Kyle Schwarber has quickly become a fan favorite with the Boston Red Sox since they acquired him from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline this season. The first baseman is so popular, in fact, that he already has his own nickname. But many people have no idea where it came from, including Schwarber.
A lot of Red Sox fans refer to Schwarber as “Kyle from Waltham.” After he belted a grand slam to help Boston defeat the Houston Astros 12-3 in Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday night, Schwarber showed up to his press conference wearing a “Waltham Hawks” T-shirt. He admitted he doesn’t really understand the nickname but knows it started with Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports.
The Hawks are the mascot of Waltham High School in Waltham, Mass., which is a Boston suburb that is located about 10 miles outside the city. The best part about Schwarber talking about his new nickname is that he botched the pronunciation of Waltham. Locals say either “Walth-am” or “Walth-um” but certainly not “Walt-ham.”
So what does it all mean? Carrabis, who is Barstool’s resident Red Sox correspondent and fanatic, came up with it on his “Section 10” podcast. Carrabis and his co-hosts, Steve Perrault and Coley Mick, think Schwarber, who is from Middletown, Ohio, fits right in with Boston and seems more like a local blue-collar guy than a professional baseball player. So they started calling him “Kyle from Waltham,” and it stuck.
Most Red Sox fans complained that all the team did at the deadline was acquire Schwarber, but they don’t seem to mind anymore. Kyle from Waltham is officially one of the faces of another deep postseason run in Boston.
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