MIAMI -- When Brad Hand arrived to the visitors' clubhouse at Marlins Park on Friday, he wasn't known as Brad. Instead, his teammates called him by the nickname on his Players Weekend jersey: "Brotato."
"It's just kind of a joke that me and a few other bullpen guys would always call each other brotato, brotein shake, you know, stuff like that," the All-Star reliever said. "Couldn't think of anything else, so I just put that on it."
Players Weekend takes place Friday through Sunday, offering Major Leaguers a chance to showcase their personalities by spicing up their jerseys, cleats, bats and other gear. San Diego's uniforms feature navy blue jerseys with yellow sleeves and numbers and a fully yellow cap, as well.
• Everything you need to know about Players Weekend
But for Hand, who had his fellow teammates cracking up at his nickname, this weekend is more than just jokes -- it allowed him a chance to thank his father. The patch on his right sleeve reads "DAD."
"My dad helped me a lot throughout my baseball career and he always coached me," Hand said. "I could've put my mom on there, too, because she was always supporting me and all that."
One of Hand's favorite memories on the diamond with his father growing up in Minnesota? Bruising his legs during batting practice.
"He would always throw me BP when I was a kid," Hand said. "I just remember being on the field, he would throw to me and there was no L-screen or anything. So I would hit him with line drives a few times right in the shin. But he was always there to do whatever he could to help."
• Padres' Players Weekend gear available at MLBShop.com
As for the nicknames, "Brotato" was given some competition for funniest nickname. Jabari Blash's "Big Daddy" jersey was a hit among Padres players, Hand being one of them.
Still, Hand felt his moniker took the cake.
"We didn't really have any creative ones on the team," Hand joked. "Kind of a disappointed showing from the Pads. But we've got a few good ones."
Added Padres manager Andy Green, who said "Brotato" was his favorite: "I don't really quite know what it means, but it's got the interesting factor, for sure."