-- by @Josh_Suchon
The Dodgers call him Nick Buss.
The Isotopes call him Chili Buss.
They're both right.
The name on the birth certificate is Nicholas Chili Buss. His dad always wanted unique middle names for his kids. The first three kids had normal middle names. Nick was the last chance for something different. His dad once played in a charity golf tournament with former major leaguer Chili Davis and always liked the name Chili.
So that's how he got the middle name.
Nick Buss always went by Nick, until his junior year of college at USC. He ordered an internet connection for his apartment, when his roommates discovered his middle name was Chili. They loved the name and started calling him Chili.
The rest of the time on the baseball field at USC, teammates and coaches called him Chili.
When he got to professional baseball, the nickname remained among Dodgers staff and teammates in the minor leagues.
Last year at Double-A Chattanooga, hitting coach Franklin Stubbs called him Chili all year, not knowing that was simply his middle name. Everybody just assumed it was a nickname.
This year -- before the Isotopes game on Tuesday, April 23 against Oklahoma City -- Isotopes general manager John Traub asked Buss if he wanted to be referred as Chili over the public address system, in game notes, and on the radio broadcast.
