TAMPA BAY RAYS NICKNAMES
Player/Manager/Exec.	Nickname(s)	Reason for nickname(s)
Reid Brignac	Briggy Baseball; Cajun God of Baseball	Brignac is one of those natural baseball players. Everything he does is just "baseball pretty"; A nickname based on his Louisiana roots, given to him by Rays fans shortly after being drafted. Almost always typed with a snicker
Robinson Chirinos	Honey Nut	Just like Honey Nut Cheerios
Wade Davis	Big Dub	He is big, and "Dub" is short for W, his first initial
Kyle Farnsworth	Farnsville	A play on his last name
Andrew Friedman	World B. Friedman	A play on his last name and reference to the former basketball player World B. Free
Sam Fuld	Super Sammy	Likes to fly through the air to make catches
Jeremy Hellickson	Hellboy	A play on his last name
JP Howell	Dude	Matches his laid back surfer-boy persona. The Dude abides
Desmond Jennings	Flash	He is fast (duh), but he also shows flashes of power. And in 2011, when the Rays need somebody to save their universe, Jennings came up and did just that
Elliot Johnson	Mini-Maddon	He is what we envision Joe Maddon was like when he was younger. Athletic, intelligent, and a bit of goofball
Matt Joyce	Sweet Swingin'	Dude has a sweet swing
Evan Longoria	Dirtbag	Longoria played college baseball at Long Beach St whose mascot for the baseball team is "The Dirtbags". Longoria is also a throwback player that would find a way to get his uniform dirty in a sterile environment
Joe Maddon	Papa Joe; JoeMa	Due to the nurturing nature of the Rays' skipper. JoeMa is a play on his name
Jeff Niemann	The Giraffe; The Big Nyquil	Dude has a very long neck; The Big Nyquil relates to his size and performances that can lull you to sleep
Carlos Pena	El Gato; El Gato del Crimen	El Gato is spanish for 'The Cat' and may be a reference to the Cat-like reflexes as one of the top defensive first basemen in baseball; El Gato Del Crimen is Spanish for "The Crime Cat" a reference to former Devil Rays' first baseman Fred "The Crime Dog" McGriff
David Price	King David	A reference to the biblical King David who was the favored son despite being the youngest and it was his late appearance and ability to defeat Goliath that led the Israelites over the heavily favored and steroid-ridden Philistines.
Fernando Rodney	Honey Badger	He is small, but doesn't mind attacking things bigger than he is, just like a Honey Badger. He also has a "don’t give a sh*t" personality like the populsr YouTube video on Honey Badgers
Sean Rodriguez	Rodzilla; S-Rod	A combination of his last name and Ben Zobrist's nickname. Rodriguez is the heir-apparent to Zobrist's role as "Super-Utility" player. While Ben Zobrist's nickname is a reference to a gorilla, Rodriguez' is more in line with Godzilla; S-Rod is an unoriginal nickname given to all players with the last name "Rodriguez."
Luke Scott	Wolverine	Showed up to his first camp with the Rays with a beard that resembled the Wolverine character in "X-Men"
James Shields	James the Greater; Big Game	Reference to St. James the Greater, who was one of Jesus' disciples. He was referred to as "The Greater" to distinguish himself from the other disciple named James as James Shields is distinguished from the Rays other Ace, Scott Kazmir; Big Game is a nickname bestowed upon Shields by minor league teammates for his propensity to come up big when the team needs him most.
BJ Upton	Bossman	B. J. stands for "Bossman Junior" as his dad was nicknamed the "Bossman"
Ben Zobrist	Zorilla; Benny Boo Boo	The first was given to him by Joe Maddon; The second is a nickname among friends of the shortstop as discovered on his wife's MySpace page