Teoscar Hernandez reveals the story behind his nickname 'Mr. Seeds'

Los Angeles Dodgers Sluggers Teoscar Hernandez & Shohei Ohtani

Sunflower seeds have become synonymous with baseball, and that is no different with Teoscar Hernandez and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two-time All-Star has made it a thing to shower his teammates with sunflower seeds.

The Dodgers have turned the sunflower seeds shower into their home run celebration. Every time a player hits a ball over the fence, you will see Hernandez immediately greet them with more than a handful to the face.

This is nothing new for the two-time All-Star. He told the crew at MLB Network that he has been doing this since the 2018 season, when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.

"It was back in 2018. Teams started to do celebrations after someone hit a homer. We didn't have that in Toronto. We had a bunch of seeds, and I had the idea to start throwin them at my teammates back when I was in Toronto," said Hernandez.

Herandez wanted Toronto to have a home run celebration like many of the other teams did. With limited resources, he used the one thing the club has plenty of, and that is sunflower seeds.

"Vladdy was the one that told me that I should put 'Mr. Seeds' on the back of my jersey" he added.

Being the one to start the sunflower seeds shower, his teammate at the time, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., came up with the 'Mr. Seeds' nickname. That is the nickname he put on the back of his jersey for the 2019 Players Weekend, and it stuck.

Teoscar Hernandez is looking to defend his Home Run Derby win under one condition

MLB Home Run Derby - Teoscar Hernandez (Photo via IMAGN)

Last season, Teoscar Hernandez did something no other Dodgers player had done before. He became the first player in the organization's history to win the Home Run Derby.

He would like to defend his title, but only on one condition. He checked in with his teammate, Mookie Betts' podcast, to explain his reasoning.

"If I'm an All-Star, maybe. I'm not gonna go over there just for the [home run derby]" said Hernandez.

Hernandez revealed that he would only do the Home Run Derby this year if he were an All-Star. He does not want to just show up for the derby.

He is certainly making a case for being named an All-Star again. Through 23 games, he is hitting .270/.290/.528 with five doubles, six home runs, and 22 runs batted in.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

Know More

Edited by Jared "Bloomy" Bloom