OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 15: Nelson Cruz #23 of the Seattle Mariners bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the third inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 15, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 15: Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the eighth inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 15, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
Seattle Mariners nicknames 26-29
“Seager” (3B Kyle Seager)—Last year, Kyle Seager had one of the more amusing nicknames when he went with “Corey’s Brother.” Corey Seager is Kyle’s younger brother who was the NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in NL MVP voting in 2016. This year, Kyle is simply going with his own last name. That’s boring. By going with his last name, Seager’s nickname rating from 2017 to 2018 has plummeted, perhaps further than any other player in baseball.
“Meech” (RF Mitch Haniger)—With this nickname, Mitch Haniger is barely more creative than Kyle Seager. Instead of simply using his last name, Haniger is using his first name with a very slight alteration. It barely registers on the creativity meter. The main reason it ranks higher than “Seager” is because it reminds me of Sofia Vergara when she talks to “Meech” and Cam on “Modern Family.”
“Romi” (INF Andrew Romine)—Meh. Sub-replacement-level utility infielder Andrew Romine has simply shortened his last name to Romi and used that for Players Weekend. That’s not very creative. If another player went with Michelle and the two sat next to each other on the bench during the game, that would have been impressive (“Give me 20-year-old movie references for $400, Alex.”).
“Tui” (RP Sam Tuivailala)—Much like Romine (above), Sam Tuivailala is simply using a shortened version of his last name. The reason he ranks higher than “Romi” is that the nickname “Tui” has a history in Seattle. Marques “Tui” Tuiasosopo was a quarterback for the University of Washington Huskies who once passed for over 300 yards and ran for over 200 yards in a 35-30 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Husky Stadium. At the time, he was only the third player in NCAA history to achieve that feat. He went on to play in the NFL for six years with the Oakland Raiders.
