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Some fantasy baseball
fans - such as myself - rarely watch an actual baseball game. Nor do they listen to games on the radio. They make all their
player evaluations by reading reports and analyzing statistics. With modern electronic communication, these fans tend not
to even talk to other fans about the players, they just send electronic notes to each other. Hence, a player could be a 15
year veteran, and these fans could still be mispronouncing his name. I am one of those fans to a degree. As a service to these
fans and myself, I produced this pronunciation guide taken mostly from STATS Scouting Notebook or ESPN.com. The newest entries are highlighted in green. The comments regarding the older players have been updated or edited. I’ve
cleaned out the most of the retired players including Kirk REE-ter and ON-dress gahl-la-RAH-ga. Some released players have
namesakes on the way up, so I have preserved those names.
Spanish Names
Once you get the hang
of Spanish, you will not likely obliterate most new names, but you still may get some a little wrong. Some countries pronounce
the same name different ways. You should, at least, know that an ``a`` is usually ``ah`` as in ``father``, ``e`` is pronounced
as our long ``a`` as is ``date``, ``i`` is our long ``e`` as in ``ee``, ``o`` is our long ``o`` as in ``boat``, and ``u``
is the long ``u`` in ``cute``. ``J`` is pronounced similarly to our ``h``, a double ``l`` sounds like our ``y``, and ``ñ``
is ``ny``. Usually the accent is on the 2nd-to-last syllable, but there are many exceptions.
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Abreu |
ah-BRAY-you |
|
|
Acevedo |
Ah-SEH-vedoh |
|
|
Alou |
ah-LOO |
Moy-zes
– I assumed everybody knew. |
|
Amezaga |
uh-MEZ-uh-guh |
|
|
Aquino |
ah-KEY-no |
|
|
Arrojo |
ah-ROW-ho |
|
|
Astacio |
ah-STAH-see-oh |
not quite
a rhyme with pistachio |
|
Baez, Danys |
BUY-ez, DAN-ees |
|
|
Barajas |
bar-AH-hoss |
|
|
Batista |
Bah-TEE-sta |
as in the
pre-Castro Cuban ruler |
|
Bautista |
BAW-tee-sta |
close, but
no cigar! |
|
Beltran |
BELL-tron |
|
|
Beltre |
BELL-tray |
|
|
Betancourt |
bee-AN-court |
|
|
Bocachica |
Boh-ka-cheeka |
Hiram is
“Hear-ram” |
|
Cabrera |
kah-bray-RAH
(Orlando)
or kah-BRAIR-ah depending on the country? |
|
Cano |
ka-NO |
is there
a Ca-si? |
|
Capellan |
Cap-E-on
(ESPN |
shouldn’t
it be “Kah-PAY-yon”? |
|
Castillo/a |
cas-TEE-yoh/yah |
everyone
knows these |
|
Cedeño |
sid-AIN-yo |
|
|
Cerda |
SER-da |
|
|
Chacin |
shah-SEEN |
|
|
Chacon |
shah-KONE |
|
|
Chavez |
shah-vez |
Eric: (US) accent on -vez; Endy: (Vz.) even |
|
Colome |
cal-um-ay |
Hay-soos |
|
Colon, Bartolo |
ko-LONE |
bar-TOE-loh |
|
Cordero |
cor-DAIR-oh |
|
|
Cota |
KOH-tah |
too easy? |
|
DeJesus |
dah-HAY-soos |
isn’t
it? (not given in ESPN) |
|
Dessens |
dah-SENZ |
He is Mexican. |
|
Dotel |
dough-TEL |
|
|
Encarnacion |
en-car-NAH-see-own |
|
|
Feliciano |
Fay-LEASE-ee-an-no |
folks my
age remember the singer |
|
Figueroa |
fig-uh-ROE-uh |
common,
but top one had 9 MLB at bats |
|
Fuentes |
foo-WHEN-tayz |
|
|
(Rich) Garces |
gar-SEZ |
attempting
another comeback |
|
Garciaparra |
GAR-SEE-AH-par-uh |
I prefer
GAR-see-ah-PAR-ruh |
|
German |
her-MAHN |
|
|
Guardado |
gwar-DAH-doh |
|
|
Guillen |
GEY-un |
I thought
it was GEE-yun |
|
Gutierrez |
goo-tee-AIR-ez |
|
|
Heredia |
her-RAY-dee-uh |
|
|
Hidalgo |
HUH-dahl-go |
just in
case he comes back |
|
Ibanez |
e-BON-yez |
must have
lost his ``ñ`` in NY city, where he`s from |
|
Infante |
In-fahn-TAY |
I don’t
know why I didn’t have this before. |
|
Ismael (Valdez) |
EES-mah-ale |
|
|
Izturis |
Iss-TUR-iss |
Say-zar
and My-sair (previous ver. wrong?) |
|
Javier |
HAH-vee
-er |
HAH-vee
(Javy) for short |
|
Jimenez |
him-en-ez |
D’Angelo
and Carlos are Dominican |
|
Jimenez |
he-MEN-ez |
Ubaldo the
Venezuelan is likely this version |
|
Ledee |
La-DAY |
|
|
Loaiza |
low-EYE-za |
only six
letters, but harder to spell than say |
|
Manon |
mah-YON |
|
|
Marte, Andy |
MAR-the |
both Andy
& Damaso are Dominican |
|
Marte, Damaso |
MAR-tay |
I am surprised
they are pronounced differently |
|
Mesa |
MAY-sa |
it`s become
an English word of Spanish origin |
|
Mitre |
MEE-tray |
SER-jee-oh |
|
Mondesi |
MON-de-see |
reportedly
trying to come back |
|
Neifi (Perez) |
NAY-fee |
|
|
Nieve |
nee-AY-vay |
|
|
Nuñez |
NOON-yez |
|
|
Ordoñez |
or-DOAN-yez |
|
|
Ortiz |
OR-teez |
I’m
still saying or-TEEZ |
|
Ozuna |
oh-SUE-nah |
|
|
Padilla |
pah-DEE-ya |
|
|
Palmeiro |
pahl-MARE-oh |
has a long
career as a 5th outfielder |
|
Parque |
PAR-kay |
Californian
- looks Latin |
|
Peralta |
pah-RALL-ta |
|
|
Pineiro |
pin-er-roh |
|
|
Polanco |
poh-LANK-oh |
Placido
is, of course, “pluh-SEE-doh” |
|
Pujols |
POO-holes |
|
|
Quitero |
keen-tear-oh |
oom-bear-toe |
|
Reyes |
RAY-us |
|
|
Rincon |
rin-CONE |
|
|
Scutaro |
scoot-TAR-oh |
|
|
Rivas |
REE-vas |
Luis broke
his knuckle. AAA O+S: .539 |
|
Rleal |
lee-AL |
|
|
Tejada |
tay-HA-duh |
|
|
Teixeira |
tuh-SHARE-uh |
|
|
Torrealba |
tor-EE-all-buh |
yor-VEET
|
|
Urbina |
ooor-bee-nah |
Ugueth:
ooo-GETT; was he found guilty? |
|
Uribe |
ooh-REE-bay |
|
|
Valentin |
VAL-en-teen |
|
|
Vasquez |
VAS-kez |
when in
doubt, accent on the first syllable |
|
Villarreal |
vee-yuh-RAY-al |
|
|
Vizcaino |
vis-kie-ah-no |
|
|
Zumaya |
zoo-MAY-ah |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Asian Names
The
Japanese names are pretty straight forward, once you get the hang of it and don`t let the length of them scare you. Again,
the easy obvious ones (and newest ones) are omitted.
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Iguchi |
ee-GOO-chee |
|
|
Johjima |
JOE-gee-ma |
|
|
Kim, Byung-Hyun |
bee-Young
hee-YUN |
|
|
Ohka |
OH-kah |
Tomokazu:
TOE-mo-KAH-zoo |
|
Otsuka |
OTS-ka |
AK-in-orie |
|
Seo |
SEW |
“Jay”
(is that “soh” or “sue”?) |
|
Wang |
Wawng |
otherwise,
it would be rude |
French Names
Shame
on Canadians who struggle with these. I didn`t know where to classify Juan Pierre. He`s a black guy from Alabama with a Spanish
first name and a French last name pronounced in the standard French way: pee-AIR.
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Belisle |
bel-LYLE |
|
|
Benoit |
Ben-WUH |
Dominican
(next to French speaking Haiti) |
|
Cormier,
Rheal |
cor-MEE-ay |
ree-AL –
Canadian (New Brunswick) |
|
DeJean |
DAY-zshonn |
Louisiana Cajun |
|
DiFelice |
DEE-fah-lease |
that sounds
Americanized |
|
Francoeur |
fran-COOR |
born in
Georgia, USA |
|
(Eric) Gagne |
gan-YAY |
Canadien
de Montréal |
|
(Greg) Gagne |
GAG-nee |
retired
shortstop w/ Americanized version |
|
Guiel |
GUY-el |
semi-Anglicized
French name? (Canadian) |
|
Loux |
lew-ks |
return to
majors not likely |
|
Marquis |
mar-KEE |
looking
for work |
|
Morneau |
more-NO |
|
|
Pettitte |
PET-it |
Americanized
Cajun name: pe-TEET is ``little`` |
|
Politte |
po-LEET |
released
mid ‘06 |
Italian Names
These
are easy for me, my wife is so. Everything is pronounced as it is - including ``e`` at the end of a name. ``a`` is ``ah``,
``e`` is ``ay``, ``i`` is ``ee``, ``o`` is ``oh``, and ``u`` is ``oo``. A ``c`` before an ``i`` or an ``e`` has the ``ch``
sound, unless it starts the name, which sometimes makes the ``s`` sound. In all other ``c`` cases and whenever it is ``ch``, use
the ``k`` sound. Once you get that straight, try saying it with the accent on different syllables. Whichever sounds the best
is usually the correct choice.
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Biggio |
BIDG-ee-oh |
double consonants
get a harder sound |
|
Cirillo |
suh-RILL-oh |
is he still
playing? last good year: ‘01 |
|
Giambi |
gee-OM-bee |
as if you
didn’t know |
|
Graffanino |
graf-a-NEEN-oh |
|
|
Menechino |
men-a-keen-o |
career probably
over |
|
Piazza |
pee-AH-za |
you might
have heard this one, too |
|
Sarfate |
sar-FAH-tay |
could be
Spanish? Dennis is from NY. |
Eastern European names
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Grudzielanek |
gress-uh-LAWN-ick |
remember
your first attempt at Yastrzemski? |
|
Mackowiak |
mah-KOH-vee-ak |
|
|
Mientkiewicz |
mint-KAY-vich |
could be
Germanic? |
|
Podsednik |
puh-SED-nik |
not POD-sed-nik |
|
Varitek |
VARE-ih-tek |
not VAR-ih-tek
|
|
Youkilis |
YOU-kih-liss |
|
British, Germanic, or names of unknown origin
|
Pronunciation |
Comments |
|
Ankiel |
ann-KEEL |
still property
of St. Louis |
|
Affeldt |
AFF-eldt |
|
|
Backe |
back-ee |
|
|
Beimel |
BYE-muhl |
|
|
Benes |
BENN-ess |
Alan still
active in minors |
|
Buehrle |
BURR-lee |
could be
French, but isn’t pronounced that way |
|
Burnitz |
ber-NITS |
looks Swiss |
|
Burrell |
BURL |
One syllable?
That`s how it comes out. |
|
Clement |
clu-MENT |
so sportswriters
can`t make puns about weather |
|
Condrey |
con-DREE |
born in
Texas – if that explains anything |
|
Damon |
DAY-mon |
Americanized
Latin or native? He`s from Kansas. |
|
Dessens (see Spanish names) |
|
Doumit |
DOE-mit |
|
|
Duchscherer |
DUKE-shur |
|
|
Estes |
EST-us |
Does anybody
still want him? |
|
Eyre |
AIR |
|
|
Foulke |
FOLK |
|
|
Gerut |
ger-ut |
“g”
as in “grrrr” |
|
Glavine |
GLAV-in |
|
|
Gomes |
Gohmz |
in case
you thought it was Spanish |
|
Halladay |
HOWL-la-day |
|
|
Harang |
ha-RANG |
|
|
Hinske |
hin-SKI |
|
|
Keisler |
keyz-lur |
|
|
Langerhans |
lahn-ger-hahns |
|
|
Lohse |
lowshe |
switch the
``s`` and ``h`` |
|
Mantei |
MANN-tie |
released
early in ’06 |
|
Maroth |
mah-ROTH |
|
|
Millar |
mi-LAR |
|
|
Monroe |
MAWN-roh |
not like
the actress |
|
Mueller |
MILL-er |
just retired |
|
Nady |
NAY-dee |
ESPN says
ZAV-ier; I say Zay-vee-yer |
|
Orvella |
Or-vela |
|
|
Oswalt |
OH-swalt |
not to be
confused with OZ-wald as in Lee Harvey |
|
Remlinger |
rem-lin-JURR |
|
|
Rolen |
ROH-len |
|
|
Saarloos |
sar-LOHS |
|
|
Schoeneweis |
SHOW-en-WEISS |
|
|
Seabol |
SAY-bowl |
that’s
how I recall hearing it during the playoffs |
|
Sele |
SEE-lee |
|
|
Speier |
SPY-er |
|
|
Sturtze |
STURTS |
|
|
Suppan |
SUE-pon |
not SUE-pan |
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Taschner |
TASH-ner |
|
|
Teahen |
TEA-en |
|
|
Thames |
Timz |
not like
the river in England (“taymz”) |
|
Thome |
TOE-mee |
|
|
Trachsel |
track-s`l |
|
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Van Benschoten |
van ben-SHOT-en |
|
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Venafro |
VEN-ah-froh |
|
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Wellemeyer |
WELL-my-er |
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Worrell |
wor-RELL |
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Wunsch |
WUNCH |
probably
done |
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