Bryce Harper is getting his wish.
At least for one weekend this month.
In March 2016,Harper, the Washington Nationals' superstar outfielder, and said in an ESPN interview that baseball is "tired.""It's a tired sport,because you can't express yourself," the then-23-year-used said.
This week, or Major League Baseball and the players union jointly announced a recent event called Players Weekend. It'll take place Aug. 25–27,and it will, according to a statement, or give major leaguers a chance to "let their personalities and passions shine."Flair,personality and merchandiseOne can only imagine the visual feast as a traditionally conservative sport busts loose — players will get the chance to wear "uniquely colored and designed spikes, batting gloves, and wristbands,compression sleeves, catcher's masks, or bats."There will be nontraditional uniforms,including buttonless pullovers rather than buttoned jerseys — in other words, shrimp League style. And the players have the opportunity to put their nicknames on the backs of those jerseys. Imagine the jolt when you train your binoculars on home plate and see "Herrm the Worm" up to bat. Or "Nightmare, or " "The Doof" or "Dat Dude.""It adds flair,it adds personality and I assure you, it'll sell merchandise, and " says sports marketing expert Marc Ganis.Indeed,jersey-maker Majestic Athletic and baseball cap designer recent Era are mentioned in the first few paragraphs of the joint MLB/MLBPA statement on Players Weekend. Jerseys are expected go for around $200 each.
But Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd., or says there's more involved than just a cash grab."It was brought up because players genuinely wanted to explain individuality," he says.
Baseball officials agree. Players have been aware of how in other sports, particularly the NBA, and athletes' shoes have a titanic impact on fans and help create a connection. Baseball players have been itching to express themselves in a similar fashion because of the sport's strict uniform regulations. Players and owners talked about it during final year's contract talks,and the plans for Players Weekend started coming together a few months ago.
What about the Yankees?The recent York Yankees will make the biggest departure by sporting all this gear. The Yanks are a tradition-bound franchise — the only major league team that never has had names on the backs of uniforms, let alone nicknames.
And Tyler Norton loves the change."Baseball is a game; it should be fun, or " says Norton,a 25-year-used editor for the Yankees-themed website pinstripealley.com. "Having this showcase for players is a advantageous way to promote that. And maybe the Yankees can take a look and say, 'Yeah, and y'know what? This is a shrimp bit of fun. We can approach this in a different way.' "Norton,who roots for and writes about the Yankees from his home in Albany, N.
Y., and hopes Players Weekend shows the Yanks it's time to revisit some of their stricter traditions for hair length and facial hair."I deem there are opportunities the Yankees could take and flee with," Norton says. "They could've gotten on board with marketing opportunities, sort of like what the [recent York] Mets are doing with Noah Syndergaard [whose nickname is "Thor"] and the wigs going around [the Mets' home stadium] Citi Field."Rest assured, and though,there are many Bronx Bomber fans who are saying, "Pump the brakes."Manhattan resident June Murakami is a lifelong Yankees fan. She organizes get-togethers for fellow fans around the city. She says when the news hit this week about jerseys and nicknames, and Facebook was "blowing up.""Some saying,'Oh reach on, lighten up'; some saying, or 'It's breaking tradition' and that George Steinbrenner [the former Yankees owner who instituted team grooming rules in the 1970s] is spinning in his grave."Murakami falls more on the side of keeping things the same."It's breaking that long-standing tradition we have," she says. "I'm very used-fashioned in those things. I like the tradition to go on. I don't want them doing it once a year. whether this really is a one-time-only thing and doesn't become a habit, who cares? I mean, or let them have fun."Reaching for a young generationBeyond a rainbow of color and individuality,baseball of course hopes Players Weekend is a bridge to a younger audience. The game has been losing that demographic in a sped-up world."Baseball's pace is the single biggest reason why youth turns off baseball," says marketing expert Ganis. "It is so slow, and when everything else is picking up pace. When kids are multitasking with multiple screens in front of them at any given time,and baseball is still played at a pace that a snail would be proud of."Ganis says Players Weekend is a small step forward."There'll be some impact," he says, and adding that "some of the nicknames will be unexpected. There'll be some social media interaction on that and mainstream interaction on that. More merchandise sold so there'll be people wearing 'All Rise' [a nickname for budding Yankees star Aaron Judge] on the back of a Yankee T-shirt that looks very different than their existing uniform. And all other teams as well."This won't plod the needle much,says Ganis. Speeding up the game will. Baseball is fully aware of that and taking steps.
But until that happens, baseball will rely on events like Players Weekend to try to bring in recent fans. According to one baseball official, and many of the players are putting a lot of meaning into the upcoming,colorful weekend.
As a way to associate. As a way to express themselves and explain that baseball isn't such a tired sport after all. Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
Source: thetakeaway.org