With an infusion of creativity from the new official batmakers of MLB, bats are serving as a blank canvas for Players’ Weekend 2025.
Bat designs reached a new level in 2023 with Bryson Stott’s pencil bat, but that was just the beginning.
The 2025 iteration of Players’ Weekend will feature a few common themes showcasing player passions and inspirations on various gear. Here’s a preview of some of the best examples of each.
Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone won’t be playing this weekend, but he is receiving a bat painted to look like an old pack of baseball cards, highlighting his passion for collecting.
Caglianone’s baseball card bat. (Photo: Victus)
Caglianone’s teammate and Whataburger endorser Bobby Witt Jr. will step to the plate with a burger and fries bat.
Witt’s burger bat. (Photo: Victus)
Continuing the food theme, the New York Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez dedicated his bat to his love for avocados.
Martian x Avocado bat. (Photos: Marucci)
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, who is from Chicago, is going for some hometown flavor with a Chicago hot dog bat.
Chicago style hot dog bat. (Photo: Marucci)
A TikTok in the offseason showed Bryce Harper understanding his assignment as a Phillie by eating a homemade cheesesteak to celebrate the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, and now he’s swinging a cheesesteak during Players’ Weekend.
Cheez Whiz on one side, Italian roll on the other. (Photos: Victus)
The Padres’ Gavin Sheets and the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday are highlighting their love of golf on their bats.
Jackson Holliday’s golf bat. (Photo: Victus)
Decked in full camouflage courtesy of a collaboration with Real Tree Outdoors, Phillies catcher JT Realmuto will swing a camo Old Hickory and wear all Nike camo gear with a Pioneer belt behind the dish this weekend.
Realmuto will be hard to see this weekend. (Photo: Real Tree Outdoors)
Red Sox Jarren Duran and Marcelo Mayer will embrace their inner Disney kids with Stitch and Lightning McQueen bats. Meanwhile, Brandon Nimmo will appropriately swing a Finding Nemo bat.
A trio of Disney character bats. (Photos: Victus/Marucci)
Speaking of childhood favorites, Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris is getting nostalgic with two sliding mitts: Mario Kart and Scooby Doo. Royals infielder Maikel Garcia plans to have three DragonBallZ bats.
One of Garcia’s DragonBallZ bats. (Photo: Marucci)
The aura king, Pete Crow-Armstrong, stirs it up with a magnificent Bob Marley bat, plus one dedicated to Little Big League, the ’90s baseball move that starred his mom, Ashley Crow.
PCA’s Players’ Weekend lumber. (Photos: Victus)
One of the more sentimental approaches to the off-field theme is sporting kids’ artwork on the bat. Knox Bregman designing his dad Alex’s bat and Beckham and Tatum Turner did the art for their dad Trea’s bat. Turner is adding a Lego bat since his kids are fond of the plastic bricks. Freddie Freeman joins the prideful dads with his three RCKLESS Marucci bats with his kids’ names on the barrel.
Turner’s Lego bat. (Photos: Marucci)
Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott chose an interesting pair of characters to represent his kids, Braxtyn and Jaxson, with Elmo and Bender from Futurama.
Stott’s character bats. (Photos: Victus)
Home Run Derby winner Kyle Schwarber is repping his foundation Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes, with these decorated bats by Louisville Slugger.
Schwarber’s bats highlighting his charitable efforts. (Photo: Louisville Slugger)
The Blue Jays’ George Springer remembers where he comes from by paying respects to the defunct Hartford Whalers.
Springer repping Hartford. (Photo: Victus)
The Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez will hold a Road to the Show bat detailing all of his stops before arriving in Seattle.
Julio Rodriguez’s Road the the Show. (Photo: Victus)
Following an incident earlier this season where a Chicago White Sox fan heckled the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte by referencing his late mother, his bat features a photo of her with him in a heart, surrounded by purple flowers on the sweet spot.
Marte’s meaningful bat. (Photo: Victus)
Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader surprised the hitting gurus on Instagram when he warmed up with his Chug Jug water-filled bat recently. Victus saw the opportunity to make a version he can use in a game this weekend.
Bader’s Chug Jug bat. (Photo: Victus)
The Nationals’ CJ Abrams embraces his “Alien” nickname with a vibrant bat, while the Red Sox’ Roman Anthony goes all-in on his Roman Empire. Another favorite in the nickname category is the Royals’ Vinnie “Pasquatch” Pasquantino, which lends itself to a regal interpretation.
The nickname bats. (Photos: Victus, Louisville Slugger)
Phillies reliever Matt Strahm will wear a belt inspired by the 1997 film Con Air, given his resemblance to Nicolas Cage’s character.
The Little League Classic
The Mets’ Juan Soto brings his Soto Shuffle logo to life in one bat this weekend, with a Mr. Met bat head to swing for the Little League Classic.
Mr. Met meets the Soto Shuffle. (Photo: Victus)
Behind the dish for the Mariners will be Cal Raleigh wearing catcher’s gear that shows his appreciation for his friends and family who have been there from the start. His chest protector features baseball cards of his closest friends on the outside, and on the inside, two people: his girlfriend, Hannah Shimek, and his Rawlings rep, Steve Cohen, held up by a hand.
Cal Raleigh’s special catcher’s gear. (Photos: Rawlings)
Other notable bats to watch for in the Little League Classic include Dom Canzone’s Charizard, Mitch Garver’s “Garv Sauce” nickname in literal form.
Charizard and the Garv Sauce. (Photos: Victus)
(Top photo of Jarren Duran with his Wally bat: Victus)