Major League Baseball

Samardga ... Samardja ... Samarjah ... Oh, forget it — just call him 'Shark'

Published Jul. 7, 2014 11:58 p.m. ET

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And now, a group of Oakland A’s fans you won’t find at the Scripps National Spelling Bee anytime soon.

During Jeff Samardzija’s first start with the Athletics on Sunday after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, a group of fans made a sign that exemplified the difficulty of spelling the pitcher’s surname.

After several attempts, the fans just settled with calling him by his nickname, “Shark.”

You can’t really blame the fans. It’s a difficult name to spell. But you also have to wonder how many times Samardzija has been asked to repeat the spelling of his name when speaking with customer service representatives and how frustrating it must be when they constantly get it wrong.

When considering that, the sign might not be the best welcoming for a new ace.

That said, Samardzija was dominant in his first appearance with the A’s, throwing seven innings and allowing just one run in Oakland’s 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s going to take a lot more than that to get fans in Oakland to learn how to spell his name, though.

More from NESN:

• Verlander: A's made Samardzija trade 'because of us'

• MLB spelling bee: fans fail trying to spell player names

• Dwyane Wade most misspelled name in sports

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