All of the Dodgers' Players' Weekend nicknames
ATLANTA -- For the third consecutive year, Major Leaguers will put their personalities and passions on the field when Players¡¯ Weekend takes center stage during all games from Friday, Aug. 23 through Sunday, Aug. 25.
During the games, players will wear specially designed monochromatic all-black and all-white uniforms created specifically for the weekend-long event. Instead of their last name, players can choose to have a nickname on the back of their jerseys. Here are the Dodgers¡¯ nicknames:
Pedro Báez: "LA MULA"
"The Mule" in Spanish, Baez said he got the nickname for his work ethic.
Matt Beaty: "BATERS TATERS"
Beaty said college teammates gave it to him.
Cody Bellinger: "BELLI"
Walker Buehler: "BUETANE"
Because he throws heat.
JT Chargois: "SHAG"
It¡¯s the pronunciation of the first part of his last name.
David Freese: "DAVEHUMAN"
The explanation for this one comes courtesy of SportsNet LA¡¯s Alanna Rizzo. He has a dog named Bob. ¡°BobDog¡± is named after Freese¡¯s best friend Robbie, aka ¡°BobHuman.¡± Bob Human then got a dog named Dave, aka ¡°DaveDog.¡± And that¡¯s why Freese is ¡°DaveHuman.¡±
Yimi García: "VILLA TRINA"
His Dominican hometown.
Tony Gonsolin: "GOOOOSE"
Jedd Gyorko: "JERK-STORE"
Enrique Hernández: "KIK?"
Short for Enrique, and what Hernandez has been called his whole life.
Rich Hill: "FIELD OF GENES"
After last year¡¯s sensational double entendre ¡°Dick Mountain,¡± this year Hill has chosen to highlight his charitable foundation, which funds research in the fields of rare genetic and undiagnosed diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.
Kenley Jansen: "KENLEYFORNIA"
Jansen changed his nickname after a fan sent him a custom-made flag of California that instead read "Kenleyfornia."
Joe Kelly: "909"
The area code of Kelly¡¯s native Riverside County, Calif.
Clayton Kershaw: "KERSH"
Adam Kolarek: "AK"
Kenta Maeda: "MAEKEN"
"Maeken" are his initials in Japanese, last name first.
Dustin May: "BIG RED"
He got the nickname from a Double-A teammate, who thought he might get a sponsorship deal from Mountain Dew for their ¡°Code Red¡± series of soft drinks.
Russell Martin: "EL (MUSCLE EMOJI)"
Rhymes with Russell, and of course signifies strength.
Max Muncy: "FUNKY MUNCY"
Kristopher Negrón: "NEGRON JAMES"
A lot of the Latin guys when I was coming up thought it was funny and they started calling me ¡®Negron James,¡¯¡± said Negron. ¡°Then Ryan Ludwick, when I was with Cincinnati, heard it and started calling me that nonstop in 2014.¡±
Joc Pederson: "(CROWN EMOJI)"
According to Pederson, the crown emoji represents his longtime nickname, ¡°King.¡±
A.J. Pollock: "POLLO"
According to Pollock, Latin teammates couldn¡¯t pronounce his last name so they started calling him Pollo, and it stuck.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: "???"
His name in Korean.
Casey Sadler: "SADS"
Corey Seager: "SEAGS"
Will Smith: "SMITTY"
Ross Stripling: "CHICKEN STRIP"
Stripling said the most creative nicknames might not have been politically correct, so he chose this one because they are a favorite dish of his.
Chris Taylor: "CT3"
Taylor chose the nickname given to him by fans because it's his initials plus his jersey number.
Justin Turner: "REDTURN2"
Turner combined the nickname "Red" with his number when he played second base for the New York Mets. It's also a phrase for middle infielders -- ¡°Turn 2¡± -- and his social media handle.
Alex Verdugo: "DUGIE"
Tyler White: "WHITEY"