An embarrassing moment from Austin Davis' younger years led to a nickname that still sticks with the southpaw today.
Davis, acquired by the Boston Red Sox just ahead of the MLB trade deadline, is a bigger guy at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. Davis' childhood friends, as he explained to MassLive, long have poked fun at the relief arm for his size. The height of this friendly teasing was the development of Davis' nickname, "Big Fudge."
"It comes back to one, specific story," Davis told MassLive on Saturday. "We were playing pool basketball at my friend's house. Just messing around in the pool, trying to dunk on each other and stuff. We were done and we went to sit on this outdoor furniture that had been sitting in the Arizona sun for who knows how long. I sat down and I broke right through the chair. I still have not lived it down."
Not only has Davis not lived it down, he's kind of embraced it. The left-hander wore "Big Fudge" on his MLB Players' Weekend jersey back in 2018 while with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Davis noted teammates have not referred to him by the nickname. But given the fun, easy-going nature of the 2021 Red Sox, perhaps that will change.
