The baseball season is loooooong. During the dog days of summer when there’s no other major U.S. professional sport being played, sometimes you gotta break up the monotony and remind people to wake up and keep watching baseball before October rolls around.
So, this year, all major league teams will participate in a new event called Players Weekend, from August 25 to 27 all games will feature brightly colored uniforms and hats to mix up the on-the-field look for these guys.
And the most fun part for them is the option to swap their last name for a nickname on the back of their jersey. You can check out the full list of nicknames here.
Some of the best I’ve seen so far?
Big Daddy: Jabari Blash, Padres
Stickman: Chris Sale, Red Sox
The Missile: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees
Corey’s Brother: Kyle Seager, Mariners
In the minor league system, these type of events happen all the time to keep non-baseball fans in stadiums spending money and supporting local farm teams. The promo nights draw in crowds to see custom jerseys, eat 50-cent hot dogs or bring your pup to the park. I mean, the team names alone are pretty outrageous compared to what we’re used to hearing on Sportscenter –and it does add a little excitement to 9 innings of playtime.
Troll night at MGM Park for the Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers)
As a Yankees fan, I recognize Players Weekend isn’t just a fun promotion for MLB, but it is also a big deal for this team in particular. The New York Yankees pride and tradition is a staple for their organization. Their uniform has had little to no change for almost 100 years of their existence.
The Yankees have been using their current away jerseys since 1918 and their current home uniforms since 1936. The last time the Yankees wore a different uniform was back in 2012 when they faced the Red Sox in Fenway to honor the ballpark’s centennial. So for only the second time in history, the Bronx Bombers won’t be wearing pinstripes.
As a Yankees fan, I think this young team could use a fun weekend like this. I believe in the “look good, feel good, play good” mentality. Baseball is a funny sport with different routines, superstitions and traditions that players never want to break because it might screw them up. If this is something that will spark this team to get them a push heading into September to set themselves up for the playoffs, I’m all for it.
Two Buttons Deep is a news & entertainment website based in upstate New York.
We don’t just post the news, we post stuff worth talking about…
Visit our newsfeed, and stay in the loop on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.