Social Media Trends Connecting Fans and Players During Spring Training

With Spring Training games now underway, fans and players alike are gearing up for the start of the season. After being away from baseball for so long, fans are eager to get a glimpse at what their favorite players have been doing in the offseason and how they are preparing for the upcoming season. 

Often, athletes try to keep as much information about their private lives to themselves. Without social media, we wouldn’t know much about the day-to-day lives of players. Whether it’s silly fun facts, or life stories, TikTok and other social media platforms allow us to connect with our favorite players, and learn more about them. 

In the last few years, social teams for different MLB franchises have been upping their game. What better way to honor this than taking a look at some of the best trends MLB social media teams have been cooking up lately? 

Question of the Day: 

The most frequent social media trend in the baseball universe is the “question of the day.” As players are entering the complex for the day, social media coordinators will ask them a random question. While some can be as easy as “What is your favorite movie?”, others leave players pondering. 

The Kansas City Royals are just one team taking part in this trend in Spring Training. Their questions range from “Which teammate is the most photogenic?” to “What is the only mammal that lays an egg?”. The best part about these videos is getting to learn the personalities of each player, and figure out who might be the one making the most jokes in the clubhouse. The Los Angeles Dodgers also took part in this trend, asking the players who on the team they would not want as their emergency contact. 

Courtesy of Kansas City Royals (@kcroyals) on Instagram

Filming these videos in Spring Training also allows fans to get to know the players on a deeper level. While in-game interviews will only cover the baseball aspects of the players, these social media interviews give fans the chance to learn about the players personal lives, as well as their interests outside of the game. 

Cards for your Valentine:

With pitchers and catchers reporting in the beginning of February, teams take advantage of what they can do for Valentine’s Day. The New York Yankees posted a Valentine with their famous chicken bucket on it, while teams like the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox made fun puns using their players’ names. 

Courtesy of New York Mets (@mets) on Instagram

While most teams focused on making cards, the Baltimore Orioles social team decided to sit the players down and have them read pick-up lines to each other. While it’s a silly trend, it allows the fans to see the players' personalities shine through. The laughs in this video truly were contagious. 

Photo and Media Day:

One of the most entertaining trends takes place on media day. With players already in front of a camera for headshots, social media teams bring out their phones and record all of the action. 

The Yankees took part in this trend this season, making a new series called “Weav’s World” for fans to watch. When Luke Weaver became one of the most beloved Yankees last season, the team had to take advantage of this. The video followed Weaver throughout his day at the Yankees complex, and featured interviews with other players. 

Courtesy of New York Yankees on YouTube

The Chicago White Sox also took part in a fun media day trend, by giving the players the phone for a TikTok. The players in the video have a wide-eye filter on them, but they were not aware of this before they were handed the phone. While this is a super easy trend to do, it gives fans a different glimpse at players, and also allows them to get a good laugh. 

Edited by Giana Robertaccio