Meyer embraces 'Yeti' nickname
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- You know you've embraced a nickname when you put it on your gloves and bats.
That's the case of Astros third baseman Jonathan Meyer, who has the word "Yeti" stitched on his glove. It was given to him in 2010 by Class A Lexington manager Rodney Linares and hitting coach Stubby Clapp.
Yeti, of course, is another name for the Abominable Snowman.
"I'm in the cage the first week of the season and I'm hitting and hitting and Stubby goes, 'Your swing is ugly, but it works. You are ugly on the field, but it works. I'm going to call you The Yeti,'" Meyer said. "I was like, 'What? What does that mean?' That just stuck with me, and he would come up to me and be like [makes a whirring sound] like Chewbacca."
In fact, whenever Meyer calls Clapp these days, his former coach's ringtone plays a Chewbacca noise.
"His kids answer the phone and they say, 'Yeti!'" Meyer joked. "I'm like, 'Oh, my goodness.' I just embrace it."