Aaargh! These nicknames!

[Déjà Bru]

I put one of these with the thread title to assure that it's not a complaint or really a big deal:

You see, I don't like the nicknames feature in OOTPB but at the same time, I don't want to shut it off. I prefer to come up with my own nicknames based on playful references to well-known names or some aspect of their career that has caught my attention.

I know to erase all of the names in the nick_names.txt file in the database folder prior to generating players in a fictional league. This will do the trick in that situation.

Problem is for me, I like to start an historical MLB league in, say, 1901 but with fictional players. So I release all real players and replace them with fictional ones. Unfortunately, the real players with nicknames establish them as precedents which get picked up by the fictional players even though there are no entries in the nick_names.txt file. These precedents apparently remain after I delete the real players.

That highlights the dilemmas concerning nicknames in OOTPB. They are random, have nothing to do with player names and histories, and they repeat. Now I will clean them out and monitor for any repetitions for the next several "years."

Here's a good example. All of these nicknames, with one exception that I will get to, are historical. Search for them in Baseball-Reference and you will see.

The one exception is not the nickname that I blurred out because I think it is reprehensible. If you can guess what that one is, going by alphabetical order, and search for it in B-R, you will see seven ballplayers with that nickname, the last of whom played in 1944. There are already four ballplayers in my league with that nickname and its only the first year of the league, 1901!

And there are already two Bald Eagles, three Chiefs, three Crossfires, etc. The list goes on for a few pages; this is only the first.

So, what is the exception here? There is one player here with a nickname that I gave him, based on a historical figure. Hint: It's definitely an anachronism. Can you find him?

[Qeltar]

That would have to be Mr. Guevara, lol.

[Déjà Bru]

You, sir, earn a virtual Cuban cigar!

Note: Yes, I know the Che Guevera was Argentinian but he was a major figure in the Cuban Revolution. He is not necessarily somebody whom I admire for his contributions to world history, but he came to mind when I "met" Ernie. We all call Ernie "Che" now even though his namesake will not be born for another 27 years.

[Déjà Bru]

I want to add my appreciation for a seemingly inconsequential but very handy feature recently added to the game, I think 19 but I'm not sure.

It's this and it makes the job of repetitive maintenance like this much easier. I remember doing this job in the past, erasing extraneous nicknames, but I would have to edit one then return to the list for the next player. This time it's a breeze:

[bwburke94]

The nicknames you blurred are also rather interesting.

Why'd you take the effort to do so if not to distract us from the obvious? It's not like we can't figure out what it is from the alphabetical order provided to us.

[Qeltar]

The 16 year old uber-phenom my scout found has the nickname "Irony."

I have no idea where a teenaged Dominican gets a nickname like that, but since his last name is the ever-so-rare "Guerrero" it does make it easier to find him with the search box.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

The nicknames you blurred are also rather interesting.

Why'd you take the effort to do so if not to distract us from the obvious? It's not like we can't figure out what it is from the alphabetical order provided to us.

True, it's not hard to figure out. But I will not be part of perpetuating a racist epithet if I can help it.

Originally Posted by Qeltar

The 16 year old uber-phenom my scout found has the nickname "Irony."

I have no idea where a teenaged Dominican gets a nickname like that, but since his last name is the ever-so-rare "Guerrero" it does make it easier to find him with the search box.

Yes, the "Irony" will be that, if your experience is similar to mine, that this international find will most likely be yet another scrub.

[Qeltar]

Well I'm sure he'll disappoint compared to his ratings, but he's got a loooong way to fall to hit "scrub."

All of the other guys my scout finds are the usual, but this guy is a ringer, like from a different planet or something...

[dtizzle]

Would love to hear about “Buttermilk tommy”


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[endgame]

Originally Posted by dtizzle

Would love to hear about “Buttermilk tommy”


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I’d love to hear about your avatar, but that’s a detour unless I can tie it into a nickname.

[dtizzle]

Originally Posted by endgame

I’d love to hear about your avatar, but that’s a detour unless I can tie it into a nickname.

The name is my rap name.. kinda like Childish Gambino is to Donald Glover.

The avatar... that’s the kind of stuff i fix on a daily basis... luckily much better than I fix my Mets in ootp.


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[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by dtizzle

Would love to hear about “Buttermilk tommy”

Tommy Dowd was an outfielder for the Boston Americans and Boston was the last stop in his career. He had made the jump from the NL to the fledgling AL in 1901. As a matter of fact, since I am playing the Baltimore Orioles in my game, he probably would have been the very first batter that I would have faced because he was the leadoff batter for the Americans in their very first game. Instead, however, I chose to play with fictional players as you know from reading above.

The one thing that I could not find out about "Buttermilk Tommy" was why buttermilk? Probably, it was as simple as he liked drinking the stuff.

Anyway, the game retained "Buttermilk Tommy" in its memory bank and assigned it to some guy named "Davon Phifer." That is the kind of incongruity that bugs me about nicknames in OOTPB whether they are historical or fictional (from nick_names.txt).

That is why I make it a priority to scrub them from my game. I like nicknames, but only the ones that I create.

[DreamTeams]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

That is why I make it a priority to scrub them from my game. I like nicknames, but only the ones that I create.

I'm doing something similar, except I use the nicknames assigned by the game to come up with a unique first name for the player. I can usually come up with something. For example, the game recently named a newly minted SP Bill 'Phantom' Feller. So, I simply renamed him Fantom Feller and dropped the nickname all together. That's what I've started doing for many of the players in my league, except for players who where given nicknames by me.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by DreamTeams

I'm doing something similar, except I use the nicknames assigned by the game to come up with a unique first name for the player. I can usually come up with something. For example, the game recently named a newly minted SP Bill 'Phantom' Feller. So, I simply renamed him Fantom Feller and dropped the nickname all together. That's what I've started doing for many of the players in my league, except for players who where given nicknames by me.

That's an interesting idea. It reminds me of what I would do in 18, which was to turn off nicknames altogether and enter my own nicknames as part of the first name field, in single quotes. Then the nickname would appear everywhere, which was cool. Unfortunately, in 19, many of the screens and labels were changed so doing that now makes the name truncate and run off edges, somewhat unsightly. So I work within the system now.

[dtizzle]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

That's an interesting idea. It reminds me of what I would do in 18, which was to turn off nicknames altogether and enter my own nicknames as part of the first name field, in single quotes. Then the nickname would appear everywhere, which was cool. Unfortunately, in 19, many of the screens and labels were changed so doing that now makes the name truncate and run off edges, somewhat unsightly. So I work within the system now.

Love the Hi Munoz - Doughnut Bill combo as well.


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[Dyzalot]

I find it interesting that you don't like some nicknames because they were also used as a racial slur but you are fine with nicknaming someone after a racist, homophobic murderer.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Dyzalot

I find it interesting that you don't like some nicknames because they were also used as a racial slur but you are fine with nicknaming someone after a racist, homophobic murderer.

Well, I do have my standards. For example, I would not go with "Charles" as a nickname for a player whose last name is "Manson."

However, despite my doubt that Guevara was racist and homophobic, a case could be made for him to have been a murderer in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. Reprisals inflicted upon former supporters of Batista probably seemed to Guevera to be justified by the atrocities of the former regime but, simply put, two wrongs don't make a right.

I don't intend to turn this thread into a debate about Che Guevara so I concede your point and I will go so far as to change my player's nickname to Álava.

No more political commentary on Che Guevara, please. Case closed.

[italyprof]

Eh-Yah was Shortstop Hughie Jennings. 1890s Baltimore Orioles.

[Déjà Bru]

Actually, it was "Ee-Yah" which could be my nickname based on an utterance I may have made when dealing with these nicknames! Either that or "Aaargh."

Déjà "Ee-Yah" Bru!

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I will go so far as to change my player's nickname to Álava.

Déjà "Ee-Yah" Bru is a man of his word!