Rick Zamperin: ‘El K’ will lead Blue Jays during MLB Players’ Weekend

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays have certainly gone through some trying times over the last couple of years — 2019 included.

You’ve watched the team plummet towards the bottom of the standings and saw the franchise part ways with fan favourite pitchers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez at this year’s MLB trade deadline.

And now you’ll soon be cheering for players like El K, Biggy, Toco and 100 Miles Giles. But, to be honest, that’s a good thing.

Those are the nicknames some of your favourite Blue Jays players will be sporting on their jerseys as part of the annual Players Weekend from Aug. 23-25.

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball revealed the list of every player’s nickname as well as each team’s Players’ Weekend Ambassador.

Rookie Vladimir Guerrero Junior — nicknamed El K (short for The Kid) — is Toronto’s ambassador, a natural choice since he is now without question the face of the franchise.

The league is doing away with the flashy coloured uniforms, opting instead to go with a simpler black or white look, and will also relax its pregame restrictions on cellphones prior to the games by encouraging players to use social media right up until the national anthem.

The only downside to this year’s Players’ Weekend is that the Jays will be playing in Seattle that weekend, although I’m sure thousands of Canadians will make the trek across the B.C.-Washington border to take in the game at T-Mobile Park.

Blue Jays Players’ Weekend nicknames:

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Bo Bichette: BO
Cavan Biggio: BIGGY
Buddy Boshers: BUDDY
Brandon Drury: B DRU
Derek Fisher: FISHER
Wilmer Font: FONKY
Freddy Galvis: TOCO
Sam Gaviglio: SAMMY G
Ken Giles: 100 MILES GILES
Randal Grichuk: GRICH
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: #PIÑAPOWER JR.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: EL K
Teoscar Hernandez: MR. SEEDS
Danny Jansen: JANO
Derek Law: LAWDOG
Tim Mayza: MAYZ
Reese McGuire: PIECES
Thomas Pannone: LIL G
Sean Reid-Foley: SR-F
Justin Shafer: SHAF
Justin Smoak: MOAKEY
Brock Stewart: BEEF STEW
Trent Thornton: BUTTERS
Jacob Waguespack: WAGUESPACK

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