La Vida Baseball

2018 La Vida Awards: Who Won Players’ Weekend?

By Andy Martinez

MLB Uniforms are distinct: Yankee pinstripes, the Cardinals’ birds and the Dodgers’ Pantone 294 blue are some of the touches that come to mind. But by and large, the uniforms are rather plain and boring.

But for one weekend a year, the MLB season throws tradition to the curb and embraces some flash and sizzle for Players’ Weekend, when players take the field in bright and vibrant uniforms with nicknames on the back of their jerseys.

Latinos enjoyed that weekend to the max with some sick looks. Here are our top three:

Honorable mention:
Didi Gregorius: The Knight

Some nicknames have no good explanations. Others have no real reason. For the Yankee shortstop, who was born in the Netherlands but raised in Curaçao, there’s a specific reason why he’s known as “The Knight.” In 2011, Gregorius was a member of the Dutch team that won the 2011 Baseball World Cup, beating Cuba in the final. The Dutch team was awarded the Order of Orange-Nassau 5th class, thus making him a knight. He also uses the name Sir Didi Gregorius on Twitter.

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Honorable mention:
Kiké Hernández: Kiké

Sure, we all know Enrique Hernández as Kiké already, but seeing it on a jersey was pretty awesome. To top it all off, Kiké threw in some awesome kicks that had a superhero feel, some nice batting gloves and some flashy bats. (As an aside, the Puerto Rico flag on the sweet spot of the bat with the name Bruce Wayne on it would be the best bat out there.)

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Big S/O to all these companies for their awesome creativity!! Player’s Weekend is a very special weekend as is our one time that we’re able to show our personality with what we wear on the field!! For me it’s a pretty important weekend because it’s mainly for the kids, while we play a kids game! Thanks to @adidasbaseball for making me some cleats with my favorite superhero Batman (of course one of my dogs is named after him). Another pair for Deadpool, one of my favorite modern superhero movies. Also to @customcleats for converting my @damianlillard “Summer Camp” sneakers into cleats (cuz of course this is like a summer camp). Also to @sluggernation @rawlingssg and @warsticbaseball for their originality with the sticks!! @warsticbaseball went super original and personal with the bat box and the drawing! As you can all tell I’m really excited about all this! #PlayersWeekend

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Winner:
Javy Báez: El Mago

The Chicago Cubs shortstop went all out. El Mago on the jersey? Check. El Mago on the bat name? Check. Puerto Rican flag on the Nike swoosh? Check. Magician hat on the shoe? OK, you get the point. There might not be a Latino that exemplifies flair more than Báez. On Players’ Weekend he showed out.

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You Already Know #ElMago

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Featured Image: La Vida Baseball

2018 La Vida Awards