Two of the nicknames displayed were coined by Yankees radio voice John Sterling. Drawn from his signature home run calls, Robinson Cano's "Don't You Know" and Aaron Judge's "All Rise."
Seattle 1st baseman Yonder Alonso offers the area code for his home town, Coral Gables, Florida.
Players and coaches are also sporting sleeve patches to display personal messages. Yankees 1st base coach Tony Pena tips his cap to his parents.
Zooming in for a clearer view of Tony's message,
You have to appreciate the self-effacing humor shown by Seattle's Kyle Seager, whose sibling stars for the Dodgers. Would that be a variation of Tommy Smothers Syndrome?
The Yankees 2nd baseman references being named to the Mid-Summer Classic.
Wouldn't Guillermo Heredia's nickname be even more powerful if he wore 5?
Gary Sanchez' nickname comes from the sea monster in the movie Clash of the Titans.
Mariners relievers head to the bullpen just before the first pitch of the afternoon. Dan Altavilla and Emilio Pagan didn't go for the gimmicky nicks. But teammate James Pazos did.
With Yankees ace Luis Severino scheduled to start on Monday night, you won't see his "SEVY" shirt in a game. I zoomed in on his patch, where he thanks "My Family."
OK, now the big question: was this worth doing again? Did it really stomp on tradition or add a lighter element to the game? Personally, the shirts were nicely designed and look better than many of the alternate, batting practice or spring training shirts we've seen in recent years. I came in a skeptic, but in the end, I wasn't bothered. I wouldn't mind if MLB does it again next season. After a steady parade of patriotic shirts and special colors saluting prostate and breast cancer, uniforms aren't uniform for all 81 home and road games, anyway. We're not going to put these ideas "back in the bottle" and revert to just home whites and road greys. At least, this promotion has a hip sense of humor.
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