Reds utilityman Scooter Gennett’s real first name is Ryan and his middle name is Joseph. So how did a professional athlete get the nickname “Scooter”?
In April, before Gennett was a household name for hitting four home runs in a game, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer provided the story behind the nickname. As Gennett tells it, he was a fan of The Muppets and Muppet Babies and his favorite character was Scooter. One day, as a rebellious little kid, he refused to keep his seat belt on in the back seat while his mom was driving. After repeated attempts to get Gennett to keep his seat belt on, she drove to the police station to have an officer talk to him about car safety. The officer asked him for his name and he said “Scooter” instead of his real name because he thought he’d get arrested. The nickname stuck ever since.
The Twitter account for the Lebanon Division of Police in Ohio responded to Rosecrans’ story:
After a two decades....our investigation into Scooter's obstructing a seatbelt investigation is officially closed. #Scooter #BuckleUp
— Lebanon Police (@LebanonPolice) June 7, 2017