It’s 2025, and there’s a Bob in the big leagues.
When the Rays put 26-year-old Bob Seymour, fresh off a promotion from Triple-A Durham, into their lineup on Aug. 15, he became the first Bob to appear in a Major League game since pitcher Bob Howry in 2010. When he launched his first career homer on Wednesday, he was the first Bob to go deep since Bob Smith, also for Tampa Bay, in 2002.
Of course, every other recognizable iteration of “Robert” has shown up on an MLB roster since then -- in fact, a "Bobby" finished second in last year's AL MVP race. But there haven’t been any Bobs. It’s a once-popular name – hundreds have appeared in the game since Bob Addy made his debut for the Rockford Forest Citys in 1871 – that is apparently being phased out of society and baseball.
That got us thinking: Which other outdated names haven’t we seen in MLB for a while? So we made a list of 10 that haven’t shown up in at least several years, some for more than 20. We stayed away from nicknames like Doc and Bud and Whitey, but it’s worth pointing out that while more than 100 men called “Red” have taken the field in MLB, the last one was Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst in 1963.
Join us on this trip down memory lane, in alphabetical order. (As with Bob above, we're focusing here on the specific version of a particular name that a player goes by, per Baseball-Reference.)
Name: Al
Alvin? Sure. Albert, Alex, Alfredo, Allan, Allen, Alexi, Alfredo, Alvin, Alexis, Ali? We’ve seen them all. But there hasn’t been an “Al” in MLB in eight years. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), Albert was among the top 25 most popular boys names every year from 1900-31, but it hasn’t cracked the top 100 since 1967.
All-time MLB total: Well into triple digits
Most recent: Albuquerque, given name Alberto, a relief pitcher whose seven-year MLB career wrapped up with the White Sox in 2017. He has continued to pitch professionally since then, including in the Atlantic League in 2023-25.
Best: Kaline, who starred for the Tigers from 1953-74, winning 10 Gold Gloves, making 18 All-Star appearances, racking up 3,007 hits and being selected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. There's also Al Spalding (1871-78), later an influential executive and the founder of the Spalding sporting goods business. More recently, Al Oliver (1968-85) was a seven-time All-Star and Al Leiter (1987-2005) a two-time All-Star and World Series champion.
Next? Barring a miraculous Albuquerque comeback? One of the many Alberts or Albertos currently in the Minors will have to shorten his name to break the drought.
Name: Bill
William is still an exceedingly popular name, ranking 10th among boys in 2024 and never escaping the top 20 since 1900. We continue to see the nickname Billy in the Majors, but Bill is another story.
All-time MLB total: Hundreds
Most recent: Bray, a reliever who pitched six MLB seasons, mostly for the Reds, ending in 2012.
Best: Take your pick between Hall of Famers Dahlen, Terry and Dickey. We’ll go with Terry, who batted .401 with 254 hits for the 1930 New York Giants. Other top Bills include Hall of Famer and 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski (1956-72), four-time battling title winner Bill Madlock (1973-87) and the unique personality that is Bill "Spaceman" Lee (1969-82).
Next? Bill Knight, a 25-year-old infielder, was drafted by the Mariners in the 10th round in 2022 and had 35 stolen bases and 45 RBIs for Double-A Arkansas, through Sunday.
Name: Claude
If you have never met a Claude, there’s a good reason – the name hasn’t even been ranked by the SSA since 1993, when it clocked in at No. 898. It was in the top 100 every year from 1900-22.
All-time MLB total: 25
Most recent: Osteen, a three-time All-Star left-hander for the Dodgers who pitched 204 1/3 innings for the 1975 White Sox in his 18th and final big league season.
Best: Also Osteen, who debuted at 17 in 1957 and won 196 career games, including 20 in both 1969 and '72.
Next? There are several Claudios and one Claudiel (Lantigua) in the Minors, but sadly no Claudes. At present, it seems like a longshot for a comeback, but you never know. For example, MLB was without an "Otto" for almost 40 years until Otto Lopez and Otto Kemp suddenly appeared over the past few seasons.
Name: Ed
Edward slipped out of the top 100 boys names in 1998 and hasn’t recovered, falling to No. 228 in 2024. It was No. 8 every year from 1912-23. MLB has featured the names Eddie, Edgar, Edgardo, Edmundo, Edouard, Eduard, Eduardo, Eduarniel and Edwin in 2025 ... but no Eds.
All-time MLB total: More than 100
Most recent: Easley, a catcher whose big league tenure consisted of four games, no hits and one RBI for the Cardinals in 2015.
Best: Delahanty, who played in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and ended a Hall of Fame career with 2,597 hits and 1,466 RBIs. (Apologies to fellow Hall of Famers with Ed-adjacent names, such Eddie Murray, Eddie Mathews, Eddie Plank, Edgar Martinez and Edd Roush.)
Next? Ed Howard was a first-round pick by the Cubs in 2020 but has scuffled in the Minors since debuting in 2021. He’s batting .143 in 11 games for Double-A Daytona and is on the 60-day injured list.
Name: Harry
Even with a British prince leading the way culturally, Harry has not caught on, ranking 777th among boys’ names in 2024. (Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader doesn't shorten his name, after all.) Harold ranks even lower, although we've seen multiple Harolds in the Majors in recent seasons, not to mention Harold Baines going into the Hall of Fame and Harold Reynolds as a presence on MLB Network.
All-time MLB total: Close to 200
Most recent: Spilman, a utility player who appeared in 563 games between 1978-89.
Best: Heilmann, who played 17 seasons between 1914-32, mostly for the Tigers. He had eight 100-RBI seasons and won four AL batting titles. He batted .394 with 237 hits in 1921, then hit .403 two years later. He finished with a .342 average, 2,660 hits and 1,543 RBIs and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1952, his 13th year on the ballot.
Next? Seattle catcher Harry Ford is MLB Pipeline’s No. 40 prospect. He’s tearing up Triple-A with a .292/.413/.475 slash line through Sunday and, even though the Mariners don’t need help behind the plate, with Cal Raleigh leading baseball with 47 home runs, Ford could give a jolt to their postseason hopes. He already had a stint on the team's taxi squad earlier this year.
Name: Herb
Herbert hasn’t been ranked by the SSA since 2002, when it was No. 978 for boys. It made the top 100 every year from 1900-46.
All-time MLB total: 42
Most recent: Washington, the A’s secret weapon on the basepaths in 1974. He didn’t receive an at-bat, but he stole 29 bases and scored 29 runs in 92 games as a pinch-runner extraordinaire. He played his final 13 games in 1975.
Best: Pennock, who served in the Navy during World War I, reached the Hall of Fame in 1948 on the back of 241 career wins. He won 115 games for the Yankees between 1923-28, helping the Bombers to two World Series titles in that span and another in 1932.
Next? The Herbs in all forms are falling by the wayside. Minor Leaguer Herbert Iser, who got as far as Triple-A, was released by the Phillies in 2024, leaving the future of this name very much in doubt for now.
Name: Howard
Howard was last ranked by the SSA in 2021, when it was No. 939 for boys. The height of its popularity was in the 1920s – Howard checked in at No. 24 in 1920 and stayed in the top 30 for seven more years. While a couple of recent big leaguers have had Howard as a given name -- think Howie Kendrick -- they haven't used it as their chosen name.
All-time MLB total: 24
Most recent: Battle, a third baseman who appeared in 29 games for the Phillies, Blue Jays and Braves from 1995-99.
Best: Ehmke, who pitched 331 2/3 innings and won 39 games for the Red Sox from 1923-24. He surprisingly started – and won – Game 1 of the 1929 World Series for the Philadelphia A’s, who defeated the Cubs in five games. Right there with him is Howard Johnson, who had three 30-30 seasons for the Mets between 1987-91.
Next? Howard Reyes, a 17-year-old in the Tigers organization, had a .723 OPS in the Dominican Summer League through Sunday.
Name: Stan
Stanley was a popular name for a long time, ranking in the top 100 for boys in each of the first 60 years of the 20th century. Like the others on the list, it has fallen on hard times more recently. In 2024, it ranked 875th.
All-time MLB total: 40
Most recent: Javier, an outfielder who played for eight teams from 1987-2001. He ended with 1,358 hits and 243 stolen bases, and he helped the Athletics to their last World Series championship in 1989.
Best: No contest here. Donora, Pa., native Stan "The Man" Musial led the National League at least once in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. His 3,630 hits rank No. 2 in NL history behind Pete Rose. Musial played all 22 of his seasons for the Cardinals, was a three-time MVP and three-time World Series champion who became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1969.
Next? If one of the multiple Stanleys in the Minors opts to shorten his name, the Stan legacy can live on. Otherwise, it might be a while.
Name: Vern
In its shortened form, Vern went out of style a while ago, last being ranked among the top 1,000 boys names in 1968. Vernon held onto relevancy a bit longer, making it to 2003 (the year Vernon Wells earned the first of his three All-Star selections), before falling out of the top 1,000.
All-time MLB total: 19
Most recent: Ruhle, who had a 13-year career as a pitcher from 1974-86. His best season was 1980, when he went 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA in 159 1/3 innings for an Astros team that reached the NLCS.
Best: Stephens, who as a mainstay in the infields of the Browns and Red Sox in the 1940s and 1950s. Between 1949-50 for Boston, Stephens totaled 69 home runs, 303 RBIs and 166 walks. The seven-time All-Star hit 20 homers six times between 1943-50 and ended his career with 247 round-trippers and 1,174 RBIs.
Next? There are no current Verns or Vernons in the Minors. With nearly 40 years having passed since Ruhle retired, we may have seen Major League Baseball's last Vern.
Name: Wally
You may think that while Wally is outdated (unless you're talking about the Red Sox mascot), Walt and Walter are still in the lexicon. You’d mostly be wrong – there hasn’t been an MLB Walter since 2009 (Silva) or a Walt since 2002 (McKeel). While ranking in the top 40 boys’ names for the entire first half of the 20th century, Walter has fallen on hard times, ranking no higher than 200th since 1991.
All-time MLB total: 38
Most recent: Joyner, who ended his 16-year career in 2001 after playing for four teams and notching more than 2,000 hits. In his first two seasons, he totaled 56 home runs and 217 RBIs while walking more than he struck out.
Best: Wally Schang racked up 48 bWAR and 1,506 hits, with three World Series titles between 1913-21. But we’re going with Wally Berger, who clubbed 38 homers as a rookie in 1930 and led the NL with 34 home runs and 130 RBIs five years later. Honorable mentions to Backman, Joyner, Moses, Moon and Post. And Pipp, the man Lou Gehrig replaced in the Yankees' starting lineup before The Iron Horse went on his famous games played streak.
Next? Wally Soto was released by the Cubs last year after getting as far as Double-A. The survival of his first name in Major League Baseball may be contingent on a comeback.