Major Leaguers to Shine a Light on Others During First-Ever Players Weekend

It promises to be a wonderful weekend full of color, creative artwork and memorable nicknames, when Major Leaugers take the field August 25-17 for their first-ever Players Weekend. 

Curtis Granderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his fellow players want to let their fans get to know them a little better during Players Weekend.

“Fans want to know who we are and what we do and we want to be able to let fans know, ‘This is me. This is who I am. Obviously, I play baseball, but these are some of the other things that make me who I am,'' the three-time all-star said. “Players are excited about being able to tell their stories.”

Granderson, now of the LA dodgers and one of the Players Association's top elected officers, and all players will have that opportunity during the first-ever celebration of players' passions and personalities that will take place at ballparks across the country this Friday through Sunday.

Players will wear customized gear and colorful, non-traditional uniforms inspired by youth league uniforms during the three-day event, which was conceived in large part by the Players and the MLBPA as a way to allow players and young fans to connect through the sharing of their interests and cultures while bringing attention to causes they support.

Players were offered the opportunity to put their nicknames on the back of their specially designed Majestic jerseys and write in the name of a person or organization that was instrumental to their development on a patch on their right sleeves.

“I'm really excited about showcasing Chicago, my hometown, the Little Leagues that helped get me where I am, my high school, my university and my foundation,” Granderson said. “I'm going to take advantage of the whole weekend and wear three different pairs of cleats.

“The Grandyman nickname that people have given me will be on the back of my jersey and on the patch I'll put in the names of the two little leagues I played for.”

Read the rest of the story on MLBPlayers.com, where you'll see and hear from some of Curtis' peers.

Be sure to check out the MLBPlayers.com Players Weekend social media wall here.