Mets announcer calls out ‘bone to pick’ with Jac Caglianone, story behind name

“I do have a bone to pick with Jac Caglianone. … So Jac is not J-A-C-K, like his first name is Jack,” Gelbs said on the broadcast. “‘Jac’ is because his initials are J-A-C – Jeffrey Alan Caglianone.

“So ‘Jac Caglianone’ is Jeffrey Alan Caglianone Caglianone, and it’s the same issue I had with J.D. Davis, who was Jonathan Davis. So it was Jonathan Davis Davis.'”

Caglianone became the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft following a decorated career at Florida. He won the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way player as he shined both on the mound and in the outfield in Gainesville.

Caglianone set a new Florida record with 35 home runs in 2024 while adding 72 RBI and a career-best .419 batting average. That came after he launched 33 home runs in 2023 with 90 RBI in 2023. On the pitcher’s mound, he ended his college career with a 5-2 record and a 4.76 ERA in 2024 across 16 starts.

Caglianone also had a highlight-reel moment earlier this week as he sent a towering 466-foot home run to center field at Kaufmann Stadium. The celebration continued in the dugout as Vinny Pasquantino greeted him with kisses on both cheeks – or il bacetto, in Italian. Caglianone called the moment “Italians being Italians” amid a recent hot streak, and the vibes are high.

“Everybody’s having fun out there,” Caglianone said. “And I think it comes down to just playing for each other. We kind of know the position we’re in and where we want to be going into the break, and there’s no better way to do that than on a hot streak.”