J.A. Happ is on the verge of becoming the newest Yankees starting pitcher, and also their latest source of confusion.
His name is one of the most botched in all of baseball.
Despite the temptation to pronounce both letters in Happ’s name separately, as in “JAY-AY,” he asked in 2016 to keep it monosyllabic.
“It’s just pronounced ‘Jay,’” he said on MLB Network Radio. “I obviously understand with the initials there, Jay-Ay, too there as well, it’s no big thing. A lot of guys on the team call me ‘Jay-Ay,’ too.”
According to Sportsnet, Happ, born James Anthony, chose his current name as a first grader.