Great Baseball Nicknames- ‘Blue Moon’- Johnny ‘Blue Moon’ Odom. The Oakland A’s were without doubt the most colorful team in the first half of the 1970’s- they not only had colorful uniforms that were ahead of their time, but a number of the players had nicknames that stuck out- especially pitchers- Catfish Hunter, Mudcat Grant- and Johnny ‘Blue Moon’ Odom. The Swingin’ A’s from that era are the last team that has won three World Series in a row- 1972-74. ‘Blue Moon’ Odom was a member of those teams and a pretty good pitcher. His best season was in 1972 when he went 15-6 with a 2.50 ERA. He was also fantastic in the post-season with a post-season record of 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA in 10 post season games.

How did Johnny Odom get the name ‘Blue Moon? He got the nickname when a grade school classmate thought his face resembled a moon. The blue was added by teammates in Oakland he often seemed to be in a depressed mood.