Here are Players' Weekend nicknames for Tribe
For the third consecutive year, Major Leaguers will channel their youthful sides, putting their personalities on full display during this year’s celebration of Players’ Weekend.
Here’s a look at the nicknames the Indians’ big leaguers will be sporting on the back of their non-traditional black jerseys from Aug. 23-25:
• Every team's Players' Weekend nicknames
Shane Bieber: “NOT JUSTIN”
He’s heard the Justin Bieber jokes since middle school and he knows they will never escape him. But Bieber has embraced the fun -- and even received a tweet back from the singer regarding a typo on his Topps baseball card -- by putting out a gentle reminder that he is, in fact, not Justin. The 24-year-old first used the nickname in his rookie season last year and, because of the attention it got, his team strongly encouraged him to stick with it again in 2019.
Carlos Carrasco: “(COOKIE EMOJI)”
Carrasco has been known as “Cookie” since 2011, a year in which former closer Chris Perez witness him eating cookies, which sparked the nickname. Carrasco has decided to simplify the name even more with just the cookie emoji -- one that has been seen on numerous shirts that have been made to support his battle with leukemia.
Adam Cimber: “CIMDOG MILLIONAIRE”
Cimber said he wanted to be more creative this year than his choice of “CIM” in 2018. He had been called Cimdog Millionaire in San Diego by his bullpen catcher and decided to test the name out for the first time in Cleveland.
Mike Clevinger: “(PEACE HAND, SUN EMOJIS)”
Just one peek at Clevinger’s social media pages will quickly give you the answer behind his nickname choice. The free-spirited pitcher often uses both the peace hand and sun emojis on Twitter and Instagram and he’s often referred to as “Sunshine.”
Tyler Clippard: “CLIP”
A.J. Cole: “AJ”
Mike Freeman: “WALDO”
After high school, Freeman and his buddies split off to different colleges and he would often find himself all over the map, leaving his friends to refer to him as “Waldo,” as in “Where’s Waldo?”
Nick Goody: “GOODS”
Brad Hand: “BRO (HAND EMOJI)”
Jason Kipnis: “DIRTBAG”
During his time in Cleveland, Kipnis has been known to get his uniform dirty in games, leading to the nickname “Dirtbag.”
Corey Kluber: “KLUBES”
Francisco Lindor: “(SMILEY FACE EMOJI) MR. SMILE (SMILEY FACE EMOJI)”
Lindor has been known to flash his pearly whites. How did the “Mr. Smile” nickname originate?
• Shop for Players’ Weekend gear
“It started because we were looking for a name [for Player’s Weekend],” Lindor said. “And [Indians clubhouse manager] Tony Amato and I was like, “I smile a lot, but [Michael] Brantley has Dr. Smooth.’ I was like, 'I don’t want to put Dr. It’s Mr.’ From the smile, Tony said something, they said doctor and I was like, ‘No,’ and we said, ‘Mr. Smile,’ and I said, ‘This is it.’”
Jordan Luplow: “LOOP”
Oscar Mercado: “MERC”
Tyler Naquin : “BILLY”
Naquin wants to be clear, this is in no reference to the character on “Stranger Things.” “Billy” is a nickname that he grew up using in Texas with all of his friends. He said it’s common to just say, “What’s up, Billy?” to anyone, regardless of their name. In 2018, he walked into Spring Training and called teammate Bradley Zimmer, “Billy” and Zimmer couldn’t stop laughing, so the two have kept the nickname around since.
Oliver Perez: “EL PAISA”
In the region of Mexico that Perez is from, “Paisa” is often the replacement for the word, “Dude.”
Roberto Perez: “BEBO”
Perez’s mother called him “Bebo” from a young age and the name stuck with him throughout his life, including among his teammates in the Indians clubhouse.
Kevin Plawecki: “PLAW DAWG”
Zach Plesac: “SAC”
Adam Plutko: “PLUTO”
Yasiel Puig: “WILD HORSE”
“I like to be like that, running the bases like crazy," Puig said. "That’s a reason people call me the Wild Horse because I’m running the bases excited. Every time you’re on base, it’s a possible run for the team and that’s the reason why I play hard and try to advance to another base and [get to] home plate.”
Jose Ramierez: “ENRIQUITO”
Just like in 2018, Ramirez is using “ENRIQUITO,” meaning Little Enrique, to honor his father, Enrique. It was Ramirez’s dad who pushed him to not let his short stature hinder him from pursuing the game he loved.
Franmil Reyes: “LA MOLE”
La mole means massive and Reyes’ 6-foot-5, 275-pound frame needs little explanation as to why the nickname fits.
Carlos Santana: "SLAMTANA"
Nick Wittgren: “WITTY”
Hunter Wood: “WOODY”