MLB Players Weekend uniforms are... monochromatic

Your eyes are not deceiving you.

The image at the top of this post is the cap the Cubs will be wearing on Players Weekend, August 23-25, when they host the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

And here is the jersey they will wear:

Major League Baseball

That’s right. White-on-white. The Nats will wear black-on-black.

Why is MLB doing this? From their press release:

Inspired by players’ style choices when they are away from the field, the fashionable monochromatic uniforms allow for each custom accessory design to stand out more than ever before. During Players’ Weekend, photo shoots will be conducted with players at ballparks to highlight the standout designs, which will be amplified over social media between MLB, the MLBPA, Clubs and most of all, individual player accounts using #PlayersWeekend.

Um... okay.

This will make it nearly impossible to read player names and numbers on the backs of the jerseys, and isn’t part of the point of this having the nicknames on the back?

Here’s one more thing that will be happening on Players Weekend:

New to Players’ Weekend this year will be an expansion of mobile device usage. Prior to the National Anthem, players will be permitted to use their personal handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, on the field or in the dugout to promote the event via social media. Also prior to and after the game, each player will again have the option to wear a t-shirt highlighting a cause or charity of his choice.

Fun, I guess.

Also, we are told that pitchers on teams wearing white uniforms will wear black caps to ensure all umpires and batters have clear visibility of each pitch, and Players’ Weekend 2019 will be the first MLB event with a league-wide batting helmet. MLB says: “The same Rawlings helmets used in all regular season contests will be decorated in matte black and matte white to further accentuate the white-on-white and black-on-black uniforms.”

For some reason, I’m not really liking this. I guess we’ll see how it works in practice in a couple of weeks. Also, each team has a designated “ambassador,” who will, according to MLB, “take the teamlead in championing the initiative and their teammates’ efforts.” The Cubs’ “ambassador” is Willson Contreras, whose jersey will read “VENEZUELA.” Unfortunately, Contreras isn’t likely to be back from the injured list by Players Weekend.

Do you like this monochromatic color scheme?