The Angels' Players' Weekend nicknames
ANAHEIM -- Players’ Weekend returns for a third straight year from Friday to Sunday, when the Angels play the Astros in Houston.
Here’s a look at the nicknames that Angels players will wear on their backs while wearing all-black uniforms, with the Astros wearing all-white.
• Every team’s Players’ Weekend nicknames
Justin Anderson: "ANDO"
Luke Bard: "BARDO"
Jaime Barría: "EL PANA"
Cam Bedrosian: "BEDROCK"
Bedrosian is using the same nickname his father, Steve Bedrosian, used during his 14-year career from 1981-95 that saw him win the National League Cy Young Award with the Phillies in '87.
Ty Buttrey: "(PEACH, TREE EMOJIS)"
Buttrey’s nickname has nothing to do with peaches, as it’s a humorous attempt at a phonetic way of pronouncing his name, as the peach emoji is often jokingly referred to as the butt emoji.
Kole Calhoun: "KOLESKI"
Griffin Canning: "GRIFF"
Taylor Cole: "T.C."
David Fletcher: "FLETCH"
Luis García: "AMADITO"
Garcia’s father’s name is Amador, so it means “Little Amado” in English. Amado is also Garcia’s middle name.
Brian Goodwin: "B. GOOD"
Andrew Heaney: "HEANDOG"
Heaney was given the nickname while in college at Oklahoma State, and he also won a hot dog eating contest among former Marlins Minor League teammates in 2012, so he became known as Heandog or Heanerschnitzel. It’s become part of his Twitter handle (@Heandog8).
Tommy La Stella: "TL"
Shohei Ohtani: "SHOWTIME"
Dillon Peters: "DILLYPICKLEZ"
Albert Pujols: "LA MÁQUINA"
It means “The Machine” in Spanish, which has long been one of Pujols’ nicknames, referring to his hard work and production. Pujols also famously appeared in an ESPN "SportsCenter" commercial in which he quips, “I’m not a machine, I’m Albert,” as he uses a copy machine.
Luis Rengifo: "FIFO"
It’s a play on his last name.
Hansel Robles: "CABALLO BLANCO"
It translates to the “White Horse,” which has become Robles’ nickname as he trots in from the bullpen in one of the more bizarre closer entrances in the Majors. Robles comes in with the Undertaker’s theme song from WWE blaring, while the scoreboard shows altering shots of his white cleats, white horses and red rose petals. The Angels also have a person wearing a white horse mask appear on the screen as Robles enters.
Andrelton Simmons: "SIMBA"
Simmons received the nickname from his first professional manager, Paul Runge of the Danville Braves in the Appalachian League. Runge thought "Andrelton" and "Simmons" were too long to pronounce, so he called him Simba because of his resemblance to the character from "The Lion King," and the nickname stuck.
Kevan Smith: "SMITTY"
• Shop for Players' Weekend gear
Max Stassi: "STASSINELLI"
Matt Thaiss: "MATTY"
Wilfredo Tovar: "WILFRI"
Mike Trout: "KIIIIID"
Trout is again going with his nickname that came from clubhouse banter with teammates, but last year he made a last-minute change after the tragic death of his brother-in-law, Aaron Cox. Trout wore “A. Cox” on the back of his jersey last year, but he will return to wearing "KIIIIID" like he did in 2017.
Justin Upton: "J (UP ARROW EMOJI)"
It’s a good use of emojis, as it represents his nickname of J-Up.