It turns out that I and everyone else has been spelling his name incorrectly.
"Speak up, this is the big leagues," said closer Kevin Gregg, playfully chiding the rookie right-hander Sunday in San Francisco. "You're a big-league ballplayer."
VandenHurk's response: "I know that, but I'm not KG. I'm the new guy."
The misspelling of sorts wasn't an oversight on the Marlins' part. VandenHurk said when he first joined the organization when he was 16, a clubhouse attendant for the Gulf Coast League Marlins made the initial error.
"I told one of the clubbies back then, 'Hey, you know, it should actually be one word,'" VandenHurk said. "He was like, 'Whatever. It's on there, right?' I never cared. You never wear a name on your back in the minor leagues anyway ... If I had a [big league] jersey with no name on it, it would be fine, too."
That clubbie can forget about making it to the Bigs. Though I doubt they are promoted in such a manner. Rick really should have said something when he came up, but I understand his reluctance. It will be interesting to see if the adjustment to his name is made on his jersey or whether he has to ride out the mistake for the rest of the season.