The MLB playoffs are where legends are made and nicknames are earned. Just ask Reggie Jackson (Mr. October) or Derek Jeter (Mr. November). Now, Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco needs himself a nickname.
Polanco came up with another big hit in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, blasting a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays to break a 3-3 tie. Seattle went on to win 10-3, taking a commanding 2-0 lead as the series shifts to the west coast.
According to catcher Cal Raleigh, Polanco is a big fan of Top Gun, with Top Gun Anthem serving as his ringtone.
“He loves Maverick and Iceman,” Raleigh said, per ESPN.
Iceman could be a serviceable nickname — a nod to Polanco's ability to stay cool under pressure, delivering go-ahead hits like it's nothing.
Mitch Garver had another idea.
“He's George Bonds,” Garver said.
Maybe it's not the most creative idea. All it's doing is anglicizing Polanco's first name and changing his last name to that of the all-time home run king. But hey, it works. And it's probably a step up from what Polanco went by before.
“He wasn't George Bonds before,” Garver added. “He was Harry Potter. Because he was a wizard. He'd just make hits appear.”
While the players are doing the important work in coming up with a proper nickname, leave it to manager Dan Wilson to actually lay out what has made his second baseman so successful in the postseason.
“He's always been a great hitter,” he said. “His swing right now is very short. That ball tonight, I wasn't sure it was going to go out of the ballpark, but I think he's just getting that kind of spin on it right now where it stays up.”
The Mariners and Blue Jays will play Game 3 of the ALCS on Wednesday night in Seattle.
