CHICAGO -- When Steve Cishek was in high school in Falmouth, Mass., he worked as a gas station attendant, which used the "Speedpass" device for quick payment. It also provided the left-hander with a nickname.
"I remember I was out there pumping gas, and a couple of my buddies in high school drove by and yelled out the window out of nowhere, 'Speedpass,'" Cishek said Friday. "I'm like, 'Oh no.' I go back to school the next day and that's the name that stuck. If someone yells, 'Speedpass,' wherever I'm at, I know it's someone from back home."
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The moniker will be on Cishek's jersey this weekend as part of Players' Weekend presented by Valspar Stain. This is the second year in which Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association encourage players to showcase their personalities.
:: Players' Weekend presented by Valspar Stain ::
Players selected the nicknames in Spring Training. Those monikers will be on the back of their jerseys, and they will be allowed to wear uniquely colored and designed equipment, including bats, spikes, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves and catcher's equipment.
When Cubs manager Joe Maddon talks about Cishek, he calls him, "Shrek."
"'Shrek' is like my professional baseball nickname," Cishek explained. "That's the first nickname I got from Day 1 when I got drafted. Our pitching coordinator with the Marlins asked me my nickname, and I said, 'Speedpass.' And I gave him my college nickname, which is 'Roy,' and then he said, 'Well, Cishek is tough to say, so we'll go with 'Shrek.'
"I put [Speedpass] on so my friends where I grew up will know," Cishek said. "Hopefully, they'll appreciate it."