Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

A friendly reminder that Scooter Gennett chose his name thanks to the 'Muppet Babies'

There have been 17 players to hit four home runs in a game. But only one of them is named after the "Muppet Babies."  
That's right, Scooter Gennett, who became one off the most unlikely players to ever hit four home runs in a game (he pulled it off during the Reds' 13-1 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night), is not actually named Scooter.
His parents originally named the infielder Ryan, but he didn't like that name as much as he did Scooter from "Muppet Babies."
The name change came around all because of young Scooter's distaste with wearing his seatbelt. As his mother described during the infielder's MLB debut, when he was four or five, he would always unbuckle his seat belt. Eventually, she took him to the police station, so an officer could tell him about "seat-belt safety." After flagging down an officer walking out of the precinct, the officer asked for the boy's name. "Scooter Gennett" he replied. 
"And I said, 'Oh my word. tell him your real name,'" Gennett's mother, Tina said. "And he said 'Scooter Gennett.' … That was the first I ever heard it because I was a working mom, and he went to a babysitter, and evidently he watched 'Muppet Babies' all the time. It was his favorite Muppet Baby, come to find out. I used to call him Ry-Ry, and he would say 'I'm not Ry-Ry, I'm Scooter.' From that point on -- relatives, everybody -- he would correct and say 'My name is Scooter.' And it just kind of stuck." 
Watch her whole explanation below: 

BarberJordan
beephero
AP_702417634020
NYC