This weekend across baseball, Major League Baseball's teams and players will participate in Players' Weekend, and with it comes crazy jerseys and goofy nicknames. For the second consecutive season, the Padres will be on the road for this unique few days. However, that does not mean we can't have some fun and rank each Padres nickname, right? Let's get started.
https://twitter.com/jesseagler/status/1027641567715229696
26-23:
Sorry, but not having any sort of nickname immediately bumps you down to the bottom of the list! Those are the rules.
22-21.
These two don't exactly get high grades on the creativity scale, but at least it is something.
20-14:
In Andy Green's tenure as Padres manager, he loves to give nicknames to players by simply adding a "Y" to the end of their last names. Still not the most creative thing in the world, but it seems to have stuck for some.
13. CRAIG STAMMEN "TRIG"
Baseball Reference lists other nicknames for Stammen as Craiger, Stammer, Trigger, Stam, or Craigeroo, which is my personal favorite. It will be the second straight season in which Stammen has had "Trig" on the back of his jersey.
12. JOSE PIRELA "AGUILA NEGRA"
11. MANUEL MARGOT "YOANDRY"
10. JOEY LUCCHESI "JOEY FUEGO"
9. ERIC HOSMER "PAPO"
Shoutout to Eric Hosmer for not going with the traditional "Hos." The first baseman apparently earned the nickname "Papo" (which, in Cuban Spanish, is similar to Dude in English) with the Royals in 2015, and it has stuck with him ever since.
8. FREDDY GALVIS "TOCO"
"Toco" in Spanish translates to "I play" in English, which is super fitting. Entering this weekend's series against Los Angeles, Galvis has started every single game & leads all players in baseball with over 1,150 innings played. The next closest player to him is Freddie Freeman, who has played in 18 fewer innings.
7. ROBBIE ERLIN "BOB"
I can't exactly explain why, but Robbie Erlin having "Bob" on the back of his jersey this weekend fits him perfectly.
6. TRAVIS JANKOWSKI "FRED"
Apparently Jankowski earned the nickname due to his childhood love for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood:
https://twitter.com/annieheilbrunn/status/634095584048115713
5. FRANMIL REYES "LA MOLE"
"La Mole" is translated to "The Beast." When Reyes hits home runs like this, he definitely is worthy of this nickname (and twitter handle):
https://twitter.com/FOXSportsSD/status/1001678324710682625
https://twitter.com/FOXSportsSD/status/1026188358664433664
4. ROBERT STOCK "CRETCH"
I'll let Stock have this one.
https://twitter.com/RobertStock6/status/1027803657364860929
3. AJ ELLIS "DAD"
Noted clubhouse mentor AJ Ellis as "Dad" is perfect. He is also hitting .287 & getting on base at a .389 clip, so dad's still got game.
2. JOSE CASTILLO "BIG DUDE"
#1. PHIL MATON "SPIN RATE"
Known for his crazy high spin rates on his pitches across the minor leagues and into the majors, Maton takes the cake for best Players' Weekend nickname on the Padres.
