Kansas City Royals: Ranking the Best ‘Players Weekend’ Jersey Nicknames

The first-ever “Players Weekend” will take place later this month. For three days, guys will be able to have whatever (within reason) they choose across the back of their redesigned jersey. So let’s check out the best Kansas City Royals nicknames.

In a lot of ways, the Kansas City Royals will have some pretty boring nameplates when they play Aug. 25-27 in Cleveland.

A joint effort between Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association, Players Weekend gives big leaguers a chance to add their own flavor to the jersey they wear. Even the jerseys themselves will be uniquely redesigned for the weekend.

Although the Kansas City Royals uniforms (but not the caps) are nicely designed, through a combination of reasons, it likely will be an underwhelming experience for fans.

Firstly, due to the schedule, the new jerseys will not be used on the field at Kauffman Stadium.

Secondly, some players (at the very least Ian Kennedy, Mike Minor and Scott Alexander) chose to stick with their last name. How fun.

Lastly, several well-known players have established (thus unsurprising) nicknames. Most of these nicknames are just a play on their actual name, including Mike Moustakas (Moose), Lorenzo Cain (Lo Cain), Alex Gordon (Gordo), Alcides Escobar (Esky) and Jason Vargas (Vargy).

Now that we’ve gotten the negatives out of the way, let’s hand out some “Best” honors for those guys who actually tried to be (somewhat) clever.

Note: These nicknames should not be considered a finalized or exhaustive list, as they are all (seemingly) subject to change. Let’s not take this too seriously. We all know this is just a distraction from how terrible the team has been playing.

Best (Accidental?) Nickname Combination

Sledge and Hammer — Peter Moylan and Jason Hammel

I have yet to see any article on the Players Weekend jerseys that mentions that these two were coordinated, and that might make me love this combination even more.

I mean look how great they look next to each other.

The two are solid (and fitting) on their own.

Sledge is apparently an Australian slang term for trash talking. That’s awesome in its own right. But it also lends its name to Moylan’s famous Sledge-iatto. (Chronicled here by the Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd.)

Hammel’s obviously is more of a play on his name, but it’s pretty sweet by itself.

Together, though, they are incredible. Whether or not they were planned.

Best New Guy Nickname

Maurer Power — Brandon Maurer

The Kansas City Royals brought in three players at the trade deadline not named Brandon Maurer.

According to the Kansas City Star’s Maria Torres, those three chose the following nicknames:

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• Book — Ryan Buchter
• Melkman — Melky Cabrera
• Big Trev — Trevor Cahill

I have always loved “Melkman” as a nickname for Cabrera. The only thing better is when people dress up as actual milkmen for games.

But Maurer gets the nod here, because we’ve already had a full season in 2011 of the Melk Man thing.

When it comes to nicknames, alliteration is absolutely amazing, as is the ability to rhyme. So, with a tinge of recency bias (and because Buchter didn’t steer into the skid and use Butcher), the award goes to Maurer Power.

Yeah, that holds up.

Best Movie Reference Nickname

The Don — Drew Butera

A confirmed reason for this choice was not readily available at the time this was written.

Multiple articles mentioned Butera’s choice, but none included a quote from the catcher. Maybe the reporters were too afraid to ask?

It could be based on Butera’s Italian heritage. (He played for Italy in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.) It could be that he loves The Godfather.

Or both.

It helps Butera’s case that his Italian heritage and the massive popularity of The Godfather sync up to create one of the coolest nameplates.

It also helps that none of the other nicknames that have been reported fall into this category.

Uncontested wins are still wins.

(Note: Drew, if you are reading this, I am in no way implying your family is—or ever was—involved with the mob. Please don’t ice me! I have a family!)

Best Viral Moment Nickname

Bear — Danny Duffy

According to the Kansas City Star’s Pete Grathoff, Duffy says this nickname actually came from his mother when he was younger.

That may be true, but the name is utter perfection for those who fondly remember Duffy’s interview with FSKC’s Joel Goldberg after the Kansas City Royals clinched the American League Central Division in 2015.

If you didn’t watch the video (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t), Goldberg asks Duffy what he is wearing.

“A bear suit, wearing a bear suit, Joel,” Duffy responds.

In the lexicon of Kansas City Royals fans, though, the phrase was changed a bit to “It’s a bear suit, Joel.”

The moment, which came during a historic day for the franchise, inspired T-shirts and even a tattoo.

One would assume that the childhood nickname led to Duffy possessing (either as a gift or his own purchase) a bear suit to be worn for such an occasion.

Next: Meet Rising Royal Jake Newberry

Even if the two are unrelated, Kansas City Royals fans will assuredly reflect on that spectacular 2015 season when they see Duffy in his new “Bear” suit.