Front Page: Ranking Minnesota Twins’ Players Weekend Nicknames

[Cody Christie]

For the third consecutive year, MLB and the Players’ Association are holding a weekend to honor the players, including unique jerseys with nicknames on the back. This year’s jerseys have been getting mixed reviews since they are pretty basic black and white. One of the reasons for the choice is it will allow player’s accessories like batting gloves, compression sleeves, and spikes to standout more.According to MLB.com, “Each home team will decide which color -- black or white -- it will wear for the weekend, which means we could have some road teams wearing white for a change. Pitchers on teams wearing white will wear black caps to ensure umpires and batters have clear visibility of each pitch.”

 

Even with the black and white uniforms, fans get excited about players getting to pick their nickname for the back. Here’s the not so definitive ranking of this year’s Twins nicknames.

 

28. Willians Astudillo: "ASTUDILLO"

Fans at the game will have on La Tortuga shirts. Heck, the Twins even had a theme night in honor of his nickname earlier this year. He’s still on rehab assignment, so he likely won’t participate this weekend. Still, he was the only player on the team not to use a nickname and HE HAS A NICKNAME!

 

27-18.

All of these players used some variation of their first or last name.

Byron Buxton: "BUCK"

Jason Castro: "STRO"

C.J. Cron: "CRONY"

Kyle Gibson: "GIBBY"

Marwin Gonzalez: "GONZO"

Ryne Harper: "HARP"

Zack Littell: "LIT"

Jake Odorizzi: "ODO"

Michael Pineda: "BIG MIKE"

Eddie Rosario: “EDISTO”

 

17. Sergio Romo: "EL MECHÓN"

16. Jonathan Schoop: "MAMBA"

15. Jake Cave: "CAVEMAN"

14. Sam Dyson: "RED FINGER"

Romo used the song “El Mechon” as his entrance music back with the Giants and he has stuck with it. Schoop is a fan of the NBA and more specifically of Kobe Bryant. It’s a fun way to honor an all-time basketball star. Cave is using a connection to his last name, but I get a kick out of the Caveman nickname. If he keeps hitting, it might be time for him to get his own shirt. With a thick red beard, it’s easy to see why Dyson would associate with the color red. However, he doesn’t have a story for the nickname so that knocks him down on the list.

 

13. Jorge Polanco: "CHULO"

12. Ehire Adrianza: "GUARENERO"

11. Martin Perez: “EL DE LAS MATAS”

Polanco’s friends and family know him as “pretty boy” after his uncle started calling him that. Adrianza is from Venezuela and this is a way for him to honor his hometown of Guarenas. Like Adrianza, Perez wanted to honor the city where he was born, and he has previously used “EL DE GUANARE.” This year he is referencing the town where he grew up.

 

10. Miguel Sano: "BOQUETÓN"

9. Jose Berrios: "LA MAKINA"

As a player growing up in the Dominican, Sano was known for being a talker. That’s why he goes by the nickname that translates to “large mouth.” For anyone who has watched Berrios on social media, it’s clear to see why he was called “The Machine.” There’s actually a misspelling in his nickname, but Berrios did it intentionally. “Machine” translates to “maquina,” but Berrios wanted a K in his nickname for the strikeouts he tends to rack up.

 

8. Nelson Cruz: "BOOMSTICK"

7. Tyler Duffey: "THE DOOF"

6. Max Kepler: "RÓŻYCKI"

Cruz got the name as part of a video game commercial for MLB 2K10 and it has stuck with him over the last decade as he has morphed into one of the best power hitters in the game. He’s closing in on 400 home runs and the Twins have adopted the Boomstick model with him in the line-up this season. MLB.com named Duffey as having Minnesota’s best Players’ Weekend nickname, but there were so many more options. The name actually comes from Latin American teammates not being able to pronounce “Duff.” Few may know it, but Kepler’s full last name is Kepler-Rozycki. His mother’s last name is Kepler and his father’s last name is Rozycki. One weekend a year, he is able to honor his father with the name on the back of his jersey.

 

5. Mitch Garver: "GARV SAUCE"

Garver’s nickname stretches all the way back to high school and he has embraced the title. He uses it on social media and there are even “Garv Sauce” shirts to be purchased. It also helps that his sauce has been particularly hot this season as he has turned into an offensive power at the plate.

 

4. Trevor May: "IAMTREVORMAY"

Player’s Weekend is about the player’s showing what they are passionate about. May is known for being an eSports streamer on Twitch.tv and he uses “IAMTREVORMAY” as his handle. I think it’s a great way for him to combine the two things he loves, baseball and gaming.

 

3. Taylor Rogers: "LEFTY PIECE"

Rogers doesn’t have much of a personality on the mound, so it’s nice to see him going outside of his comfort zone and using a nickname. For much of the season, he’s been the lone left-handed reliever on the Twins roster, so when the coaches call to the bullpen, there’s only one player that can answer to “lefty piece.”

 

2. Devin Smeltzer: "#CATCHCANCERLOOKING"

Part of the larger story in Smeltzer’s life was his survival from childhood cancer. Fans can buy Catch Cancer Looking shirts and his nickname this weekend is a great way to spread his message. He might not be on the roster for the weekend, but it certainly a great choice by the rookie.

 

1. Luis Arraez: "LA REGADERA"

Arraez is in the midst of a tremendous season where he could get consideration for the AL Rookie of the Year. He’s stolen the hearts of Twins fans, but before he made it to Minnesota, he was making his mark in the Venezuelan Winter League. His nickname meaning “The Sprinkler” was given to him by Venezuelan fans. It seems like the perfect name for the type of hitter he has shown to be in a Twins uniform.

 

Who would be at the top of your list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[MMMordabito]

I don't think any of the names hold a candle to "Boomstick" or "La Makina".

 

"La Regadera" doesn't roll quite as smoothly, but it might grow on me.  I can roll my r's about as well or slightly worse than Dick Bremer, so I could see this one being higher on the list for someone more skilled in Spanish phonetics.

 

I like Caveman and Garv Sauce (I'm surprised they aren't marketing bottles of hot sauce yet).

 

Pass on the rest.

 

[USAFChief]

Not ONE ending in -zee??

 

No Cave-zee? Cron-zee? 

 

This is an invalid list.

[Tom Froemming]

The shortened last name ones are pretty lame, but I gotta admit that I do like LIT for Littell.

 

I think I'd just pick something completely random, like Pizza Goose, just because I think it would be hilarious to see on the back of a jersey

[Seth Stohs]

Any chance that "La Tortuga" has been copyrighted or something? By someone? I don't know why that one wouldn't be obvious.

[ashbury]

Would Pedro Muñoz have been brave enough (or allowed?) to use the nickname Kent Hrbek hung on him back in the day? Booger.

 

(Hrbek Logic went as follows: Muñoz = My Nose = Booger.)

 

I've always been leery of Buck and Big Mike as nicknames, so it's reassuring to know if the players themselves embrace those publicly.

 

Among the others, the ones that aren't already genuine nicknames seem pretty contrived, or else are so specialized (honoring hometown) that it wouldn't stick. So I guess Regadera, which Google Translate renders as Watering Can among other things, gets my vote as well, as the oddest among the not-too-odd.

 

 

[MMMordabito]

I was just gifted a "Crony" shirt at the gate, so I guess that's my favorite now.

 

Apparently, there is a referendum that I'm supposed to vote in favor of .....

[twinfan]

Is Baldelli's name "Baldy" or Baldybean"? I like Gonzo, Caveman and The Doof plus Lefty piece (but I'm a lefty). I guess "DOOF is my favorite because a guy has to have guts to put that on his uni. Great that Kepler honored his dad when he could have put "Kosher Kid" on instead.