GSNHOF Nominee - Barbaro Canizares

(Image from http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/images/headshot_51503.jpg)

I know what you're thinking - I posted 3 names in 3 months, and now 2 in 2 days? Well my friends, free time allows for more post. And this post allows for Ballot 6 voting to begin, so I'm doing it.

I finally nominate the long awaited, often imitated, but never duplicated Barbaro Canizares with this post. It's been a long time coming, as the guy's name is truly amazing. Barbaro sounds like Barbarian, Canizares is just a pretty crazy last name, put them together and you've got something truly wonderful. Not an innuendo or funny phrase when put together, but sounds pretty badass in the end. The other thing I like? Unlike Milton Bradley or Coco Crisp or Rusty Kuntz, Barbaro is probably pretty proud of his name. Would you have messed with Barbaro Canizares in third grade? Yeah, me neither.

Anyways, Barbaro played eight years in the Cuban National Series. I hadn't ever heard of the league until Kendry Morales, another former Cuban National Series player, became big this year for the Angels. Barbaro and Kendry were actually on the same team in 2006 and led it to the postseason, so it's kind of cool that they shared that success. But unlike Kendry, Barbaro has not yet been given a chance to shine.

The reason for this? Well, Barbaro only hit 38 homeruns in the Cuban National Series over eight seasons. Throw in another 128 XBHs over 1,484 minor league at bats, and you get a first baseman that projects to hit something like 8-10 homeruns a year in the majors. Not the stuff of champions, especially when you consider that he's slow as molasses as well. This blog thinks he needs to hit with more power to catch on, and I have to say that I agree. That said, Kendry wasn't hitting many homeruns at first, and now he's doing okay (if MVP votes qualify as okay). Barbaro was only 4 for 21 with one double in his major league debut last year, but it's a pretty small sample size at the Major League Level. So hopefully he'll get a longer look this season for the Braves, as I'd say he definitely has the AVG and OBP to make him worth a try.

Do I think that Barbaro Canizares will bulk up and get that power he needs to stick around the league for a while? Hard to say.

Do I want Barbaro Canizares to stick around the league for a while just so that his awesome name is on a Major League roster? Oh hell yes.

With that, my friends, Barbaro Canizares becomes the 10th and final new nominee for Ballot 6 of the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. The ballot is full and the voting will begin tomorrow - look for a post earlier in the day to start things off!

To see the best sports names of all time, visit the Truly Great Names page.
To see some good sports names that were voted out, visit the Good Names page.
To see the current voting ballot, visit the Ballot page.