The new longest name in MLB history? It has arrived
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Now that he has made his debut, "Christian Encarnacion-Strand" has become the longest full name on record in Major League history, according to research conducted by MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. Considering both first and last names (and including the hyphen within the latter), the Reds prospect gets credit for 27 characters. That easily beats out the Twins’ Simeon Woods Richardson, who debuted with a 22-character name in 2022.
The research considers the name the player chooses to go by -- so Trout is Mike, not Michael -- and any spaces or hyphens either within the first name or last name itself, but not between first and last, are counted.
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Longest full names in Major League history
1. Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 27 characters (2023 Reds)
2. Simeon Woods Richardson: 22 (2022 Twins)
3-T. Luis Alexander Basabe: 20 (2020 Giants)
3-T. Christian Bethancourt: 20 (2013 Braves)
3-T. Fautino De Los Santos: 20 (2011 A’s)
3-T. Jarrod Saltalamacchia: 20 (2007 Braves)
3-T. Valerio De Los Santos: 20 (1998 Brewers)
3-T. William VanLandingham: 20 (1994 Giants)
3-T. Theodore Breitenstein: 20 (1891 St. Louis Browns)
Encarnacion-Strand would be the leader here even if we did a leaderboard of just last names, too. His measures out at 18 characters, two more than Woods Richardson’s. That said, the back of his jersey only reads "Encarnacion," a name we've seen multiple times on jerseys already.