In Venezuela, it’s very common for parents to mix their first names to create a name for their child. However, that’s not the case for Jhostynxon García—at least, not that he’s aware of.
He’s never asked his parents about it and doesn’t know why they named him that way. But his unique name has made him somewhat of a sensation in the Boston Red Sox organization. In fact, he might have the most original nickname in the league—everyone calls him “The Password.”
«Most people don’t know how to pronounce it,” the Red Sox prospect told El Emergente in Spanish during a visit to Worcester on Thursday. “As far as I know, no,” he said when asked if anyone uses his name as a password.
He has become a sensation. Players and people around the league have shirts with Jhostnyxon’s face and his nickname on them. In fact, some have started asking how to pronounce his name, as his promotion to the big leagues could happen at any moment.
García is currently having his first experience at Triple-A Worcester, where—beyond his name—he’s also turning heads with his bat.
“I love what he’s done here,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy told El Emergente on Thursday. “He’s another guy who was having success in Double-A. The power has shown up here. The most impressive thing for me is when he gets behind in the count, he has the ability to check it down and drive the ball to the opposite field—take his hit the other way.”
Many people know Jhostynxon García for his unique name, but he has also emerged as one of the Red Sox’s best and most promising prospects. He is currently ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the organization, according to MLBpipeline.com—but two of the four players ahead of him are already in the majors.
And he might just keep making history.
Jhostynxon García and his brother could make unique Venezuelan baseball history
Venezuela has 23 states, and at least one MLB player has been born in 21 of them. Jhostynxon García and his brother—both in the Red Sox organization—were born in one of the two remaining states: Apure.
Apure is located in the Los Llanos region of Venezuela. But the García brothers had an advantage: they are the sons of John García, who was arguably the best Venezuelan softball pitcher for many years.
«He was the one who taught us everything about baseball since we were kids,” García said in Spanish. “He played 20 years with the national team, so we grew up watching a lot of baseball.”
But most of Venezuela’s top baseball academies are located in the central region of the country, where MLB scouts and teams typically discover the nation’s top talent. So Jhostynxon García moved to Valencia to pursue his path toward a professional contract—one he eventually signed in 2019.
“People watch baseball in Apure,” García explained. “But not as much as they do in Caracas, Valencia, or Maracay. Some academy owners came to Apure, saw me play, and then I moved to Valencia in 2017.”
“We learned a lot from my father,” he added. “We practiced a lot with him.”
But there’s more to this story. Two years after Jhostynxon García signed with the Red Sox, his brother Johanfran—who is a catcher—followed in his footsteps and signed with the same organization. Now, the two have a chance to do something unique, at least by Venezuelan standards: no pair of brothers from Venezuela has ever played for the same major league team.
“I hope we can do that,” he said. “It would be great.”
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“I’ve seen a lot of really good baseball instinctual plays and and an idea of how to hit out of him,” said manager Chad Tracy about Jhostynxon García. “The other day, he flipped a sac fly to right field with two strikes, behind in the count—put the ball in play and drove in a run. He’s doing a really nice job here.”
Photo: @WooSox
