Creativity was on full display during MLB's Players' Weekend this year, with a variety of custom bat designs ranging from the imaginative to the comedic.
The three-day Players' Weekend has a different theme for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, giving players multiple opportunities to express their authentic personalities while on the field.
This year, players went all out with their bat designs, including some classic designs such as the No. 2 pencil bat and various colors of crayons. The ingenuity didn't stop there, however.
We've gathered some of the best custom bats from MLB's Players' Weekend, with stars such as Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper and Anthony Volpe flexing their creative muscles.
Bobby Witt Jr. has a custom Backyard Baseball bat with Pablo Sanchez on it for #PlayersWeekend 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/6SaxLGGN10
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2024
Witt Jr., the Kansas City Royals shortstop, paid tribute to arguably the greatest multi-sport athlete of all time—Pablo Sanchez of Backyard Sports. The bat features the video game character's instantly recognizable backwards cap and even includes his face, too.
Just as Sanchez would've done, Witt used the bat to club a home run on Friday.
Harrison Bader has the pink crayon bat for Players Weekend 🔥
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 16, 2024
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/oRjF90AUdf
Harrison Bader went with a hot pink crayon for his bat design, pairing it with some pink and purple batting gloves to complete the look.
I believe this is Raley’s bat. pic.twitter.com/vu1mN3z8pe
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) August 16, 2024
Cal Raleigh has a ‘Bring ’em Back’ Sonics bat for Players Weekend, plus a Florida State one too. pic.twitter.com/OwxaLPWmwb
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) August 16, 2024
Both Luke Raley and Cal Raleigh showed some local love to the Seattle area. Raley had a Mariners-themed blue-green bat with the phrase "Trident's up!" written on it, while Raleigh paid tribute to the Seattle Sonics with his lumber.
Volpe is using a double bubble style bat with "Grip it & Rip it" written on the barrel pic.twitter.com/lYgXIdweuf
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 17, 2024
Volpe went with a Little League classic, a Double Bubble gum themed bat which says "Grip it & Rip it" on the barrel.
Avengers Assemble! 🇺🇸 #PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/31FNacZGvu
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) August 16, 2024
Texas Rangers' Josh Jung went with the superhero theme, matching his team's colorway with a Captain America bat and corresponding cleats.
Bryce Harper has Crayon bats for #PlayersWeekend and he let his kids color them 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/jbn2bMeAe9
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2024
Rather than the classic crayon bat, Harper took things a little further. The Philadelphia Phillies star brought two bats which were colored on by his young children.
As for Harper's teammate, Brandon Marsh, he wanted to be the focal point of his own bat, and did so in style.
Now *this* is a custom bat. Stay loose and sexy. pic.twitter.com/4osso8xNQ0
— John Foley (@2008Philz) August 15, 2024
Players did not hold back this year when bringing out the unique custom bat designs, and it was a real treat for MLB fans.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Stars Went All Out With Creative Bat Designs for Players' Weekend.
