One way for Major League Baseball (MLB) to overcome the “dog days of summer” is to create an event / special occasion — Thus, the first ever “Players Weekend” is taking place as we write this.
It is supposed to be about engagement with kids of all ages, but we sense the merchandising opportunity is probably more in line with what MLB really wants to accomplish along with getting back in the news cycle on a weekend where “The Big Fight” and college football and preseason NFL are horning in on mindshare (Oops! Nearly forgot week 1 of the FedEx Cup).
The Name’s the Thing…
What we discovered was that indeed, the name’s the thing –garnering the most attention as one of the most talked about aspects of this “event” happens to be the nicknames that the players have on the back of their jerseys.
Per Maury Brown in a Forbes.com post:
I was given a list of every player, coach, & manager that was given an chance to present a nickname. Total of 1,425.
A Snapshot of “Creative” Naming
AWSI, we like the the idea, but somehow, it feels very sanitized / corporate to us. Upon further review, we found out that the nicknames were collected and vetted by the league and union since May (!?!).
Read more here.
So we were right. Which got us thinking…
Calling the Master…
Where’s Chris Berman when you need him. He is the absolute master of nicknames –ones that make you smile or, better yet, remember in an Ice Box Humor sort of way.
Check out this video:
He’s right, it is a game everyone can play!
We were curious and found this list that’s a great example of Bermanisms.
That’s a wrap! Thanks for reading and, as always, #SCMF!
—The Gang
And the Jukebox Sez…
That’s Not My Name by The Ting Tings
Bonus Content:
Also, just look for anything #PlayersWeekend on Twitter.
And don’t forget that you can buy the frocks!
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