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 23–25, 2019 |
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. The league also relaxes the rules for cleats, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher's masks, and bats, allowing players to use custom-designed gear. The multi-day 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.
In a departure from previous seasons, the 2019 event saw monochromatic uniforms and caps. The all-white or all-black apparel was intended to make logos and accessories, which players were allowed to customize, stand out more.
Origin[]
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]
The inaugural Players Weekend took place on August 25–27, 2017.[3]
Uniform details[]
Logo and uniforms[]
In 2017, 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][7] In 2017 and 2018, each team wore a pullover jersey (similar to what many teams wore in the 1970s and 1980s), 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][7][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 (or, in the case of Ichiro Suzuki, his given name) usually printed on the back of the jersey was replaced with a nickname of the player's choosing. Players were encouraged, but not required, to choose a nickname. All uniforms, whether or not the players chose to use nicknames, have 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.[12]
The choice of nicknames runs the gamut from shortened monikers and initials to rhymes, puns, and descriptive epithets.[13]
Game-used jerseys are sold after the event, with proceeds benefiting the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation.[8]
Players are 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.[7][8]
In the 2017 event, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Seung-hwan Oh imprinted his name in Korean characters (오승환).[14] A few players were not able to use their preferred nickname due to potential copyright or trademark infringement, such as "Superman" (Kevin Pillar),[15] "Kojak" (Adrián Beltré), "Led Zeflin" (Zach Eflin), and "Hoby Wan Kenobi" (Hoby Milner).[16] 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.[17][18]
In 2018, Brad Boxberger had his surname on the back of his jersey, but in the form of emojis ("