Why they call him ‘Big Ern’

From our latest column, this one on Angels reliever Ernesto Frieri…

None of that, however, is why he arrived in Anaheim with “Big Ern” stitched on his game cleats.

The nickname dates to his first year in the United States. Playing in Class-A Eugene, Ore., on a bus ride to western Canada, Frieri was watching a movie, “Kingpin.” He couldn’t stop laughing at Ernie “Big Ern” McCracken, a character played by Bill Murray.

Before the trip was over, Ernesto Frieri was the real-life “Big Ern,” a character he still