Vazquez's 'Nightmare' name has off-field origin
Closer's intimidating nickname dubbed by clubhouse manager 'Bones'
Adam Berry
@adamdberryPITTSBURGH -- There can¡¯t be much of a backstory here, right? It seems so easy to explain Felipe Vázquez¡¯s ¡°Nightmare¡± nickname, the one he¡¯ll wear on the back of his Players¡¯ Weekend jersey from Aug. 23-25.
Vazquez is an All-Star closer with a triple-digit fastball and three other nasty swing-and-miss pitches. For hitters, facing him is a nightmare. There, that¡¯s the story. Or is it?
Players¡¯ Weekend is returning Aug. 23-25, and with it an assortment of player nicknames -- some plain, some funny, some easily explained and some more mysterious. Since the first Players¡¯ Weekend two years ago, Vazquez has been dubbed ¡°Nightmare.¡± The nickname caught on, and part of his introductory video at PNC Park now includes broadcaster Greg Brown exclaiming, ¡°It¡¯s a nightmare!¡±
Two years ago, when he was still going by Felipe Rivero, Vazquez kicked around the idea of making his nickname ¡°Philip Rivers.¡± That was what people called him when he was with the Nationals, playing on his name and the NFL quarterback, so it made sense. He thought about a jersey featuring the name of his warm-up song at the time, Marc Anthony¡¯s ¡°Aguanile.¡±
Vazquez wound up leaving the decision in the hands of clubhouse manager Scott ¡°Bones¡± Bonnett, and Bonnett settled on ¡°Nightmare.¡± But why? Vazquez directed a reporter to ask Bonnett for the answer, which was not what you¡¯d expect.
¡°I believe one day he walked in, and I¡¯m like, ¡®Dude, you¡¯re my nightmare. Every time you walk in, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to get from you good, bad or indifferent,¡¯¡± Bonnett said. ¡°That¡¯s basically the origin of it. He¡¯s my worst nightmare.¡±
Bonnett laughed. He meant it in the best possible way, a good-natured jab at the laid-back and ¡°off-the-wall¡± Vazquez. It stuck, then it took on a life of its own. At this year¡¯s All-Star Game, opposing hitters even brought up Vazquez¡¯s nickname when talking about what it was like to face him.
¡°Actually, it transformed in a good way. It¡¯s kind of a good thing,¡± Bonnett said. ¡°I love him to death, but man, every time he comes in, it¡¯s like, what are you going to get? What¡¯s behind Door No. 1 and Door No. 2? And it always leads to Door No. 3 and 4. That¡¯s basically the gist of it.
¡°When he goes on the field, he¡¯s a nightmare for hitters. But when he¡¯s in the clubhouse, he¡¯s a nightmare for me -- in a good way. ¡ Me and him, we mess around with each other the whole entire season. He¡¯s one of the guys that I actually like coming in here to see. He puts a smile on my face, no matter what.¡±
The Pirates¡¯ longtime clubhouse manager paused and grinned.
¡°But he is,¡± Bonnett said. ¡°He¡¯s a complete nightmare.¡±
It was inevitable
In April, local artist Cody Sabol paid a visit to PNC Park to deliver some paintings he¡¯d made for Pirates starter Joe Musgrove. They got to talking, and at one point the conversation turned to the upcoming release of ¡°Avengers: Endgame.¡±
Not long after that, Sabol let Musgrove know he had an idea: a baseball glove designed like Marvel¡¯s Infinity Gauntlet, the one worn by the character Thanos in ¡°Avengers: Infinity War.¡± Musgrove was intrigued.
Sabol delivered, as he had on a handful of other projects for Pirates players, and Musgrove got to show off his creation around the ballpark.
¡°I didn¡¯t know it was going to turn out this good or this unique. It¡¯s really sweet,¡± Musgrove said, smiling. ¡°I¡¯m going to try to [wear it] on that Players¡¯ Weekend. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯ll let me, but I¡¯m going to wear it out there until they tell me to take it off.¡±