20 Most Hipster Names in MLB History

How do you define a hipster?

Urbandictionary.com does a pretty good job, but the gist of it all is this—hipsters are all about being retro and anti-mainstream.

If it's widely enjoyed or used by the masses, it's not for them. And from there comes the skinny jeans, the thick-rimmed glasses, the love of indie music and their quest to be as ironic as humanly possible.

But being hipster isn't just about the way that someone dresses or the music that they listen to.

Some of the more classic names that have faded from widespread use—names like Augustus, Dexter, Ike, Lionel, Orson and Rufus are enjoying a resurgence in the hipster scene.

But it's not just names that have faded: Apple, Hopper, Kal-El and Stellan—all examples of odd names that those "in the know" have begun to use not only for themselves, but their kids as well.

Sticking with the distaste of all things mainstream, professional sports—including baseball—are definitely not their thing.

Only a few short weeks from now, the Mets' Single-A team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, will try and change that by holding "Williamsburg Night," trying to attract the large hipster population of Williamsburg to the ballpark with skinny jeans races and special vouchers for fans sporting beards.

While hipsters aren't necessarily into baseball, throughout the game's history there surely have been players whose names would make some ask the question—"Hipster?"

Who might those players be?

Let's take a look.

David DeWitt "Homer" Bailey, Jr (2007-Present)

The name Homer dates back to the times of the ancient Greeks, but more recently it's become synonymous with one thing and one thing only—Homer Simpson.

And therein lies the "irony"—hipsters don't say "d'oh!"—lest we forget the whole dislike-of-the-mainstream thing that's going on.

Cincinnati Reds starter Homer Bailey gets bonus points for his last name as well—Bailey is a definitely a female hipster's name.

And when you put his complete legal name in the discussion: David DeWitt "Homer" Bailey, Jr., it doesn't get much more hipster than that.

Collin Balester (2008-Present)

Currently in Triple-A, Collin Balester not only looks the part of hipster with his unkempt beard, but for the most part, the name Colin is spelled with one "L".

This Collin has two—how very hip.

Romanus Basgall (1948-1949; 1951)

A second baseman known better as Monty, Romanus Basgall played second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates on-and-off for three years, finishing his career with a .215 batting average.

Romanus sounds regal, it sounds important, and it's totally off the beaten path—which puts it right on the sweet spot of the hipster bat.

Bruno Betzel (1914-1918)

A career .231 hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals, Bruno played a multitude of positions over his five-year career.

But my friends, if there was a king of hipster names, Bruno Betzel would sit on the throne.

Why?

Because Bruno Betzel isn't his legal name, though it's most assuredly a hipster name.

No, his legal name is Christian Frederick Albert John Henry David Betzel.

That's six first names.

And while counting is most likely too mainstream for the hipster crowd, anyone who rocks six first names has hipster cred oozing from their pores.

Tyrus Raymond Cobb (1905-1928)

Reviled by most for being a racist and a downright nasty individual, Ty Cobb is a member of the Hall of Fame and one of the greatest hitters that the game has ever seen, evidenced by his career batting average of .366, the highest of all time.

He might be a bastard, but Tyrus Raymond Cobb is about as hipster a name as you'll find in the annals of baseball.

James Brooklyn DeShong (1932; 1934-1939)

Jimmie DeShong was an awful pitcher who spent seven years in the bigs, primarily with the Washington Senators, finishing his career with a 5.08 ERA and 1.60 WHIP.

Born in Pennsylvania with the middle name of Brooklyn, the ironic street cred that he would garner today would make him a hipster crowd favorite.

Prince Fielder (2005-Present)

Prince Fielder not only has the hipster name, but he's got the look as well.

From the blond hair to the big beard, Fielder could reign supreme in the hipster universe if he wasn't so incredibly popular.

Dexter Fowler (2008-Present)

I don't know about you, but when I think of the name Dexter, two things pop into my head.

First is Dexter's Laboratory, a show that ran on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 2003 that followed the adventures of a boy genius named Dexter and his annoying sister Dee-Dee.

Second is Dexy's Midnight Runners, the British pop band whose biggest hit, Come on Eileen, is ingrained in the psyche of at least half the planet.

Dexter certainly isn't a name that you'd peg a professional athlete to have, but lo-and-behold, Dexter Fowler has underwhelmed fans of the Colorado Rockies for the majority of the past five years.

A first name that certainly isn't associated with a jock that belongs to a jock?

There's some hipster irony in there for sure.

Moe Franklin (1941-1942)

Murray Asher Franklin played 61 games with the Detroit Tigers over the course of his career, spending the bulk of his time at shortstop and hitting .262.

If you could bet on hipster names as you can horse racing, Franklin would win the superfecta all by himself.

Three first names comprise his name, plus a bonus is that his nickname, Moe, isn't really a popular name in this day and age.

He might have more hipster cred than else mentioned here.

August John Galan (1934-1949)

A three-time All-Star who had a 16-year career in the big leagues with five different teams, primarily the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers, Augie Galan would most certainly have the name to garner serious hipster cred.

The irony of the fact that while he was named August, he was actually born in May, would likely be too much for some hipsters to handle and could cause their heads to explode.

Tedd Gullic (1930; 1933)

Tedd Jasper Gullic spent parts of two seasons with the St. Louis Browns, playing both corner infield spots and all three outfield positions.

A career .247 hitter, Gullic gets major hipster points towards hipster cred for having two "D's" at the end of Tedd. But with Jasper as a middle name, a name that hipsters would most definitely use for their sons, Gullic gets double hipster-cred points.

Butch Hobson (1975-1982)

Third baseman Butch Hobson spent the majority of his eight-year playing career with the Boston Red Sox, leading the American League in strikeouts with 162 in 1977.

When you think of someone named Butch, the image in your mind certainly isn't a rail-thin guy wearing skinny jeans and sipping a latte...

Hi Jasper (1914-1916; 1919)

Born Henry Jasper, this right-handed pitcher went throughout his life known as Hi.

Do I really need to say anymore than that?

His name was "hi."

Silas Johnson (1928-1938; 1940-1943; 1946-1947)

For a pitcher who wasn't really anything special, Silas Johnson spent 17 years in the major leagues, missing a few seasons in the 40s due to World War II.

He spent the bulk of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he led the league in losses twice, posting an 11-19 record in 1931 and a 7-22 record in 1934.

While Silas itself is definitely an old-school name, Johnson didn't go by Silas.

He was known simply as Si, and two-letter names garner an immense amount of hipster cred.

Rufus Meadows (1926)

Rufus Rivers Meadows not only has a great name full of hipster cred, but he's somewhat ironic as well.

While the only pictures of him to be found are of him in a New York Yankees uniform, all the research I've done on him shows that he appeared in only one major league game, for the Cincinnati Reds, in 1926.

An uncommon name plus an ironic photo?

Hipster gold.

Willard Nixon (1950-1958)

A left-handed starter who spent nearly a decade with the Boston Red Sox, Willard Nixon finished his career with a 69-72 record, 4.39 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.

Willard certainly isn't a popular name these days, which makes it perfect for the hipster crowd.

Amos Otis (1967; 1969-1984)

A five-time All-Star, Amos Otis patrolled center field for the Kansas City Royals for over a decade.

While his middle name, Joseph, is far too mainstream to garner much in the way of hipster cred, both Amos and Otis are old-school names that more than make up for the popularity of Joseph.

Zane Smith (1984-1996)

A solid, albeit unspectacular pitcher over a 13-year career that was spent primarily in Atlanta and Pittsburgh (with stops in Boston and Montreal as well), Zane Smith retired with a record of 100-115, 3.74 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.

Sure, Smith is without a doubt one of the most common last names in the world, but Zane?

Zane is unique enough that the hipster crowd would have loved him...had he become anything other than a professional athlete.

Alay Soler (2006)

Born Alain Soler in Cuba, the right-handed pitcher's major league career spanned eight starts for the New York Mets in 2006, where he posted a 2-3 record with an ERA of 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.59.

Whether you called him Alain or Alay, the hipster crowd in Williamsburg, Brooklyn would absolutely love Soler...just not openly.

Leopold Theodore Sentell (1906-1907)

Where the name Paul came from is beyond me, but Leopold Theodore Sentell spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, finishing his career hitting .226.

You simply don't see enough Leopold's anymore—or Theodore's for that matter—making Sentell a veritable gold mine of hipster name cred.