Spiders, small planets and other strange things named after baseball players

Deciding what to name something is hard. You think it's an easy task to decide what the rest of the world is going to call something forever? Just imagine if someone had messed up and we all had to say "purple" every time we wanted an orange.

So, if you ever find yourself in the position of naming some wonderful as-yet-undiscovered thing, why not let baseball be your guide? Giving various objects (and occasionally animals) monikers based on everyone's favorite sport is actually pretty popular. We're not just talking about bridges, streets and stadiums -- here's a list of some of the strangest things in our galaxy with baseball names:

A host of minor planets

We promised you the whole galaxy, and we meant it. Unlike Minor Leaguers, minor planets don't get called up to the cosmic show. They'll never be the next Earth. And only one planet has ever been sent down (sorry, Pluto). But even though the minor planets aren't included in elementary school papier-mâché models, they do have much cooler names.

According to the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Tommy Lasorda, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson and Lou Gehrig have a series of asteroids and various other celestial bodies named after them.

But more than MLB is represented in the stars -- there's a minor planet named Carp, for the NPB team from Hiroshima. There are also planets named for Carp pitcher Tsunemi Tsuda and Carp third baseman Sachio Kinugasa (who at one point held the world record for most consecutive games).

Bet you can't guess the most popular NPB team among astronomers.

Minor planet 5700 is called Homerus, which is allegedly named after the Greek poet. However, based on the number before it, we're going to assume it's a celestial prediction of the insane number of dingers Bryce Harper is going to hit over the next decade or so. 

Various racehorses

Naming racehorses after baseball figures is very popular. Vin Scully likes to follow one that shares his name, even when said horse loses (to a competitor named after Duke Snider). Thoroughbred owner Nick Alexander particularly likes to give his horses baseball-themed names:

Van Lingle Mungo, who is not that weird guy from "Legend of Zelda" but a Dodgers pitcher from the '30s, was known for his fastball and this baseball song: 

There's also Yogi Berra, owned by Jessica Steinbrenner, and Showalter, who belongs to Orioles owner Peter Angelos, as well a horse named Torre and Zim, after Joe Torre and Don Zimmer. 

Passenger airplanes

When the Mets made the postseason in 2006, Delta named one of its planes after a guy whose name might already make you think of flying. The aircraft was christened "The Wright Flight" and it was named for New York third baseman David, not Wilbur and Orville.

But Wright isn't the only one to have an aircraft named after him. In 2005, the now-defunct low-cost Song Airlines named a plane after David Ortiz. Photos of the event seem to be scarce, but we're imagining it like this: 

A spider!

Maybe Marcus Stroman wouldn't be so scared of spiders if he knew at least one was named after a baseball player (and a pitcher, too). A particular sort of Bolas spider found in Colombia hunts by spinning a thread with a sticky ball at the end of it, then swinging the thread at its prey. In the words of William G. Eberhard, the man whose 1980 paper identified the spider:

The spider's scientific name is Mastophora dizzydeani.

A bunch of characters on "The Office"

Before Michael Schur was sneaking baseball inside jokes into episodes of "Parks and Recreation," he was also a writer for "The Office." Though no one in Scranton worked for the law firm of Babip, Pecota, Vorp & Eckstein, there were plenty of characters secretly named after baseball players.  

Ryan Howard the temp made his first appearance on the show in early 2005, while Ryan Howard the first baseman was still in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. Kevin Malone, the accountant who was not great at counting, shares a name with the former Dodgers GM. The guy who gets fired in the episode "Halloween" is named Devon White, just like this guy:

Even Michael Scott has an MLB namesake: 

Bizarre and unnecessary architectural features

Gary Thomasson was drafted by the Giants in 1969 and made his MLB debut with them in '72. He hit .285/.345/.413 his rookie year, but he was never much more than a good everyday player. He played for the the A's, the Yankees and the Dodgers, but in 1980 he was offered a mammoth two-year contract by Japan's Yomiuri Giants. At the time, it was the largest contract in NPB history.

What does all this have to do with architecture? Well, when Thomasson arrived in Japan in '81, he led Japan's Central League in strikeouts, with 132 in 402 at-bats. The next year, he hit .187 and only played 47 games. Artist and baseball fan Genpei Akasegawa was pretty aware of these facts when he coined the term "Thomasson," which means 'a well-maintained but otherwise useless piece of architecture.'

Think of a stairway that leads nowhere or a windowsill without a window. Like this: 

And remember, the next time you discover a new species of animal or find an uninhabited planet, and you need some inspiration, just pick up that day's box score and get naming. What we're really saying is, Saint is a great name, but Kim and Kanye really missed an opportunity here.