini's last Final Four team.

Both are probably better known than the Royals's or Syracuse Orangemen's Dee Brown.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sued the football player Karim Abdul-Jabbar. The football player apparently goes by Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar now.

Phil Collins.

Surprised nobody got these:

The two Will Smiths. Luckily no Chris Rock has ever played - though according to BBRef, mediocre reliever Chris Smith had the nickname "Rock N Fire".

All of the Chris Carter/Chris Carter/Cris Carter combinations.

I enjoy the Steve Ontiveri

the first Steve Ontiveros (born 1951) broke in with the Giants in 1973 and also played for the Cubs (traded with Bobby Murcer for Bill Madlock) in an 8-year career as a third baseman. not much pop, but a .274 AVG and stellar .365 OBP (8th in NL in 1977). Most Similar Batter: Brock Holt.

1973 Giants included Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Dave Kingman, and Don McMahon.

1980 Cubs included Lee Smith, Willie Hernandez, Dave Kingman (again), and Bruce Sutter.

the second Steve Ontiveros (born 1961) pitched in 120 MLB G in 1985-87 - then appeared in only 35 MLB games from 1988-92 before posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 IP in relief in 1993.

so somebody could have gotten some nice, long odds on his leading the AL in ERA in 1994 (2.65 in 115 IP in the strike-marred season).

he disappeared from MLB from 1996-99 (released by the Angels, Cardinals, Orioles, Rays, Brewers, and Rockies in that span), then turned up to pitch 3 games for the Red Sox in September 2000 and then it finally was over. Most Similar Pitcher: Luis Aquino

1985 A's included Don Sutton, Tommy John, Dave Kingman (again), and Dusty Baker.

2000 Red Sox included Nomar and Pedro.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sued the football player Karim Abdul-Jabbar. The football player apparently goes by Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar now.

Yeah, but the position of most famous Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been filled for centuries.

My favourite combo of names is 1908’s major leagues boasting a trifecta of Cy Youngs (Cys Young?) with all of them spending part of the season pitching in Boston, and two of them traded for each other.

The True Cy went 21-11 with an ERA+ of 195 for the Red Sox.

Irv “Cy the Second” Young went 8-12 with an ERA+ of 97 for the Boston Doves and the Pirates.

Harley “Cy the Third” Young went 0-3 with an ERA+ of 90. He started the season with the Pirates then was traded to the Doves in June with Tom (also not the HoF version) McCarthy for Cy the Second in what was possibly the only trade with three hall of fame names and no real hall of famers.

The expansion 1962 Mets had Bob Miller, who went a dazzling 2-2 on a 40-120 team - and also Bob Miller, who went 1-12. the former Bob Miller had a much better ERA than the latter Bob Miller, as it happened.

White Bobby Jones pitched for the Mets from 1993-2000, going 74-56 and serving as the club's 5th starter on the 2000 NL pennant-winners.

Black Bobby Jones also pitched for the Mets in 2000, though not in the postseason (and also in 2002). he was 0-1 as a Met.

Neither will be confused with legendary golfer Bobby Jones.

Former Astros/Tigers pitcher Brian Williams has never been accused of embellishing his stories.

In Canada, Brian Williams is the guy who covered every Olympics for like 200 years. He also did play by play for the Blue Jays when the games were on CBC in the 90s. He and NBC's Brian Williams met at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010

Brian Williams played in the NBA from 1991-99 but played his final season under the name "Bison Dele" - likely not because of the broadcasting Brian Williamses. he disappeared at sea at age 33 and his body was never found but it's believed that his brother killed him and BW's girlfriend as well as the skipper on a boat unfortunately named "Hakuna Matata."

Neither will be confused with legendary golfer Bobby Jones

nor with the basketball player.

yeah, he was really good, too

Hmm. Controversial owner… or married to Tawny Kitaen.

As a personal rule, I tried to never get involved with a woman who breaks the Hot/Crazy Matrix.

The True Cy went 21-11 with an ERA+ of 195 for the Red Sox.

A round of applause if this was intentional: 'True' was literally his middle name.