MLB Bringing Back Players’ Weekend With New Activation, Charitable Elements
Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 04:28PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
April 25, 2024: MLB today said it plans to bring back Players’ Weekend for the first time in five seasons to “provide a platform to celebrate MLB players’ interests, backstories, and the charitable causes that are important to them."
Players’ Weekend 2024 is scheduled for Aug. 16-18.
Players’ Weekend was last staged from 2017-2019, then cancelled in 2020 due to the shortened COVID-19 schedule and not held over the past three years.
The original Players’ Weekends featured specially designed uniforms with players’ nicknames on the back, allowances for cleat and bat designs, and a celebration of Major League players on and off-the-field.
This season, what MLB said would be a “reimagined” event will see a different aspect of the players’ lives highlighted each day, including game presentation elements in-stadium, broadcast enhancements with media partners and social media content.
During the weekend, players will wear special New Era caps featuring each players’ uniform number on the side panel in a youthful design.
Players also will be able to utilize customized bats during the games and, as is customary throughout the regular season, can wear cleats with personalized designs.
There will be no changes to the uniforms or players’ names on their jerseys, so there will be no players’ nicknames on the back this year.
Players’ Weekend national TV schedule includes the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the St. Louis Cardinals (Aug. 17, Fox) and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball with the Little League Classic live from Williamsport, PA with the New York Yankees facing the Detroit Tigers.
The points of emphasis during Players’ Weekend includes:
• FUN (Aug. 16): “Fun aspects of players’ personalities, friendships and off-field interests will be featured.”
• CAUSES (Aug. 17): “Focus will be on charitable and community initiatives that are important to players.”
• APPRECIATION (Aug. 18): “Players will celebrate the people who helped them on their path to the Major Leagues.”
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