Major League Baseball has drastically changed while under
new Commissioner Rob Manfred but as redundant and contradictory as this sounds
you probably can’t notice it too much unless you’re really looking for the
change. Instant replay has been expanded, nets have been put down the first and
third base lines, pace of play has been implemented, you can’t mow down the
catcher at home plate as a runner anymore, spending restrictions have been
implemented on teams who exceed the new international spending cap on free
agents, draft pick compensation is now being bounced around for spending too
much on your overall team payroll and a plethora of other changes we could talk
about. Not all have been impeding though, some have been fun. Youth has been
put back into the game and the game seems fun again and that will only continue
later on this month when Major League Baseball has “MLB Players Weekend.” Here
are my thoughts on the weekend.
From Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27 MLB will let the
player’s personalities and passions shine like never before during MLB Players
Weekend. We have already seen the new jerseys and hats being released this week
as well as jerseys that will have nicknames on the back. Sonny Gray will sport
the name “pickles” on his back during that weekend while Aaron Judge will be “All
Rise” above his number 99 jersey number. All clubs will wear nicknames across
their backs including the Yankees who haven’t had names on the backs of their
jerseys in over 100 years which should be an odd change of pace, but a fun one nonetheless.
Also throughout the weekend players will be allowed to wear uniquely
colored and designed shoes (which would normally violate some teams rules like
the New York Yankees who only allow black spikes to match their uniforms),
batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher’s masks and of course
baseball bats. Players can also wear t-shirts and clothing to support their
charities of choice during pregame workouts and postgame interviews, something
else that is general frowned upon by the league any other time throughout the
season.
The best part about the weekend for me, well besides
bringing in new and younger fans to the game, is the patch on the right sleeve
that all player’s jerseys will have on it giving the players the opportunity to
write the name of a person or organization that helped in their development as
a person and towards the game. I absolutely love everything about this idea and
everything about this event and I truly think you should too. It gives back to
the game, to the fans and to the communities in such a way that no other sport
is doing right now which makes me extremely excited and proud to be a fan of
not only the New York Yankees but of Major League Baseball as well. Check out
MLB Players Weekend here in two weeks!
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)