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Indians left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, who did a great job against lefties last year, said his last name at one time was 21 letters long.

(Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Believe it or not, Marc Rzepczynski said his first name has probably been misspelled more than his last. He said his parents showed their sense of humor by naming him Marc with a 'C' instead of a 'K' followed by a last name containing two vowels, nine consonants and at least one twisted tongue.

His high school baseball coach called him Eye Chart. When he pitched in Toronto, a member of the media nicknamed him Scrabble. He prefers Zep.

But the Rzepczynski name you’re reading right now is literally only half the story.

When Rzepczynski’s great, great grandfather migrated from Austria to the United States in the 1890s, his last name was shortened to Rzepczynski. According to family lore, their original last name was 21 letters long. Even clubhouse manager Tony Amato’s top seamstress would have had a problem fitting all those letters on the back of a uniform jersey.

“Somehow they came up with Rzepczynski and I don’t know the whole reasoning behind that,” said Rzepczynski.

Rzepczynski ancestors are of Russian, Polish, German, Irish and Italian descent.

“I’m all over Europe, but I’m mostly German,” he said. “My great, great grandfather was an aristocratic farmer from Austria. When he came over, his workers came with him and they took the same last name. They’re not blood relatives, but there are a lot more Rzepczynski’s in this country than I would have imagined.”

Rzepczynski, a left-hander, came to the Indians in a July 30th deal from St. Louis for minor leaguer Juan Herrera. The deal didn't get much notice, but it turned out to be a pivotal move by GM Chris Antonetti.

After struggling with the Cardinals and spending three months at Class AAA Memphis, Rzepczynski turned out to be just what the Tribe’s bullpen needed – a lefty who could get lefties out in big situations.

Lefties hit .128 (5-for-39) against him as an Indian. Overall, they hit .178 (10-for-55). Rzepczynski stranded 17 of 20 inherited runners and did not allow a run in 24 of the 27 appearances he made with the Tribe.

"When Zep came over, our bullpen took off," said set-up man Cody Allen.

Lefty Rich Hill spent the whole season with the Indians, but he was inconsistent against lefties. Other lefties were tried, such as Nick Hagadone and Scott Barnes, but didn’t provide an answer. Manager Terry Francona eventually turned to right-handers Allen and Bryan Shaw to face lefties.

“Zep gave us a whole different look in the pen,” said Francona. “Rich was in and out. When Zep got there, all of sudden once you got to the sixth inning and you had a big lefty coming up, you knew you could go to him. “

Rzepczynski had a 7.88 ERA in nine St. Louis appearances in April before being sent to Memphis. He stayed there for three months and finally started to pitch better just before the trade.

“After the trade, I was able to come in and throw my slider for strikes,” he said. “I couldn’t throw my normal slider for strikes, so I started throwing a slower one and was able to locate it.”

When Rzepczynski teamed the revamped slider with his 90-92 mph sinker, he was back in business.

“When Zep is ahead in the count, his ball moves all over the place,” said Francona. “Sometimes he can’t keep it in the zone because it has so much late sink on it.

“There is so much swing and miss in that sinker and he has the breaking ball to go with it. That’s why he was successful.”

Rzepczynski struck out 20 in 20 1/3 innings with the Tribe. The opposition hit .159 after the trade.

“There’s no secret to what I do against lefties,” said Rzepczynski. “I come inside with my sinker and it tails in on them. That opens up the plate for my slider later on.”

Rzepczynski was one of six Indians eligible for arbitration. He signed a one-year deal in January for $1.375 million rather than go to a hearing. After spending three months at Triple-A last year, he never thought about going to arbitration.

“I was I was just happy to have a job,” said Rzepczynski. “With all those young pitchers they have in St. Louis, who knows where I would have been this year if I was still there.

“Getting traded here was a blessing in disguise.”