Half of Roger Bernadina to be commemorated in giveaway

Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

FACT: Nationals center fielder Roger Bernadina's nickname is "The Shark." It says it on his baseball-reference page and everything. He chases down fly balls like a shark pursuing lesser marine life (or the rare, doomed human swimmer), so two Nats fans gave him the nickname in 2010, then made up some hats and t-shirts and built a whole website about it. And why not? It's a strong nickname, far more clever than the standard shortened-name convention now unfortunately favored by fans and media everywhere –"R-Bern" or whatever. Bernadina even used the Jaws theme as his at-bat music in 2012.

The fans responsible, Terry and Tyler, tipped me off to this from the Potomac Nationals' 2013 promotional schedule:

Finally, the Washington Nationals outfielder that has been dubbed, "The Shark," Roger Bernadina (2006), will be memorialized in a half-man, half-shark figurine that the P-Nats front office has christened, "The Shark-A-rine." This one-of-a-kind, never before seen player figure will serve as a rendering of Bernadina's days hunting down fly balls in the outfield gaps at The Pfitz like a hungry shark chases its prey.

Half-man, half-shark figurine! It's almost too good to be true. And based on the current rendering on the P-Nats' website, it currently is too good to be true:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks a lot less like a figurine than it does a photo of Roger Bernadina photoshopped onto a photo of a shark – which would itself be a pretty awesome giveaway, really. But once the real thing is created, it'll be interesting to see how they handle how it transitions from the shark to the Roger Bernadina, and whether Roger Bernadina's dorsal fin prevents the figurine from wearing a Roger Bernadina jersey. Seems more likely to draw a crowd than the Brian Daubach Replica Helmet, if a bit riskier.

It's also notable that the press release indicates the figurine is "one-of-a-kind," to clear up any concerns you may have had that there were other half-shark half-man statuettes distributed at baseball games.