New York Mets: The Little League Classic and Amazin’ Nicknames
The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are set to play in the second Little League Classic on Sunday Night. What festivities and nicknames are planned?
The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will finish their long five-game series from Williamsport Pennsylvania on Sunday night. The two teams will join in on the fun at the Little League World Series as they are set to participate in the second Little League Classic.
Major League Baseball successfully rolled out the first Little League Classic as a part of the inaugural Player’s Weekend in 2017. Major League players had a chance to connect with the youngsters as the MLB and MLBPA continue their efforts to grow the game at the youth level.
While this year’s Little League Classic will occur a week earlier than Player’s Weekend, the spirit and excitement for the event still abound.
Per the New York Post, senior coordinating producer of MLB on ESPN, Phil Orlins, discussed the unique images that become possible from an event like the Little League Classic.
“I would probably say that’s the most unusual element of this and actually provides the most memorable images — Tommy Pham last year buying snow cones for 200 Little Leaguers, stuff like that.”
ESPN and Sunday Night Baseball will also have an opportunity to share some unique content as Mets’ players, Todd Fraizer and Michael Conforto, and Phillies’ infielder, Scott Kingery, were all youngsters that participated in the Little League World Series.
“When you’re looking at Todd Frazier or Conforto or those guys, you got all the video from them playing in Williamsport, you’ve got the cute little introductions when they say who their favorite player is, you’ve got all these tools to work with,” Orlins said.
Big leaguers from both teams are set to attend Little League World Series games throughout the day as a part of the festivities.
The Little League Classic and Player’s Weekend are a great step for Major League Baseball as the sport continues their efforts to spread the game and to market the personalities of their players and teams. Once again, all 30 teams will be sporting unique colorful uniforms inspired by youth-league designs.
Much to my satisfaction, the fun player chosen nicknames for the Player’s Weekend unis will be returning as well. To continue with the spirit of the Little League Classic, let’s examine the best of what the New York Mets will be wearing on the back of their Player’s Weekend Uniforms.
The Most Amazin’ Nicknames
While the New York Mets may be in the middle of a disappointing season, their crop of nicknames will surely brighten the Flushing Faithful. Some Mets players already have a few noteworthy nicknames, I tried to avoid picking those as my goal was to bring light to the unique and most fitting.
Seth Lugo- RHP- “QUARTERRICAN”
Seth Lugo‘s “QUARTERRICAN” choice is a personal favorite of mine. His nickname hits close to home because like Lugo, I am also a quarter Puerto Rican.
Besides personal biases, Lugo’s choice was great on a number of levels. The righty paid homage to his heritage and hit a home run with a terrific pun.
Lugo was a star for the Puerto Rican team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The “QUARTERRICAN” pitched in three games, recording a 4.20 ERA over 15 innings. Lugo was also Puerto Rico’s starting pitcher in the Championship Round. His eligibility came from his paternal grandfather, who was from the island.
Bobby Wahl- RHP- “PEANUT”
For those who don’t usually watch the Mets, newly acquired reliever, Bobby Wahl, is not a small man. Listed at 6’4”, 234 pounds, Wahl seems like the last person that I would call peanut! This irony truly cements Wahl’s case of having one of the team’s best nicknames.
Much like Lugo, Wahl’s choice of “PEANUT” comes from a humble origin. As reported by MLB.com, Wahl was not even a peanut when he was born! The big righty apparently weighed over 11 pounds as a newborn, but his parents started calling him peanut because they thought that he looked like one.
This tribute is sweet in nature and truly embodies one of the primary purposes behind Player’s Weekend.
Amed Rosario- SS- “EL NIÑO”
For young Amed Rosario, “EL NIÑO” hits on two levels. While its most common meaning is boy, “EL NIÑO” is significant to Rosario because of his age (he is only 22 years old), but also because it notes his potential.
According to NJ.com, Mets’ Bullpen Coach, Rickey Bones, gave Rosario this nickname back in 2017. “EL NIÑO” can also refer to a powerful, once in a decade, weather system. Amed Rosario is a highly regarded young player on the Mets. Like “EL NIÑO”, the Mets hope that Rosario can be a once in a decade type of player.
With”EL NIÑO”, Amed Rosario (and Rickey Bones) win most unique Mets’ nickname.
Honorable Mentions
Coming up with my Top-3 favorite nicknames was not an easy task.
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Of course, as mentioned before, these are the three favorite nicknames of the less common nicknames. You did not hear me discuss Noah Syndergaard and his popular nickname, Thor. We have all seen the stitching on his glove, the videos of the righty in costume, and my all-time favorite, the bobblehead. His nickname would certainly rank overall, though!
Some honorable mentions of Mets’ players include Robert Gsellman with “G-MAN”, Dominic Smith with “BIG D” and Kevin Plawecki with “PLAW DAWG”.
Major League Baseball did a great thing with their creation of Player’s Weekend. Unlike the NBA and NFL, Major League Baseball and its steep traditions have limited how their players could express themselves on the diamond. The Little League Classic and Player’s Weekend is a huge step in the right direction as players give back and let their personalities run loose.
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The New York Mets have some great nicknames for the upcoming Players Weekend. Mets fans can enjoy this one bright spot in an otherwise dismal season.