MLB Bringing Back Players Weekend With A Significant Twist

Major League Baseball is bringing back one of its most interesting league-wide promotions later this season, but with a significant adjustment to its previous implementation.

Starting in 2017, MLB instituted what it called "Players Weekend," an attempt to appeal to younger fans. Teams initially wore jerseys that were reminiscent of Little League style uniforms; with multi-colored tops. Most interestingly though, the league also allowed players to customize the name on the back of their jersey.

Some players had, well, a lot of fun with it. Most infamously, pitcher Rich Hill, who customized his players' weekend jersey with the Los Angeles Dodgers to say "D. Mountain," a not-so-subtle reference to his "Dick Mountain" nickname. 

LOS ANGELES - Rich Hill of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on August 24, 2018. Players were wearing special jerseys with their nicknames on them during Players' Weekend. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

So five years after the event ended in 2019, it'll be exciting to see which nicknames players come up with, right? Not so fast.

MLB Removing Nicknames, Custom Jerseys For Players Weekend

From August 16-19, MLB is bringing back the promotion, but without the custom jersey and nickname touches that made the event more interesting and unique.

According to ESPN, the weekend will instead focus on different aspects of their off-field lives. The first day will focus on their "personalities, friendships and off-the-field interests," the report says. The second day will highlight "charitable causes" championed by the players, and the third day is to "celebrate the people who helped them on their path to the big leagues, including parents, coaches and other mentors."

There will be one custom jersey addition: the players' hats will have a patch on the side with their jersey number.

Well that's kinda…underwhelming.

Players weekend was generally received well, allowing players to showcase a bit more of their individual personalities. For the 2019 season though, the jerseys shifted to being all white or all black, a far less interesting change. 

This year's version seems a bit pointless; thanks to social media and daily broadcasts, most fans already know the players' off-field stories and interests. Custom jerseys and uniforms at least added something visually different. But MLB is hoping that simply highlighting their other interests will be enough to appeal to younger fans. We'll see.