By any name, Players Weekend just fun
Drew Pomeranz doesn’t know exactly where his nickname derived from, but either way, he finds it comical.
When Pomeranz was traded from San Diego midway through last season, the new Red Sox left-hander was in unfamiliar surroundings. But enter David Price and Rick Porcello, who soon gave him a nickname that stuck: Big Smooth.
“I think it’s just because the way he pitches, he takes his time and stuff like that,” Andrew Benintendi said. “I call him Drew, but a lot of guys call him Big Smooth.”
He never really had a choice in the matter, but he’s still cool with it, and this weekend he’ll show it for all to see. As part of the new Players Weekend, MLB is having players all across baseball wear special jerseys with nicknames on the back in place of where their last name would normally go. It’s part of a league plan to celebrate creativity and appeal on a different level to its fans.
“You get to see a little bit more of guys to see what they come up with and see what they actually want to put on the back of their jersey,” Pomeranz said. “It’s kind of more like what we call each other around here every day. It reminds you of playing in the Little League World Series where they show everyone’s nickname or whatever. It’s kind of cool that we get to do that for a weekend.”
On the Red Sox, some nicknames are creative, while others are more simple. Mitch Moreland’s is “2Bags” because of his affinity for hitting doubles, and Price’s is “Astro’s Dad” as a tribute to his dog.
Others are self-explanatory, and frankly boring, like “X” for Xander Bogaerts, “JBJ” for Jackie Bradley Jr., and “Mookie” for Mookie Betts. The jerseys, though, are a bit more stylistic. The Red Sox’ are navy blue with red sleeves, and their caps are bright red with a baby blue B logo.
“For a very traditional game, this is a nontraditional weekend,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “Whether that means breaking ranks to maybe appeal to a younger group of fans to maybe spark conversation in the stands of, where is the origin of that nickname coming from? I think it’s not a bad thing to do, honestly. And we’ll see what happens.”
There are also patches that players have the option of wearing on their right sleeve that lets them thank people or organizations that have helped them get to where they are.
Chris Young, whose nickname is simply his initials, “CY,” paid tribute to his mom on his sleeve.
“I got my mom on my shoulder,” Young said. “I wanted to dedicate mine to somebody who really inspired me and really helped me get to the point that I’m at today. Without mom I’m not here right now, for sure. Just from traveling to the baseball showcases and trips from Houston to Florida, Houston to Arizona to make this happen, she deserves a lot of credit.”
That’s what this weekend is all about. Players all across baseball are showing off their individuality in a different way, all the way down to custom-designed batting gloves, catcher masks and even socks. During pregame warmups and postgame interviews, players can also wear T-shirts highlighting a charity they support or any other cause.
“It just takes the game to a pure fun level, and it’s great that we’re able to do this and even the jerseys feel like Little League jerseys,” Young said. “It’s super fun, everybody gets to show their swag a little bit and show their personality, so it’s great.”