Cardinals discuss Players' Weekend nicknames
Club will wear all-white uniforms during Aug. 23-25 series vs. Rockies
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersCINCINNATI -- Once again, Major League players will put their personalities on the field Aug. 23-25 during Players¡¯ Weekend.
Each player has chosen a nickname to go on the back of their jerseys -- which this year, will be black and white, allowing the players to bring the color and add their personal touch with creatively colored equipment.
Here are the nicknames that the Cardinals have chosen:
Randy Arozarena: ¡°EL JEFE¡±
Translating to ¡°The Boss,¡± Arozarena gave himself this nickname at the beginning of the year, and it¡¯s stuck for a few teammates in the clubhouses that he¡¯s been in.
¡°It represents all of the sacrifices I¡¯ve had to make to get to the big leagues,¡± Arozarena said through a translator.
John Brebbia: "BREBBIA"
Brebbia racked his brain for nicknames, but he was unable to come up with one. So he opted for his last name again.
¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m boring and lame,¡± Brebbia said. ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing. The origin story of this nickname is my father. No nickname needed.¡±
He is, however, looking forward to the jerseys that the Cardinals will wear because his red shoes -- and red beard -- will ¡°really pop.¡±
Matt Carpenter: "CARP"
Paul DeJong: "PAULY"
Tommy Edman: "EDDIE"
Edman wanted to go with ¡°Agent Scarn,¡± a nickname from his favorite episode of ¡°The Office¡± -- Threat Level Midnight -- but the idea was shot down because of copyright reasons. So Edman will go with what his teammates and coaches call him.
¡°I was kind of bummed,¡± Edman said. ¡°The Office is my favorite show. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve watched it through because it¡¯s been so much.¡±
JUNIOR FERNANDEZ: ¡°FERNANDEZ¡±
Jack Flaherty: "FLARE"
Dexter Fowler: "DEX"
Giovanny Gallegos: "EL YAQUI"
Instead of going with his clubhouse nickname of ¡°Gio,¡± Gallegos chose ¡°El Yaqui¡± to honor the native tribe in Obregon, Mexico, where Gallegos is from. The Yaqui have communities across Mexico and the southwestern United States.
¡°I feel very proud for my city. I¡¯ve come from the bottom and now I¡¯m in the big leagues,¡± Gallegos said through a translator. ¡°It¡¯s a huge honor to pay tribute to my city.¡±
John Gant: "JOHNNY G"
Paul Goldschmidt: "GOLDY"
Ryan Helsley: "HELLZ BELLZ"
Most of his teammates call Helsley ¡°Hellz,¡± but Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux added the ¡°Bellz¡± part during Spring Training earlier this year. It happened to line up perfectly for when Helsley was asked about a Players¡¯ Weekend nickname
¡°When they asked for a nickname, I was like, ¡®That sounds pretty cool,¡¯¡± Helsley said. ¡°It might click and fans might like it.¡±
Jordan Hicks: "TYPE 1"
Hicks was chosen to be the Cardinals' ambassador for Players¡¯ Weekend, one of 30 players who will take a lead in championing the initiative and their teammates¡¯ efforts. Hicks, who has Type 1 diabetes, will bring awareness to diabetes with his nickname.
Dakota Hudson: "DAK"
Andrew Knizner: "KIZ"
Carlos Martinez: "TSUNAMI"
Ever since a fan nicknamed Martinez after watching him pitch in the Dominican Summer League and noting that he was ¡°so dominant, he¡¯s like a tsunami taking over the league,¡± Martinez has gone with the wave.
The Cardinals have embraced the nickname too; when Martinez comes in to pitch at Busch Stadium, an alarm -- simulating a weather alert -- sounds, and the lights flicker in and out.
Jose Martinez: "CAF?"
Martinez¡¯s family is all about coffee.
The right fielder¡¯s nickname is really Cafecito, which was given to him in his childhood, but Martinez will honor his late father with his nickname, Caf¨¦, for the third straight year.
Andrew Miller: "MILLER TIME"
When Miller was asked what he wanted his nickname to be, he thought he might have to change the one he¡¯s used since Players¡¯ Weekend began two years ago. He didn¡¯t want to offend anyone in Budweiser country by using the slogan of Anheuser-Busch¡¯s biggest competitor.
He was assured it would be fine, and when it¡¯s time for him to pitch, it will indeed be ¡°Miller Time.¡±
Yadier Molina: "YADI"
Miles Mikolas: "5280'S"
Mikolas vowed to get more creative this year with his nickname after using ¡°Mik¡± last year. He decided to go with 5280¡¯s, which is how many feet are in a mile.
It is fitting that the Cardinals will be playing the Rockies next weekend, but it¡¯s too bad that the series won¡¯t be in Denver, the Mile High city.
Yario Munoz: "PALITO"
Marcell Ozuna: "THE BIG BEAR"
Ozuna¡¯s teammates called him ¡°Oso¡± in 2012, which translates to ¡°bear.¡± He liked it, and it has stuck ever since. He made it his Instagram name, and the Cardinals have latched on to it, too.
Lane Thomas: "LANER"
Michael Wacha: "WACHAMOLE"
Think ¡°guacamole¡± when trying to say this nickname, which was coined by Martinez six years ago when he met Wacha.
Adam Wainwright: "UNCLE CHARLIE"
It¡¯s fitting that Wainwright went with ¡°Uncle Charlie¡± this year instead of the classic ¡°Waino¡± because this is the second straight year that his curveball is his most-used pitch -- and it was never his most-used before 2018.
Uncle Charlie originated from his Fantasy Football name that he used for his charity, Big League Impact. He created his Twitter account because of his charity and moved his nickname over. That¡¯s what it¡¯s been ever since.
¡°Everywhere I go, people call me Waino or Uncle Charlie,¡± Wainwright said. ¡°No one ever calls me Adam. I don¡¯t even know my first name anymore.¡±
Tyler Webb: "WEBBY"
Matt Wieters: "WIETY"
Kolten Wong: "THEWONGONE808"
Wong likes to change his nickname every year for Players¡¯ Weekend, so this year he went with his Instagram name.
The 808 is the area code in Hawaii, where Wong is from.
¡°Every Hawaiian is proud of it,¡± Wong said.