MLB power rankings: Top 30 nicknames of all-time
By John Buhler
20. Jim Hunter: Catfish
One could argue that Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter was one of the most dominant pitchers in the 1960s and 1970s. Though his terrific MLB career would be cut short by arm injury in 1979 at age 33, he was one of the most prolific pitchers in his 20s.
Hunter starred for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and would later be the first marquee free agent after signing with the New York Yankees. He won five World Series, made eight trips to the All-Star Game and was the 1974 AL Cy Young.
Though he tragically died of ALS in 1999 at the age of 53, Hunter’s iconic Catfish nickname lives on. While it was probably just given to Hunter by then eccentric A’s owner Charles O. Finley for no reason whatsoever, the darn thing stuck to Hunter for the rest of his life and beyond.
Somebody tried to say one time that the moniker Catfish comes from a childhood story of Hunter’s upbringing in North Carolina where he got lost and magically appeared with a string of catfish. Nobody could verify that crazy tale, but Catfish remains one of the best nicknames the MLB has ever given us fans.