That’s a foul.
A Los Angeles Dodgers minor league baseball team unwittingly adopted a new nickname for an upcoming series — only to learn they chose a NSFW slang word.
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes announced Thursday that they would become the “Chaquetas” during the three-event Copa de la Diversión series as an homage to the iconic jackets that Mariachi players wear.
While the word Chaqueta literally translates as “jacket” from Spanish to English, it is also a slang word for masturbation.
While the higher-ups at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ single-A minor league affiliate didn’t seem to realize the mistake before the announcement, fans on social media were quick to call out the word’s double meaning.
The Quakes quickly took down all of its announcements regarding the name while they backpedaled to put the name through the vetting process all over again.
“We were immediately concerned: Have we made an irreversible mistake here?” Grant Riddle, Quakes executive vice president and general manager, told the Los Angeles Times Friday.
“And so we immediately kind of reengaged those groups … and determined rather quickly that none of them were aware of it either. So that was not their immediate, first thought.
“And just the idea that obviously [the slang definition] exists, but that our intention in no form was anything other than the literal translation. We’re not trying to have any fun with this.”
After several hours, the team and its stakeholders decided to stick to their guns and bravely reposted the announcement doubling down on their decision to play as the Chaquetas.
“In Southern California, Mariachi music is a treasured art form,” the team announcement read.
The name choice is, in part, a tribute to Dodgers pitcher and Rancho Cucamonga resident Joe Kelly, who wore a black mariachi jacket to the team’s White House reception in July 2021.
The name “mariachi” had also already been claimed by another team, Riddle said.
“He wasn’t just making an exceptional style choice. Rather, the pitcher was honoring the music’s most esteemed qualities, many of which it shares with baseball: artistry, years of dedication to the craft, teamwork, and the privilege to put on such historically significant uniforms,” the Quakes wrote.
The Quakes will continue to play as the Quakes, except for the three events that are part of the Copa de la Diversión — or the Fun Cup.
The series consists of events that “embrace the culture and values that resonate most” with Hispanics in communities with minor league teams – is that each club changes their names for the festivities, according to MiLb.
In the past, the Quakes adopted the name “Temblores,” which translates to “earthquakes.”
