The greatest nickname that never was

Nicknames catch on in the most random ways. Last week, while in Arizona looking around in the Cactus League, I found former Cal Poly infielder Peter Van Gansen. Van Gansen was a sure-handed shortstop for Larry Lee’s team who fielded his position like a professional from the first game of his freshman year. 

Van Gansen’s easy nickname during his time was PVG. It was easy to yell from Krukow’s Klubhouse and fans quickly caught-on. 

On social media, the nickname was “Pistol Pete” — a good one considering his strong arm. 

But neither of these were the best ones for PVG. When Van Gansen scored the winning run the other night in a big league spring training game, I got a text that reminded me of the greatest nickname that never was. 

“PVG scored the winning run for the Padres today. Detective Van Gansen is on the case.”

Detective Peter Van Gansen. Fantastic. We should have used it more at Cal Poly. There were certainly enough great plays he was in the middle of.

Detective Van Gansen is on the case. By Owen Main