The All-Scrabble team

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 28, 2008 11:00 PM PDT

I've become a bit of a Scrabble enthusiast. I attend a club every Thursday night, and one night my club director mentioned that he'd seen an All-Scrabble football team, where every player's first and last names were both valid Scrabble plays. He mentioned Jerry Rice as an example - JERRY is a term for a Nazi soldier.

So, I endeavored to create a 25-man roster of current major leaguers whose names fit that description. So, when I should have been studying high probablility seven letter words, I-dumps and three-to-make-fours, I put together the All-Scrabble Major League baseball team. Every player's first and last names are valid plays according to the Official Scrabble Club and Tournament Word List, 2nd Edition. Definitions are given when they're not obvious.

Mngr Dusty Baker - Cincinnati Reds

STARTERS

RHP Ben Sheets - Milwaukee Brewers

BEN - [n] an inner room

LHP Cliff Lee - Cleveland Indians

LEE - [n] shelter from the wind

LHP Randy Wolf - Houston Astros

RANDY - [adj] lustful (marked by excessive sexual desire)

RHP John Lackey - Los Angeles Angels

JOHN - [n] a toilet
LACKEY - [v] to act in a servile manner

RHP Jake Peavy - San Diego Padres

JAKE - [adj] all right; fine
PEAVY - [n] peavey (a lever used to move logs)

BULLPEN

LHP Bill Bray - Cincinnati Reds

BRAY - [v] to utter a harsh cry

LHP Chase Wright - New York Yankees

WRIGHT - [n] one who constructs or creates

RHP Scot Shields - Los Angeles Angels

SCOT - [n] a tax

RHP Cory Wade - Los Angeles Dodgers

CORY - [n] a former monetary unit of Guinea

RHP Heath Bell - San Diego Padres

HEATH - [n] an evergreen shrub

RHP Dan Wheeler - Tampa Bay Rays

DAN - [n] a level of skill in martial arts
WHEELER - [n] one that wheels (to convey on wheels)

CL Kerry Wood - Chicago Cubs

KERRY - [n] one of an Irish breed of cattle

INFIELDERS

1B Prince Fielder - Milwaukee Brewers

FIELDER - [n] one that catches or picks up a ball in play

1B Brad Nelson - Milwaukee Brewers

BRAD - [n] to fasten with thin nails
NELSON - [n] a wrestling hold

2B Kelly Johnson - Atlanta Braves

KELLY - [n] a bright green color
JOHNSON - [n] the penis (usually considered vulgar)

2B/SS/3B Nick Punto - Minnesota Twins

NICK - [v] to make a shallow cut in
PUNTO - [n] a hit or thrust in fencing

SS/3B Chipper Jones - Atlanta Braves

CHIPPER - [v] to chirp (to utter a short, shrill sound)
JONES - [v] to have a strong craving for something

3B Josh Fields - Chicago White Sox

JOSH - [v] to tease (to make fun of)

OUTFIELDERS

LF Buck Coats - Toronto Blue Jays

BUCK - [v] to leap forward and upward suddenly

CF Coco Crisp - Boston Red Sox

COCO - [n] a tall palm tree

CF Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers

MATT - [v] to matte
KEMP - [n] a champion

LF/RF Matt Stairs - Philadelphia Phillies

LF/RF Nick Swisher - Chicago White Sox

SWISHER - [n] one that swishes (to move with a prolonged hissing sound)

CATCHERS

C Toby Hall - Chicago White Sox

TOBY - [n] a type of drinking mug

C John Baker - Florida Marlins

As an aside, the only current All-Scrabble Giants player is Matt Cain - CAIN is defined as "kain (a tax paid in produce or livestock)." I left him off the roster mainly to avoid redundancy - I already had Matt Kemp amd Matt Stairs, and I couldn't leave them off because I was really hurting for outfielders.

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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Comments

NERD

I like this.

There amass been plenty of articles written this spring about the stud shortstop Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum , as well as the fluid young outfielders and thirteen basemen Kevin Frandsen.
comics | art | Nattowear | McFAQ I & II

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 11:14 PM PDT reply actions

I’ll never again be able to hear Kelly Johnson introduced without snickering.

Scott McClain: Great story, no place on the 2009 Giants.

by EliminateMe on Oct 28, 2008 11:20 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah

Kelly’s a girl’s name! Hilarious!

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com. It's not being updated right now. Hope for more at your own risk.

by groug on Oct 28, 2008 11:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Now batting

Braves 2nd baseman, #2…Bright Green Penis!

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 29, 2008 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions

lol

I see the future, and it is Pablo

by CB30 on Oct 29, 2008 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions

That’s what “johnson” means?!

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 11:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Who Did Randy Johnson Not Make This Team?

RANDY – [adj] lustful (marked by excessive sexual desire)

JOHNSON – [n] the penis (usually considered vulgar)

by giantsrainman on Oct 28, 2008 11:55 PM PDT up reply actions

I was about to ask this same question!!!

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
PABLO SANDOVAL AM STEAL DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.

by jponry on Oct 29, 2008 7:24 AM PDT up reply actions

What to make of Randy Messenger…. ????

by aGIANTfan on Oct 29, 2008 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions

This is a pretty jake list you’ve made. But I’ve seen jaker.

Me lose brain? Uh oh.

by neurofarm on Oct 29, 2008 7:35 AM PDT reply actions

I’m going to shove you in some qat for this.

Ni!

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 8:57 AM PDT reply actions

NI is not a valid play

Oddly enough, every other two-letter word involving an N and a vowel is valid. AN, NA, EN, NE, IN, ON, NO, UN and NU are all good, but NI is not.

Anagram of "Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum" = TENSE, CLIMACTIC, TRIUMPHING

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 29, 2008 11:00 AM PDT up reply actions

NOOOOOO NOT AGAIN!!!!

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions

I'll Help Out...

John,
Start Here

GIS Images “Ni”. Took me a while too :-)

My adopted son Matt Downs. Lost in the wilderness of mediocrity.

by nvsfg on Oct 29, 2008 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Martin Moment!

You even commented in that thread John!

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions

“WE ARE THE KNIGHTS THAT SAY…”

"Ain't got a hope in Hell - that's my belief." - Bon Scott

by victor frankenstein on Oct 29, 2008 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions

I missed that exchange in that other thread.

However, I totally got the “Ni!” reference in this one. I just felt compelled to mention that it’s an invalid play nonetheless. I thought maybe it would be good in the international word list, but it isn’t valid there either.

Anagram of "Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum" = TENSE, CLIMACTIC, TRIUMPHING

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 29, 2008 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Awesome List

Build More or Verify All Names/Definitions Here !

My adopted son Matt Downs. Lost in the wilderness of mediocrity.

by nvsfg on Oct 29, 2008 9:10 AM PDT reply actions

Keep in mind that that lookup tool uses the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, which is different from the club and tournament list. The OSPD leaves out all the profanities and offensive terms, so JOHNSON is, therefore, not in it.

The OSPD is mainly for casual home use. They had to create different dictionaries because people were offended. For example, the OSPD used to define the word JEW as verb meaning “to bargain” – and some Holocaust survivor just went apeshit.

By the way, APESHIT is not valid in the club list. However, DIPSHIT, HORSESHIT and CHICKENSHIT are.

Anagram of "Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum" = TENSE, CLIMACTIC, TRIUMPHING

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 29, 2008 4:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh, and BULLSHIT too. Duh.

Anagram of "Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum" = TENSE, CLIMACTIC, TRIUMPHING

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 29, 2008 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Dick Pole.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Oct 29, 2008 9:40 AM PDT reply actions

ty cob
willie maize
damn this is corny

"he walked 18; new league record! Struck out 18, another new league record! He also hit the sportswriter, the PA announcer, the bull mascot twice..."

by i did my job on Oct 29, 2008 10:39 AM PDT reply actions

Brad Hennessey
Brad – to fasten with thin nails
Hennessey – Alcoholic beverage that you want to consume after watching this guy pitch

John Bowker
John – toilet
Bowker – inability to play 1B or lay off high fastballs

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 10:51 AM PDT reply actions

Bobby Bonds

Bobby – English term for policeman
Bonds – nostocksjust……

Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.

by Lyle on Oct 29, 2008 4:12 PM PDT reply actions

HOF team (nicknames of note in parentheses)

C Bill Dickey, Johnny Bench
1b Frank Chance, Bill Terry
2b Joe Morgan, Nellie Fox
3b Frank Baker
ss Joe Tinker
OF: Mickey Mantle, Harry Hooper, “Babe” Ruth (Cool Papa Bell)
P: Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Bob Lemon (Catfish Hunter, Dizzy Dean, Lefty Grove)

Honorable mention to Al Kaline, played as a single word.

by jae on Oct 29, 2008 5:18 PM PDT reply actions

DAMN,

this is nerdy. Pretty swank.

I always get to these things like 17 days later.

Still-proud, adoptive mama of Notgardo Alfonzo, who's back from the 50-game purgatory. He promises never to do it again. I couldn't get him to promise to hit, though. We're working on that with bribes of M&Ms, kind of like potty training.

by tk on Oct 30, 2008 8:28 PM PDT reply actions

Bestest Scrabble play

I once scored 121 points by playing the word ‘HAMBONE’ on the upper left Triple Word Score, with the ‘O’ combining with the already played ‘ZONE’ to create ‘OZONE’. All tiles used. Triple word. 121 points.

By the way, didn’t some guy score nearly 800 points in a game a few years back to set a record? If I remember correctly, it was some guy who worked in the trades…not sure if it was Joe the Plumber.

by biff pocoroba on Oct 31, 2008 9:00 AM PDT reply actions