A Major League Baseball player changes his first name after his mom’s request
Whatever mom says goes, right?
Especially when it comes to her son’s name.
That’s why the Texas Rangers have a new name at first base. Nate Lowe is now Nathaniel Lowe after mother Wendy recently requested the change.
On her son’s 26th birthday July 7, she politely corrected the Rangers official Twitter account and the Bally Sports Southwest account when they posted birthday wishes that day.
“It’s NATHANIEL, not Nate. Happy birthday, son,” Wendy Lowe posted, adding some flair in the form of a winking emoji.
“You can call me anything you want. It doesn’t matter,” Nathaniel Lowe said at Globe Life Park Thursday after the Rangers workout before flying to Buffalo, N.Y. On Friday, the team is scheduled to open a 10-game road trip with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have been forced to play games in Buffalo because of COVID-19 restrictions in Canada.
Wendy Lowe asked her son if she could post something about his name, which has been Nathaniel — not Nate — in the family since the day he was born.
“A couple of coaches called me Nate here and there but it didn’t really show up until college,” he said. “but I never really had a preference. I never asked to be called Nate or Nathaniel.”
Mom is “super happy” that the Rangers obliged and her son is now referred to as Nathaniel — not Nate — on the club’s radio and television broadcasts, in media materials, and on the Globe Life Field video boards.
“As long as N. Lowe is in the lineup, I don’t care,” Lowe said with a laugh.
Since the change, however, Lowe is 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. Is he superstitious?
“A little bit here and there but not really,” he said. “I’m not worried about it.”
Veteran teammate Brock Holt is the one teammate who was already calling him Nathaniel. Mom approves.
“Everybody who has called me Nate in a conversation she has corrected them anyway,” Lowe said. “I guess that’s just part of being a mom.”
Lowe, who is playing his first full season in the big leagues, got off to a fast start with six home runs and 22 RBIs in April. Pitchers got wise, however, and he has been held to two homers in each of the next three months.
“I felt like a left a lot on the table,” he said. “After April it kind of slowed down and I’m not really happy with that. It’s pretty obvious I need to put up better power numbers and contribute a little more there.”
That starts with responding to adjustments the league’s pitchers have made against him.
“You get to a point where you realize you’re probably only going to get one or two pitches a game to do damage with and if you miss them you have to fight,” he said.
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
