Anthony Mazziotti
Player’s Weekend, the one weekend a year where baseball players can put a nickname on the back of their jerseys. Players are welcome to be as creative as they’d like. For instance, Arizona’s Brad Boxberger has two emojis – a box and a burger.
Without further ado, here are the definitive rankings of the best nicknames:
30 – 28: Nick Pivetta, Pat Neshek, Enyel De Los Santos
Pivetta, Neshek and De Los Santos decided to rock only their last name on the back, which puts them at the back end of the list.
27 – 18: Jerad Eickhoff, JP Crawford, Zach Eflin, Adam Morgan, Roman Quinn, Aaron Nola, Gabe Kapler, Vince Velasquez, Seranthony Dominguez, Nick Williams
The players listed above are rocking some variation of their given name on their jersey. While it is slightly more creative than the three above – they’re a far cry from the best on the team.
For posterity in the same order as above: Eick, Craw, Ef, A-Mo, Rome, Nols, Kap, Vicente, Sir Anthony, Nicky Dubs.
17 – 14: Pedro Florimon, Cesar Hernandez, Luis Garcia, Maikel Franco
As we get closer to the top the nicknames get more creative. Florimon will rock “Don Ramon” on the back of his jersey. While I like the name Don Ramon, his long stint on the DL keeps him lower on the list.
Hernandez will wear “Cesita” which translates roughly to “Little Ces”.
Like last season, Garcia and Franco are wearing their “Compa” jerseys – Compa G and Compa F (Friend G, Friend F).
13 – 11: Victor Arano, Aaron Loup, Asdrubal Cabrera
We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty here. From here on out it is strictly judgment calls on which nickname is better than the one before.
Arano will have “El Wey” on his back, Loup will have “Wolf” and Cabrera will have “Chiquitin” on his back. Chiquitin roughly translates to “kid”.
10. Wilson Ramos
Ramos, the injured catcher that the Phillies traded for at the deadline who will certainly be an impact player down the stretch when healthy, cracked the top ten in best nicknames for Player’s Weekend.
Ramos’ nickname is “Buffalo,” which is cool and unique enough for top 10.
9. Scott Kingery
Despite being the weak link in a streaky Phillies offense, Kingery’s nickname is top 10 worthy.
“Jetpax” will be across his shoulders over Player’s Weekend, a nickname he’s earned because of his speed. Kingery has 8 stolen bases this season – take that for what it’s worth.
8. Jake Arrieta
Arrieta, the strong veteran pitcher, comes in at the eight spot with his nickname. Think of every Jake ever, what is his nickname? Jake the “Snake”. It’s powerful – definitely a good one and fitting to boot.
7. Odubel Herrera
He’s “Torito”, need anything more?
6. Jorge Alfaro
Let me start by saying: I love Jorge Alfaro. Outside of Aaron Nola, he’s my favorite Phillie on the roster. Even his nickname is cool. “El Oso” or “the bear” in English, is pretty awesome. Definitely enough to put him just shy of the top five.
5. Carlos Santana
While his nickname might not be fitting due to his low batting average, “Slamtana” is as solid as they come. He has 87 hits on the season with 64 RBIs.
4. Austin Davis
Austin Davis, the left-handed relief pitcher, comes in at number 4 strictly for the “WTF?” factor. “Big Fudge” on the back. Unique, man, unique.
3. Andrew Knapp
While he’s recycling his nickname from last year it’s an absolute classic. Come on, who doesn’t love “Knapp Time”?
2. Rhys Hoskins
Hoskins could have gone a variety of ways – “Rhys Lightning” would have been cool, “Rhys’ Peanut Butter Bombs” could have worked as well. Instead, Hoskins went with “Big Fella” which is fitting for him. Very solid choice only to be outdone by …
1. Tommy Hunter
Hunter, who is listed at 6’3″ 250 pounds, one-upped Hoskins by choosing “Bigger Fella”. Gotta love it.
What do you all think of these nicknames?
You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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