Baseball Ensembles
Texas Rangers add some pizzazz with special event uniforms
Major League Baseball is giving unprecedented attention to what the teams are wearing this year, with a new lineup of special-event uniforms for holiday weekends as well as special MLB events during the 2017 season.
For the first time, MLB Clubs will spend the entirety of each holiday weekend — Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, and Independence Day — in newly designed outfits, I mean uniforms.
Players who are participating in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, which includes the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, will wear new Miami Marlins-inspired uniforms.
The All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will also feature new cap and sock designs. You suppose there will be Mastercard logos in there somewhere?
MLB worked closely with partners Majestic, New Era, and Stance to create cohesive looks for each event. This is the first year players have the option to wear uniquely designed athletic socks for the special event holiday games. Wow, socks, too. They are really mixing it up.
After joining the league’s roster of on-field licensees in 2016, Stance, which does socks, made its special event debut during the 2016 All-Star festivities. MLB also worked in concert with Rawlings, the official baseball of MLB, to create new stitching color patterns on special event balls. Is there no end to the madness?
MLB donates the royalties it gets from these licensing deals to charitable initiatives such as Prostate Cancer Foundation, Up To Cancer, and MLB Charities, used to support programs for military veterans and their families.
Mother's Day weekend, May 13-14
After their debut last season, Mother’s Day uniforms will again incorporate pink into Clubs’ regular logos, with all caps highlighted by a graphite crown and pink visor. Each Club may also choose from two different pairs of pink-infused socks. Since 2006, players have swung pink bats, worn pink ribbon decals, and sported pink wristbands on Mother’s Day to raise funds and awareness to fight breast cancer.
Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-29
New Era created a special cap for teams to wear during Memorial Day games for the ninth consecutive year. Majestic designed a special matching jersey for the fifth straight year. The right side of the caps feature five stars to represent the five branches of the military; the stars are also stitched on the jerseys' right sleeves.
This year’s uniforms, including the specialty socks, also utilize a new ripstop woodland camouflage design. MLB’s annual league-wide observance of Memorial Day will honor those who lost their lives while serving their country. MLB again plans to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance through which ballparks on Memorial Day will conduct moments of silence and special pre-game ceremonies.
Father's Day Weekend, June 17-18
Similar to the Mother’s Day theme, for the second consecutive year Father’s Day uniforms will feature light blue incorporated in the Clubs' logos. These caps will have a blue shadow tech heather crown and graphite visor.
Also like Mother’s Day, each Club may choose from two different pairs of light blue-infused socks. Players have worn blue ribbons and sported blue wristbands throughout the years on Father’s Day since MLB first partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation in 1996.
Independence Day Weekend, July 1-4
For the 10th summer in a row, U.S. MLB clubs will sport stars-and-stripes-decorated caps with red, white, and blue LiquidChrome official team logos to celebrate Independence Day. For the third straight year, Clubs will also wear a matching jersey and for the first time, player socks can match the rest of the uniform with a stars and stripes pattern. The Toronto Blue Jays will sport new red alternate jerseys with new red Maple Leaf caps on Canada Day, July 1.