Tonight in St. Louis it's Brian Bannister (5.00 ERA) against Weatherford OK native and former Shocker, Braden Looper (4.34 ERA).
According to the Social Security Administration , Braden was the 156th most popular male baby name in 2007, a fact I find somewhat horrifying, sense it's a hideous name. When you factor in that "Bradyn" is 629th on the list, "Braedon" is 805th, "Braeden" is 325th "Braiden" is 529th and "Brayden" is 64th, it becomes clear that our society has completely lost its mind, as approximately one in four boys is now named Bra/e/i/a/d/y/i/e/on. As for Looper's variation, "Braden" it's been steadily climbing in popularity since 1970, the first time it appeared as one of the top 1000 names. Looper was born in 1974, when Braden ranked 991st. By 1990 it was in the top 500, and its highest ranking to date was in 2005, when it hit 133.
By way of comparison, Banny's first name, "Brian", is currently the 81st most popular name, and is seemingly not getting much of a bump from the New Traditionalism (Jack, Max, etc.) Brian was consistently a top 10 male name in the 1970s, which represented its peak.
Cue someone posting that their son is named Braden and its a great name in five, four, three, two...