Players Weekend

Players Weekend
Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco wears his team's two-color jersey emblazoned with his nickname "Cookie" during Players Weekend 2017
Frequency Annual
Venue Major League Baseball ballparks
Founder Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players Association
Previous event August 25–27, 2017 (2017-08-25 – 2017-08-27)
Next event August 24–26, 2018 (2018-08-24 – 2018-08-26)

Players Weekend is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) event in which players on all 30 MLB teams wear colorful baseball uniforms based on youth sports designs and sport nicknames on the back of their jerseys during regular season games. Players also wear brightly-colored and custom-designed gear. The event is designed to give players the opportunity to express their personal style, appeal to the youth demographic, and acquaint hometown fans with newer team members.

The inaugural Players Weekend took place on the weekend of August 25–27, 2017. Players were encouraged, but not required, to wear nicknames on the back of their jerseys in place of their last names (or, in the case of Ichiro Suzuki, his given name). All uniforms, whether or not the players chose to use nicknames, had names on the back—including those of the New York Yankees, a team that had never before placed names on the back of any official jersey. The league also relaxed the rules for cleats, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher's masks, and bats, allowing players to use brightly colored and custom-designed gear.

History

MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced the venture on August 10, 2017.[1][2] According to the MLBPA website, CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees, Bo Schultz of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Josh Thole of the Arizona Diamondbacks were "instrumental in developing the concept" together with representatives from the MLBPA and MLB.[3] The event was designed to give players the opportunity to express their personal style, and to acquaint hometown fans with newer team members.[4] The introduction of colorful uniforms and nicknames also reached out to the youth demographic.[5]

Uniform details

The usual MLB logo on the caps and uniforms was replaced by a new logo depicting the evolution of a ball player from Little League to the major leagues.[2][6]

Jersey

The "always smiling" Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians chose the nickname "Mr. Smile"[7]
Alcides Escobar (left) and Brandon Moss of the Kansas City Royals sport their nicknames on their jerseys

Each team wore a pullover jersey, as opposed to the traditional button-down jersey, with contrasting sleeve colors.[2] The team uniforms, which took their color cues from youth sportswear, were designed by Majestic Athletic.[8] The jerseys had a "tribute patch" on the right sleeve where each player could write under the words "Thank You" the names of those who had the most influence on his life and career.[2][6][9][4] "Mom" and "Dad" were the most popular picks; players also saluted other family members and religious figures.[10][11] The player's surname on the back of the jersey was replaced with a nickname of the player's choosing.[9]

The choice of nicknames ran the gamut from shortened monikers and initials to rhymes, puns, and descriptive epithets.[12] In the 2017 event, St. Louis Cardinals player Seung-hwan Oh imprinted his nickname, "Sparky", in Korean characters.[13] A few players were not able to use their preferred nickname due to potential copyright or trademark infringement, such as "Superman" (Kevin Pillar),[14] "Kojak" (Adrián Beltré), "Led Zeflin" (Zach Eflin), and "Hoby Wan Kenobi" (Hoby Milner).[15] Chicago Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. was the only player allowed to use a brand name, Carl's Jr., on the back of his jersey; Edwards Jr. also imprinted the restaurant chain's logo on one of his cleats (note that "C. J. Edwards," as he was known, is from Newberry, South Carolina, and the chain is primarily west of the Mississippi, as the chain's parent company uses the Hardee's name east of the Mississippi).[16][17] Game-used jerseys were sold after the event, with proceeds benefiting the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation.[8]

Players were also allowed to wear T-shirts sporting the name and logo of the charity of their choice during batting practice, pregame workouts, and post-game interviews.[6][8]

The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates debuted their Players Weekend uniforms earlier in the week for their August 20 game in the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.[8]

For the 2018 event, Brad Boxberger had his name on the back of his jersey, but in the form of emojis instead of letters.[18]

Caps and socks

The New Era Cap Company supplied caps.[8] Socks in multicolored hues were the same for all 30 teams; players had the option of rolling up the cuffs of their pants to show off the design.[2] The socks were supplied by Stance.[8]

Cleats, batting gloves, bats, and other gear

Players were allowed to wear brightly colored and custom-designed cleats, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, and catcher's masks that are typically not permitted under MLB rules.[8][6][2] The league did prohibit the use of white as a color for the batting gloves, wristbands, and compression sleeves, since it might interfere with umpires' ability to judge a play.[19] Players could also custom-design their bats. Sam Bat, a bat supplier to the league, produced dozens of custom-ordered bats for the weekend that were painted with different colors, images, and country flags.[9]

Curtis Granderson raffled off his three pairs of customized cleats online; anyone who donated at least $50 to his charity, Grand Kids Foundation, during the weekend was eligible to win.[20]

Reactions

Players Weekend was hailed by MLB players as a long-overdue opportunity to express their personal style on the field.[9]

According to SB Nation, 58 players across the league declined to choose a nickname, instead using their first or last name on their jerseys.[21] New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, whose team had never had a name on the back of the jersey, wanted no name at all, but he was overruled; he ended up printing his surname.[22] While most players enjoyed custom designing their cleats and other gear, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Chafin opted to wear his regular black cleats.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Newman, Mark (January 20, 2016). "MLB to celebrate Players Weekend | MLB.com". MLB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lukas, Paul (August 9, 2017). "It's uniform change for MLB's Players Weekend". ESPN. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Players Weekend". Major League Baseball Players Association. August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Frye, Andy (August 24, 2017). "What You Need to Know About MLB Players Weekend". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Carpenter, Les (August 11, 2017). "MLB's nickname gimmick won't solve baseball's mounting age issues". The Guardian. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Perry, Dayn (August 25, 2017). "MLB Players Weekend is more than just cool new uniforms". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ Berger, Kevin (August 25, 2017). "Cleveland Indians get silly with nicknames for Player's Weekend jerseys". Fox Sports. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kramer, Daniel. "Players Weekend runs Friday through Sunday | MLB.com". MLB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Wagner, James (August 25, 2017). "Baseball Loosens Rules and Opens Door to a Vibrant Weekend". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  10. ↑ Mount, Connor (August 25, 2017). "Blue Jays Players Weekend nicknames explained". M.MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  11. ↑ Collier, Jamal (August 25, 2017). "Explaining Nats Players Weekend nicknames". M.MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  12. ↑ Kaneko, Gemma (August 25, 2017). "Let's break down all of the Players Weekend nicknames by category". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ Axisa, Mike (9 August 2017). "The best nicknames for each team on MLB Players Weekend jerseys". CBS Sports. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  14. ↑ Hunter, Ian (August 26, 2017). "A Look at the Blue Jays Custom Gear and Patches for Players Weekend". Blue Jay Hunter. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  15. ↑ Myers, Joseph (August 14, 2017). "Copyrights to Keep Three MLB Participants From Using Preferred Nicknames During Players Weekend". Promo Marketing Magazine. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  16. ↑ Yellon, Al (August 9, 2017). "MLB unveils 'Players Weekend' jerseys and caps". SB Nation. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  17. ↑ "The story behind Carl Edwards Jr.'s food-themed Players Weekend cleats". Chicago Sun-Times. August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  18. ↑ Rovell, Darren (August 9, 2018). "The top 10 MLB Players Weekend nicknames". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  19. ↑ Lukas, Paul (June 15, 2017). "MLB to Let Inmates Run Asylum for Players Weekend". uni-watch.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  20. ↑ "MLB Players Weekend Cleat Giveaway". curtisgranderson.com. 2017. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  21. ↑ Normandin, Marc (August 9, 2017). "These 58 MLB players won't have a nickname on their jerseys because they hate fun". SB Nation. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  22. ↑ Marchand, Andrew (August 25, 2017). "What is it like to NOT put on the pinstripes? Not every Yankee is thrilled about it". ESPN. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
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