In watching Rangers baseball the past week, you may realize everyone now calls Nate Lowe, Nathaniel Lowe. Chuck Morgan is doing it. Graphics have changed. Even the jumbo Tron now says “Nathaniel Lowe.”

So, where did that come from? Well, on Thursday, I got to the bottom of it. It all started on Nathaniel Lowe’s twenty-sixth birthday, July 7th. There were birthday shout-outs from the Rangers and Bally Sports, but it directed a comment from someone close to Nathaniel, his mom. “My mom saw one of the birthday tweets and asked if she could say something,” Lowe said. “I said you named me Nathaniel, so of course, I don’t care.” Nathaniel gave his mom the approval, and his mom sent the tweet out.

NATHANIEL, it is. Sorry ☺️

— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) July 7, 2021

The odd thing is that Nathaniel has never asked anyone to call him Nate. However, he doesn’t correct anyone who calls him Nate but has never told anyone to call him Nate.

”I think I had a couple of coaches call me Nate here and there and then in college, but I never really had a preference.” For Lowe, all that matters is his name, regardless of shortened or not, is in the lineup. “As long as N. Lowe is in the lineup, I don’t care,” Nathaniel chuckled. Lowe said the only teammate that called him Nathaniel is Brock Holt, but one person is thrilled about the change, Nathaniel’s mom. “She’s super happy,” Lowe said. “Everybody that has called me Nate in a conversation with her around, she’s corrected them. I think that’s part of being a mom.”

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t gotten a hit since Nathaniel showed on the board, but it’ll come through at some point,” Nathaniel said. While he’s right, Lowe is 0 for 5 since that change; he walked four times. Therefore, an on-base percentage of .444 is darn good. “She’ll be nuts. She’ll be excited,” asking Nathaniel his mom’s reaction on his first hit shown as “Nathaniel Lowe.”

Rangers have changed it to Nathaniel.
Moms always know best.#StraightUpTX https://t.co/jeW56R6KBL pic.twitter.com/iKjp31xRlV

— Alex Plinck🏳️‍🌈 (@aplinckTX) July 10, 2021

For Lowe’s first half, he told me that he felt he left a lot out there. “Pretty underwhelmed with my first half,” Nathaniel said. “It’s obvious I need to put up better power numbers and contribute more there and continue to keep working, and things will work out.” Since April, Lowe homered six times and driven in twenty-one runs. In April, Nathaniel homered six times and drove in twenty-two runs. The on-base percentage is about even among all four months, with the OPS dipping a small amount since Lowe’s great first month as a Ranger.

From the defensive perspective, he feels comfortable at first base. “I got boned on the air the other day, and I’m like, what do I have to do. If things go bad, things go bad,” Lowe told me. “I feel like nothing has been out of my reach, and I have to take what the game is giving me.” There’s a lot to growth among Nathaniel at first base, and whether it’s Nate or Nathaniel, the Rangers are looking at a first baseman trying to do damage. As for what fans should call him? “I don’t care,” Lowe responded. For the record, I’m going to say Nathaniel, and if I do say Nate, please correct me.

Nate Lowe hit one to the second deck of the fountain 😳 pic.twitter.com/5zvpVKwLkO

— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2021