This Yankee Is Swinging A Bat Unlike Any You've Ever Seen Before

I'm almost surprised this hasn't become a thing.

In the age of play empowerment and self-expression, coupled with a capitalistic attitude that everything is for-sale, New York Yankee Clint Frazier may spark a trend that one day is common in Major League Baseball: Uniquely designed baseball bats. Or, maybe ones that are sponsored and branded with a company logo, opening a up a new revenue stream for players and the league.

Custom weight and length for individual players is one thing - they all have their own preference. But a custom design? That's different.

Now, the bat Frazier showed off recently for some Spring Training action doesn't have a sponsor attached to it - at least not that I could notice. Instead, it is modeled to look like him. The design is complete with uniform, a COVID-19 facemask with his number 77 on it, his jewelry, and his wild red hair.

Via the New York Yankees on twitter:

It made we wonder...how has this not been debuted yet in regular season games? A player bat serving as a canvass for self-expression. Or, a sponsor - other than the bat-maker.

I know, purists are punching holes in their computer screens as they read this.

I'm not necessarily advocating for it, I'm just kinda surprised we haven't seen more of it on a pro-level. For many years, MLB has had the entire league swing pink painted bats on Mothers Day, and a baby blue colored club for Father's Day. I have seen themed or decorated metal bats for youth-levels and even beer-league softball, but across MLB you'll find almost all are some shade of light or dark brown and the rest are black.

That's about it. Bats are pretty standard looking pieces of equipment across the league and most look virtually identical.

But, maybe that's changing.

We've seen this across many pro-sports:

NASCAR drivers operate some heavily sponsored-tagged vehicles:

Getty Images

In the NBA, legendary teams with historic jersey's now carry a sponsor logo on them:

Getty Images

And, soccer uniforms seem to have color-schemes that match a corporate sponsor.

Getty Images

It'll be interesting to see if the league or its players try to run (rather hit!) with the idea. I'm sure it would open a huge can of revenue that players and owners will be eager to dip their hands in.

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