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It鈥檚 September and somehow the Mariners continue to flirt with their first post-season appearance in two decades. Regardless of what may happen in any games between now and October (or in any other potentially heart-breaking season, for that matter), one part of the team that鈥檚 been consistent in good years and bad is player nicknames.

Who could ever forget the likes of Cuffs, The Sheriff, and, of course, good old Tuna?

Nicknames are everywhere in families and in many workplaces, but pro-athletes seem to have the best ones that honor 鈥� or sometimes even poke fun at鈥� specific skills or physical attributes.

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From around the Pacific Northwest, there is 鈥淒owntown鈥� Freddy Brown from the glory years of the Supersonics, who still resonates decades later. It seems that Beastmode (is it even necessary to identify this as Marshawn Lynch鈥檚 handle?) will never be forgotten, regardless of how long it takes for some TBD quarterback to surpass the Seahawk achievements of the Russell Wilson era.

Win or lose, baseball seems to dominate the nickname game, with a number and variety far more than football and basketball, or other faster-moving sports. The pace of the game, while considered by some to be a liability in this light-speed age, allows a lot of time for those nicknames to be repeated by the broadcasters. With pitch counts for at-bats sometimes stretching into the double digits, nicknames can be savored like a fine beverage 鈥� giving baseball something of literary quality that doesn鈥檛 emerge as easily as it does in other athletic pursuits ruled by periods, quarters, halves and clocks.

Seattle sports historian Dave Eskenazi told 成人X站 Newsradio that even before radio 鈥� more than a hundred years ago 鈥� there was already at least one great baseball nickname around here.

鈥淗is name was Frank Raymond, and his nickname was 鈥楾ealy,鈥欌�� said Eskenazi. 鈥淗e managed a championship team here in 1912 [and] was kind of a good fielder, no-hit shortstop for many years.鈥�

鈥淗e was a little guy, about five-foot-three and a redhead,鈥� Eskenazi added, which might have inspired this baseball player鈥檚 early Northwest nickname.

鈥淎 buddy and I finally tracked down the origin of the nickname,鈥� Eskenazi continued. 鈥淎nd it said it came from a teal duck.鈥�

One variety of teal 鈥� as some bird enthusiasts probably already know 鈥� is described as a small duck with cinnamon-colored head, or, in other words: Frank Raymond. 鈥淭ealy鈥� hasn鈥檛 had the enduring quality of 鈥淒owntown鈥� or 鈥淏eastmode,鈥� but the premise of any sports nickname, says Dave Eskenazi, has at its roots in the feelings of love and familiarity by fans for the players.

鈥淚 think because they make fans feel closer to the team, it鈥檚 like a term of endearment,鈥� Eskenazi said. 鈥淚f you have a teammate calling another teammate a certain nickname, and you [as a fan] can say that out loud, too, you feel more a part of the festivities. I think that鈥檚 the essence of it.鈥�

David Eskenazi says this was certainly the case for Seattle鈥檚 most popular and most successful聽professional baseball team before the Mariners: the Seattle Rainiers (n茅e Seattle Indians)聽of the Pacific Coast League in 1930s and 1940s.

鈥淢ost guys had nicknames then,鈥� Eskenazi said. 鈥溾�楯o-Jo鈥� White, whose name was Joyner White [鈥�] was from Red Oak, Georgia, and when teammates from far-flung places asked him where he was from, he said, 鈥楪eorgia鈥� [in a Georgia accent, this sounded like 鈥榡o-jo鈥橾, and they started calling him 鈥楯o-Jo,鈥欌�� Eskenazi continued, describing the outfielder who played for Seattle from 1939 to 1942.

鈥楰ewpie鈥� Dick Barrett was called that, Eskenazi says, 鈥渂ecause he looked like a . And there was , because he had a farm in Yoncalla, Oregon,鈥� Eskenazi continued. 鈥淎nd Bill Lawrence, the great centerfielder from the Seattle Rainiers, he was 鈥楬ighpockets鈥� because he was so tall.鈥�

If Randy Adamack were to be given a term of endearment by Mariners fans or by a Mariners broadcaster (or by some random radio historian), one good option would be 鈥淢ister Nickname.鈥�

Adamack is in his early seventies. He鈥檚 semi-retired from the Mariners ballclub after a long career in the front office, and most recently served as senior vice-president and advisor to the chairman and CEO. Adamack, who grew up near Cleveland and worked for the team now known as the Guardians, came to Seattle in the summer of 1978, in the middle of the Mariners鈥� second season, to work in communications.

A few years ago, Adamack 鈥� who鈥檚 become something of an unofficial historian for the team 鈥� put together a master list of Mariner nicknames going all the way back to 1977. To do that, he called on his own first-hand knowledge from those decades around the clubhouse, and he reached out to several people, such as longtime Mariner trainer Rick Griffin, to get their input too.

鈥淭he other thing I did,鈥� Adamack told 成人X站 Newsradio, 鈥渨as I kind of laid out a 鈥榞round rule鈥� that it wasn’t just a matter of adding an 鈥渋e鈥� or a 鈥測鈥� to a name like 鈥楥ammie鈥� or 鈥楤oonie,鈥� as examples.鈥�

And, in a controversial move that eliminated players like A-Rod, for a player to qualify for Adamack鈥檚 nickname list, the nickname 鈥渉ad to be something that wasn’t just initials.鈥�

Adamack doesn鈥檛 have a single favorite, but high on his list is catcher Bob 鈥淪crap Iron鈥� Stinson.

Stinson was called 鈥淪crap Iron,鈥� Adamack says, 鈥渂ecause he was a hard-working, tough guy. He was not a superstar-type player, but had a decent major league career. I think it was a matter of his demeanor and the way he carried himself as much as anything else.鈥�

Here are some other highlights from Adamack鈥檚 Mariner player nickname list.

Rightfielder Jay 鈥淏one鈥� Buhner

鈥淗e’s told me that he got that nickname when he was playing, I think it was, junior college baseball,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淗e was an outfielder, and he went out toward the wall to make a play, and the ball hit him in the head and they started calling him 鈥楤onehead.鈥� And then it just got shortened to 鈥楤one.鈥欌��

Pitcher Norm 鈥淭he Sheriff鈥� Charlton

鈥淗e just had this that way about him,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淗e’s from Texas. He was kind of a tough guy, and after an inning when he got the side out, he would twirl his glove, sort of like a gun, you know, but he would just twirl it like a basketball player would turn a basketball on his finger.鈥�

Dave 鈥淭una鈥� Heaverlo

There was a reliever from Ellensburg named Dave Heaverlo (pronounced 鈥淗AV-er-low鈥�) who, Randy Adamack says, was one of the first major league players to shave his head. A game-night printed program sold at the Kingdome during the 1980 season reported that this led to Heaverlo being called 鈥淏eldar,鈥� after the 鈥榗onehead鈥� character on Saturday Night Live portrayed by Dan Ackroyd.

Adamack says that Dave Heaverlo preferred an alternate other than 鈥淏eldar.鈥�

鈥淭he nickname that he uses himself, and that I remember from back in the day, was 鈥楾una,鈥欌�� Adamack said.

Tuna?

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 just his body type,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淚t looks like a tuna . . . you know, there’s not much shape to it. I’ve gotten a couple of emails from him, text messages or whatever, recently, and he signs it 鈥楾una.鈥欌��

Jerry 鈥淕abby鈥� Narron

Here鈥檚 one from the 鈥渋ronic nickname鈥� category.

鈥淲e had a catcher named Jerry Narron who was very quiet,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淣ever said a word. And so his nickname was 鈥楪abby.鈥欌��

Henry 鈥淎vo鈥� Cotto

Here鈥檚 a nickname for an outfielder that, some might agree, is just plain bad.

鈥淥ne that I’d never heard of before but a couple of people told me about is Henry Cotto,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淗is nickname was 鈥楢vo,鈥� as in 鈥楢vocado.鈥欌��

Groan.

Bill 鈥淭he Inspector鈥� Caudill

There was one Mariner 40 years ago who actually had two nicknames, and who was one of the earliest major league baseball players to have his own walk-up music: the 鈥淧ink Panther Theme.鈥� The player was relief pitcher Bill 鈥淭he Inspector鈥� Caudill.

鈥淗e got a Sherlock Holmes cap, you know, that had the front and the back both the same,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淎nd he had this magnifying glass. He went around one time when our team was not hitting at all, we weren鈥檛 scoring any runs. He was 鈥榠nspecting鈥� the bats鈥� 鈥� to try and solve the mystery of the missing hits 鈥� 鈥渁nd we had pictures of it, [where] he’s looking through the bats.鈥�

鈥淎nd we just started calling him 鈥楾he Inspector,鈥欌�� Adamack said.

As a reliever, whose entry into the game was usually accompanied by a delay 鈥� for the walk from the bullpen and for some warm-up pitches from the mound 鈥� it was perhaps inevitable that old Kingdome organist Dick Kimball began playing the Henry Mancini-composed theme from the Inspector Clouseau films starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling investigator.

But 鈥淭he Inspector鈥�, says Randy Adamack, was not Bill Caudill鈥檚 original nickname. That would be 鈥淐uffs,鈥� as in handcuffs.

鈥淗e might have gotten in some trouble on the road in Cleveland, really minor trouble,鈥� Adamack said. 鈥淗e either was handcuffed or, somehow, Caudill talked a policeman out of a pair of handcuffs, and he brought them back to Seattle with him.鈥�

鈥淗e would handcuff people to the bench,鈥� Adamack continued, describing antics that might not be looked on the same way 40 years later. 鈥淚t would all be in fun, but I mean, he handcuffed the owner’s wife one time to the dugout bench, and she was there until the game almost started before he finally let her go.鈥�

Along with the walk-up music and two nicknames, Randy Adamack says Mariner manager Rene 鈥淟ache鈥� Lachemann also devised a custom signal for when Bill Caudill鈥檚 services were required on the mound.

鈥溾�橪ache鈥� would put his two wrists together like they were handcuffed,鈥� Adamack said 鈥淎nd that was a signal for 鈥楥uffs鈥� to come into the game.鈥�

One can only imagine what gesture good ol鈥� 鈥楲ache鈥� might have come up with to summon Frank Raymond.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea or question, please email Feliks鈥�here.