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Bickley & Marotta’s nickname for D-backs’ Ildemaro Vargas appears on Chase Field video board

Will "Drip" stick as a nickname for Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas? The Arizona team president did his part to help with that.

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Promise made, promise delivered.

As Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas has been on an MLB-best hitting streak (18) this season, Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta associate producer Jarrett Carlen gave him a nickname playing off his initials, I.V.: “Drip.”

Team president & CEO Derrick Hall during his weekly call Thursday on Bickley & Marotta learned of the nickname and not only said it’s “finding some traction,” but that he could ask a favor of the Chase Field staff.

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“I think what I want to do is have our folks, you know, on our DBTV, on the video board, we have notes every time a guy comes up. I think what I want to do for the next home stand, when Vargas comes up, I want to put up there that Jarrett and Bickley & Marotta named him ‘Drip’ because of his I.V. initials,” Hall said. “And if we put put that up there, I think that’s going to click a little bit too.”

Well, he didn’t exactly wait until the next home stand.

This message appeared the same day while Arizona closed out a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox:

“The Drip: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Jarrett Carlen, of Bickley & Marotta fame, has created a nickname for Ildemaro Vargas playing off his initials of I.V., dubbing him ‘Drip.'”

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The nickname didn’t jinx the Venezuelan-born player, who kept the longest hitting streak of his career alive (21 games dating back to last year) with a single in the fourth inning.

He is slashing .357/.375/.671 in 70 at-bats this season and has 11 extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored. In just 18 games played, he’s one home run away from matching his career high for a single season (six).

His next chance to embrace the persona will come in Mexico City against NL West rival San Diego Padres for a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday.

Payne Moses ArizonaSports.com editor

Payne Moses is a web content editor for KTAR News and Arizona Sports at Bonneville Phoenix. A lifelong Arizonan, Payne briefly left the state to play collegiate golf but returned to pursue his passion for journalism. When he’s not managing digital… Read more

Comments

2 Comments

L
Latobias Rookfield 3 months ago

We're lucky that they don't have any players named Francisco Urbina, Victor Dejesus, or Bob Smith.

T
Team 617 3 months ago

Just so dumb........