Yahoo Lifestyle MLB Players' Weekend is back with new nicknames, sleek uniforms and more social media
At the end of August, Major League Baseball players will have an opportunity to show off their personalities. Players’ Weekend is back, and it promises sleek uniforms, more social media presence than ever and entertaining player nicknames. Do you want to know which player will go by “Scoots McGoots” during the festivities? Of course you do.
But before we get into that, here are the particulars. Players’ Weekend will take place Aug. 23-25. On top of nicknames on jerseys, players will be allowed to use custom designs for various pieces of equipment, including spikes, batting gloves, bats, and catcher’s gear.
During the weekend, there will be a much more relaxed mobile device policy. Players will be able to use smart phones and tablets on the field or in the dugout up until the national anthem. Before and after games, players have the option to wear a shirt highlighting a cause or charity of their choice.
A number of MLB stars have been named Players’ Weekend Ambassadors for the festivities. They’ll be tasked with representing and leading their clubs. There will be 30 ambassadors in total, one representing each team. Ronald Acuña Jr., Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Alex Bregman and Hunter Pence are among the players who will act as ambassadors during the weekend.
What will those players be wearing when they take the field? We’re glad you asked. Players will wear monochromatic all-black or all-white uniforms. The jerseys were designed by Majestic. The caps were designed by New Era. Uniform socks have once again been done by Stance. Rawlings created special all-white and all-black batting helmets to match the uniforms.
The colorful uniforms are gone, but there’s a reason for that. Making the new uniforms monochromatic was done to draw more attention to the custom equipment and accessories designed by the players. Bryce Harper’s colorful shoes — which we’re going to assume are coming — will stand out quite a bit if his entire uniform is black. All Players’ Weekend jerseys will be auctioned off. Proceeds will benefit the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation.
Finally, the part you’ve been waiting for: Player nicknames. There are far too many to list here, so we’ll just highlight a few.
Mike Trout will once again be going by “KIIIIID.” Josh Donaldson will wear his usual “BRINGER OF RAIN.” Mookie Betts will simply go by “MOOKIE.” Javier Baez will be “EL MAGO.”
Francisco Lindor is among the many players who decided to add emojis to his uniform. His jersey will have a smiley face emoji, following by “MR. SMILE,” followed by another smiley face emoji. Milwaukee Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress will go with a bread emoji and a butter emoji on the back on his uniform. Tampa Bay Rays infielder Eric Sogard is going with “NERD POWER,” but the ‘O’ will be replaced with the nerd emoji. Hunter Pence is just going with “¯\_(ツ)_/¯.”
Braves reliever Jerry Blevins is invoking Jerry Springer with his “JER-RY JER-RY JER-RY” nickname. Luke Jackson is going with “SKYWALKER,” while Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle is going with “OBI-SEAN.” Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Jon Duplantier has chosen “DUP THERE IT IS.” Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash is going with “ROCCO’S SEAT WARMER,” which may have something to do with Cash’s friendly feud with Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.
Toronto Blue Jays rookie star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will go by “EL K.”
While we would normally be harsh on a player who put their actual last name on the back of their jersey for Players’ Weekend. It’s hard to fault D-Backs reliever Marc Rzepcynski, who went with “ZEP-CHIN-SKI” to let everyone know how to pronounce his name.
As for “SCOOTS McGOOTS,” that belongs to Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Barlow. Hopefully someone asks where that came from.
This is the third straight year MLB will celebrate Players’ Weekend.
Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
More from Yahoo Sports:
