MLB is bringing back its Players’ Weekend on Aug. 16-18 to provide a platform to showcase players’ interests, backstories and charitable causes. A different aspect of players’ lives will be highlighted each day through in-stadium game presentation elements, 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. Players’ Weekend coincides with Fox’s broadcast of Dodgers-Cardinals on Aug. 17 and ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast of Yankees-Tigers in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.
The original Players’ Weekend took place from 2017-2019 and featured specially designed uniforms with players’ nicknames on the back and allowances for cleat and bat designs. The initiative is aimed at resonating with younger fans, an area where MLB has gained momentum in recent years. The median age of ticket purchasers has dropped six years since 2019 from 51 to 45, according to data provided by the league. The percentage of ticket buyers ages 18-35 has increased by 9.8% in the last four years, and the average age of newly created accounts in MLB’s fan database has decreased by more than seven years since 2019 from 43.4 to 36.2 (These are people who have at least one digital engagement over the past year, which includes watching an MLB.TV stream, a ticket purchase or scan, and an MLB shop purchase, among other touchpoints).
