Why Texas A&M baseball fans call Jace LaViolette 'Lord Tubbington': Nickname origins

If you're ever watching a Texas A&M baseball game and following along with fans either at the game or online, you're bound to have your eye caught by the guy in the lineup who wears no. 17. That's for good reason: Jace LaViolette is one of the top prospects in the entire country, and he is the best player on this Aggie team.

LaViolette is a relentless worker, a plus fielder, and a monstrous presence at the plate. Now only four homers away from the all-time record for Texas A&M baseball, LaViolette's impact in College Station would be hard to overstate.

His measurables certify his lofty status as an MLB prospect, as well: he stands at 6'6" and 230 LBs, according to Texas A&M's website. So it may confound some newcomers to Texas A&M baseball why he has been affectionately nicknamed by the fanbase "Tubby" or "Lord Tubbington."

Look, any baseball fan knows that there are some big men who have played the game at a high level— baseball players and soccer players often don't look the same, is what I'm saying. So where did this nickname for LaViolette come from?

Why do Texas A&M baseball fans call Jace LaViolette "Lord Tubbington"?

It all goes back to the addition of Columbia's Hayden Schott last year. The Ivy League grad came into this Texas A&M baseball program and immediately infused a mixture of humor and hijinks that Aggie fans, even from the outside looking in, loved to see.

Apparently, early on in their friendship, Schott asserted, somewhat enigmatically, that LaViolette looks like a Teletubby. You know, one of these guys.

I'm not quite sure I personally see the vision there, but whatever was going through Schott's mind, the nickname stuck. It was a natural progression from there to go to simply "tubby" and then, given his stellar play, the honorific and proper "Lord Tubbington" was soon to follow.

So there you have it. The story of one of the most unique nicknames in college baseball. So next time Tubs homers, you can understand why Texas A&M baseball fans' feeds fill up with references to a BBC kids show from forever ago, apparently.