{"id":12587,"date":"2017-08-11T00:17:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/08\/11\/baseball-hopes-players-weekend-will-bring-new-spark-to-the-traditional-game\/"},"modified":"2017-08-11T00:17:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T00:17:00","slug":"baseball-hopes-players-weekend-will-bring-new-spark-to-the-traditional-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/baseball-hopes-players-weekend-will-bring-new-spark-to-the-traditional-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball Hopes Players Weekend Will Bring New Spark To The Traditional Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tom Goldman<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Uniforms of the New York Yankees will be among those getting a personality infusion during Major League Baseball’s Players Weekend later this month.<\/p>\n

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Ron Schwane\/AP<\/p>\n

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Ron Schwane\/AP<\/p>\n

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Bryce Harper is getting his wish.<\/p>\n

At least for one weekend this month.<\/p>\n

In March 2016, Harper, the Washington Nationals’ superstar outfielder, said in an ESPN interview<\/a> that baseball is “tired.”<\/p>\n

“It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself,” the then-23-year-old said.<\/p>\n

This week, Major League Baseball and the players union jointly announced a new event called Players Weekend. It’ll take place Aug. 25\u201327, and it will, according to a statement<\/a>, give major leaguers a chance to “let their personalities and passions shine.”<\/p>\n

Flair, personality and merchandise<\/strong><\/p>\n

One can only imagine the visual feast as a traditionally conservative sport busts loose \u2014 players will get the chance to wear “uniquely colored and designed spikes, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher’s masks, and bats.”<\/p>\n

There will be nontraditional uniforms, including buttonless pullovers rather than buttoned jerseys \u2014 in other words, Little League style. And the players have the opportunity to put their nicknames<\/a> 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,” “The Doof” or “Dat Dude.”<\/p>\n