Daniel Driessen is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 infielder who played for five teams in his eighteen year career, and is best known as a member of the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s.

In his first four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Driessen demonstrated his versatility as a player. He became Cincinnati's starting third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

 in 1974, but was soon replaced at that position by Pete Rose

Pete Rose

Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....

, and from 1977 to 1981 replaced Tony Pérez

Tony Pérez

Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...

 at first base. Driessen was also an excellent fielder, leading all National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 first basemen in fielding three times. Finally, he was a steady hitter, leading the NL in walks in 1980.

In 1976, Driessen became the National League's first ever designated hitter

Designated hitter

In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...

 in the World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

. Traded in the middle of the 1984 season to the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

, he played little until his retirement, filling in at first base for the 1987 National League champion St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

.

Driessen received the nickname

Nickname

A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

"The Cobra" during his rookie season because of the quick, lethal way his bat struck. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1087708/index.htm

Sources