Mis-spelled name, lifelong legacy

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A handwriting mistake ended up turning into a lifelong tribute for the uncle of one TinCaps player.

"My name is Jaff Decker, J-a-f-f," said TinCaps left fielder Jaff Decker.

Many years ago Jaff Decker's uncle, the man he got his name from, was born.

"I told the nurse Jeff Decker," said his grandfather Jim Decker.

Jim Decker is the grandfather of the TinCaps left fielder. He's also the father of his uncle, the first Jaff Decker. The night his uncle was born, he said the name loud and clear, but there was a little confusion.

"She was having a hard time understanding English very well," said Jim Decker. 

So he wrote it down but,

"I must have wrote it down kind of ugly," said Jim Decker.

And that's where the legacy began.

"Instead of writing Jeff, she put Jaff," said Jim Decker.

Jaff's uncle spent his entire life with the mispelled name, all the way up until his death in the military. His nephew was given the name in his honor.

"He was a really hard worker, you he was a great athlete, just a great overall person who helped people, you know joining the Army that tells a lot about somebody giving up their life," said Jaff Decker.

People have mispronounced the name for years.

"Do you want to say Jaff? No we just want to say Jeff," said Jim Decker.

But Jaff doesn't mind.

"They always ask me is it Jaff or is it Jeff? It's Jeff with an A," said Jaff Decker.

Up until a year ago, he didn't know the full story, he just thought it was German.

"Last time during Christmas it finally came out what happened and everybody started laughing and what not it was a good joke," said Jaff Decker.

As one of the San Diego Padres' top prospects, Decker is pretty close to making Jeff with an A a household name. That major league possibility makes his grandfather emotional.

"There are no words, there are no words to express the feeling we have about this," said Jim Decker.