When players show up for an interview, they expect to talk about topics like fitting in, hometown favorites, and game breakdown etc. But occasionally they receive something quite different. And the Texas Rangers’ new slugger felt that way when he appeared for one media interaction in July 2025.

This 30-year-old first baseman has played for four MLB teams: Toronto, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. At 6’4″ and 270 lbs, he’s built like a classic slugger. And when he joined the Texas Rangers, his fifth team, he was body-shamed during a radio appearance.

Appearing on the Foul Territory podcast, Rowdy Tellez shared this incident. He recalled, “I did a radio show when I first got here, and they told me. They basically told me I was fat, and they were like. ‘Hey, if you could eat anything here, what would it be?'” He responded with a casual “I don’t know whatever.” And then he said the conversation went further, “‘Have you ever had food here?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, believe it or not. I have, I live here,’ and they were like, ‘Oh, so you have eaten?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah,’ then they called me ‘The Girthquake.'” 

Noticing how weird the conversation was, one of the Foul Territory hosts said, “Often you’ll hear someone just ask a question where they know they’re just trying to create virality.” Tellez’s answer showed that he was aware of all these things, “I think there is people out there that just say dumb things to hope to get a reaction, and or ask questions for just a reaction and try and make it big, but it was a radio show. It wasn’t even that you could see us, so for all they know, I could have been like… 21-year-old gym rat, but I am not.”

When asked how he felt about the conversation, Tellez didn’t hold back when he said, “They tried to be funny, and they are not. They are just not funny, so I just went full, just emotional, less person, and I was like, ‘Hey guys, this is. That was pretty stupid,’ so we will just leave it at that.”

But this is not the first instance of body shaming that the professional league has seen. Over the course, we have seen a few bulky players dominating the diamond, especially from the batter’s box. Think of David Ortiz, the “Big Papi.” He was never celebrated for his speed or agility, but his bat did all the talking. Then there is also CC Sabathia, the towering 6-foot-6, 300-plus-pound lefty who racked up 251 wins, a Cy Young Award, and a World Series title, staying effective well into the twilight of his career.

Even during Game 3 of the Mets-Giants series, while Rafael Devers was at the plate, the SportsNet New York booth fat-shamed Giants legend Pablo Sandoval on live television. “He always had the weight issues,” Keith Hernandez said of Sandoval. “He just fell off a cliff, but he had some big years for the Giants. Didn’t he go to the Red Sox? Just kind of bombed out there. He came back [to the Giants] and didn’t do the push-ups from the dinner table.” That’s some choice of words for the 3x World Series champ, a 2x All-Star, and the 2012 World Series MVP.

Moving on, the labeling might have been awkward for Tellez as well, and he decided not to respond much. But Tellez has let his bat do the talking since joining Texas. He played in 17 games for the Rangers and has a .268 batting average, a .295 on-base percentage, and a .488 slugging percentage, which gives him solid power with an OPS of .783.

And recently, against the Diamondbacks, he not only added the homer to his name. But that homer helped in breaking a 4-game skid.

Rowdy Tellez sparks comeback, Burger seals win: The Texas Rangers end skid with 7–6 walk-off

The Texas Rangers snapped their four-game losing streak with a thrilling 7-6 win over Arizona. Nathan Eovaldi struggled early, giving up three home runs and trailing by five runs. However, Wyatt Langford ignited a rally with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, bringing hope to a downcast crowd.

Rowdy Tellez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. The Rangers’ bullpen kept the Diamondbacks scoreless in the tenth. Jake Burger, filling in for an injured player, then singled off Andrew Saalfrank to drive in the winning run. What looked like a rout turned into an incredible comeback.

The team worked hard and stayed strong. The offense recorded eleven hits, with key home runs from Langford and Tellez, and essential contributions from Seager and Semien. Phil Maton led the bullpen to secure the win, his first with the Rangers. Texas took advantage of its opportunities, while Arizona did not.

And when asked about the win on the same podcast. Tellaz was happy: “It was good, we got swept by Philly so that was tough, but I felt like this was a must-win for us, and we came in and put together some good at-bats.” That nails it up: a tough, all-hands-on-deck effort that gave an optimistic spark.