Coco Crisp

Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Crisp is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed. He previously played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals.

Early life

Crisp was born in Los Angeles on November 1, 1979. He is the son of Loyce Crisp, a fast food restaurant owner and former amateur boxer, and Pamela Crisp, a former champion sprinter. He is a graduate of Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program. He played on the 1995 Senior Division RBI World Series champions from Los Angeles.

Nickname

Crisp was originally nicknamed "Coco" by his sister and brother who teased him that he looked like one of the characters on the Cocoa Krispies cereal box. The nickname was short-lived, until he started playing AA baseball when the team had all the players fill out a questionnaire to get to know one another. Covelli listed "Coco" as his nickname on the form and his teammates thought the name was funny so they had it put on the scoreboard during the game. He was traded to another team after a week and a half, but the nickname stuck and he has been "Coco Crisp" ever since. He officially changed his name on March 5, 2013.