PHILADELPHIA — Chase Shugart let the cat out of the bag in Miami over the weekend, admitting on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast Tim Mayza was known as “The Sheriff.”
The nickname has gotten around the clubhouse, enough where Mayza is “Sheriff” by default. Mayza isn’t the oldest player in the Phillies bullpen at 34 (Tanner Banks has him beat by two months), but he’s the one who has to keep things under control when things get hectic.
“He’s very routine based by the book,” Shugart said. “The definition
of a pro. Someone who’s been there, done that. Having him to keep things in order. That’s where the sheriff comes in.”
Mayza said the nickname started around two weeks ago. The Phillies were playing a game in the bullpen and Mayza has to step in and set some ground rules. That got his teammates riled up and prompted the nickname “Sheriff.”
“He’s just like a sheriff out there, make sure we’re underneath the law,” Orion Kerkering said. “He’s just like Matthew Strahm.”
Strahm was the leader of the Phillies bullpen the past few seasons, making sure their voices were heard and being blunt about what was going on with the group. He took the heat for their struggles and protected the younger members of the bullpen.
Mayza has taken the reins, so to speak.
“When he sees something he doesn’t like, he brings it up,” Shugart said. “He’s not shy about it.”
“He’s just being ‘nice’ which is tip,” Kerkering said. “We try to get the joke with him out of it.”
When Mayza hears the name, he smiles and nods his head. The name has grown since he was first called “Sheriff,” and Mayza has learned to embrace it.
Mayza carried the Phillies bullpen for the first few weeks of the season, not allowing a run in his first seven appearances. He’s thrown 18.0 innings for the Phillies this season, allowing 12 hits, striking out 18 and walking 7. Mayza has a 3.50 ERA in 15 appearances.
Shugart knew Mayza before he was “Sheriff,” as the two were teammates together with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mayza spent a lot of that season on the injured list after suffering a left shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for four months.
Even though Mayza hadn’t pitched since April, the Phillies claimed him in August when he was released by the Pirates. Mayza hasn’t looked back since, even making the Phillies postseaosn roster last year — less than a month after his return.
“I think it was a different kind of year for him last year, battling injury,” Shugart said. “Being in his own thing with rehab. I didn’t get to see much of his personality with him rehabbing and what he was grinding through.
“Then I see him again in spring this year and seeing the glimmers of his personality this year compared to last — it’s awesome.”
Mayza is arguably one of the most-liked players in the Phillies bullpen, and the most respected. The “Sheriff’ moniker isn’t just because he keeps things in line.
“He’s just an all-around pro,” Shugart said.
As for his birth name? Tim isn’t used as much these days.
“There’s a few times we call him Tim,” Kerkering said. “The sheriff is just like his doppelganger. When he’s on one? He’s the sheriff.”
