Padres Summon Journeyman Pitcher Nicknamed 'Big Fudge'

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jun 28, 2024

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres have selected the contract of journeyman left-hander Austin Davis, per the team's announcement on social media. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Davis is on his sixth organization, signing a minor league contract with the Padres in January after finishing 2023 in the Mexican Winter League.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/UAUPTXKsZm

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 28, 2024

The most interesting fact about Davis has nothing to do with his pitching. It has everything to do with his nickname of "Big Fudge."

“Well, I was a little fat coming out of college,” Davistold NBC Sports Philadelphia after announcing his "Players' Weekend" nickname in 2018. “I was pushing 255, so I was a little overweight, and there was one instance that kind of made it stick." (He went on to add that he lost the weight while pitching in Nicaragua during the 2015 offseason.)

It gets better.

“We were at a pool party and I sat down on a chair and the chair broke out from under me and that kind of solidified 'Big Fudge.' They always called me fat or tubby, just joking, but when I broke through a chair, that’s when 'Big Fudge' was born, I guess you could say," he added, explaining that the name was also used in the television show "How I Met Your Mother."

His teammates on that '18 Red Sox had no clue about his nickname until they saw it on his jersey and immediately began asking questions. Will the Padres call him that? Perhaps they will, if he gets the job done.