Nov 3, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws an Aerobie frisbee before game five of the 2022 World Series against the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports Bill Streicher
Is Ranger Suárez rebranding in the second chapter of his career?
Wednesday, Suárez was introduced as the newest member of the Red Sox. In his first press conference in Boston, he made the revelation that his first name is not technically pronounced like the baseball team that plays in Texas:
This is apparently how you pronounce Ranger. pic.twitter.com/4kq2yIdsM6
To be clear, Suárez said that he's fine being referred to in the American pronunciation of "Ranger." That's what he went by for parts of eight seasons on the Phillies, and there's no evidence of him ever trying to correct anyone who said it like that. And while you should always strive to correctly pronounce someone's name, you gotta admit, the American pronunciation of the word probably only helped him in becoming a fan favorite with the Phillies. He also leaned into it, using Kid Cudi's "Mr. Rager" as his warm-up song before outings.
The guess here is that if you had sports radio callers in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas trying to say "Ranger" in the way they do in Venezuela, it wouldn't have gone great. Fortunately for him, he's not moved onto the diverse community of ... Boston, where they surely won't butcher his name.
