Suitcase

Their was this baseball player called Harry "Suitcase" Simpson. He was called Suitcase, cause he was traded 11 times during his career. Meaning he better have his suitcase ready cause he wasn't going to stay long. Jesse decided to call him that on a whim and stuck, nothing more than that. In the novels, he already had the nickname when Jesse took over as chief. I think it was because his dad was a baseball fan. If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Just to clear this all up: (...prolly not.)

Jesse gave the nickname “Suitcase” to the deputy, and when asked directly was typically laconic to the point of being non-responsive: Q: “Why do you call me Suitcase?” A: “Why not?” (Those are direct quotes. It's about 68 minutes in, right after he asks the doctor to put his dog down.)

So, he gives no reason, but explains that the reason the baseball player was nicknamed that is because he traveled around and was traded between teams so often he was always carrying a suitcase. However, that's wrong.

Albeit that's a ubiquitously held assumption, the truth of the matter is that the baseball player Harry Simpson (6'1”, 180 pounds) had huge sized 13 feet. Sportswriters gave him the nickname after the Toonerville Trolly character “Suitcase Simpson”, who had that nickname because – you guessed it – the cartoon character had huge suitcase sized feet.

SO

The audience is faced with a dilemma:

A.) The writers of the show simply got it wrong. They fell for the commonly held myth and did not do their homework. Presumably Jesse (show writers?) just went with the only obscure baseball reference they could come up with to go with the surname Simpson.

Or, more interestingly...

B.) Since the deputy was born and raised in the town (and a bit homespun to boot) the nickname was ironic. (Rather like calling the largest man in a group “Little John”.)

I'd like to believe in the witty latter explanation, but I honestly think the show writers just got it wrong. And they are in good company, because the myth as described in the show's script is all but ubiquitous.


...


Also interesting is the dynamic that deputy D'Angelo keeps calling Jesse “Skipper”, which he does not like at all. Yet, he insists on calling deputy Simpson “Suit” for Suitcase. Is this intentional by the show's writers to be the face-value rank hypocrisy it seems?

But, earlier he insisted the city attorney Abby call him “Jesse” a bunch of times, and well-healed people understand that using names properly is very important on a base level in meeting people and ongoing relationships. It's foundational to giving and receiving respect. Important stuff.

There is so much fuss about it all, that to me it's clearly intended to be an expression of Jesse establishing his new alpha dominance in the pack – showing who is in control. Pretty standard practice for cops. They have training in such thing.