Oakland A’s 2017 rookie dress-up day photos

Rookie dress-up day is an annual September tradition in baseball, with the young players donning silly garb for the amusement of the veterans. The league stepped in with some new rules this year to ensure the hazing event stays on the fun side rather than the realm bullying and excessive offense, and the Oakland A’s answered the call with a superb round of costumes.

With such a fresh new roster by the end of 2017, this class brought not only quality but also quantity. First up, the group photo.

That’s a lot of rookies! But actually, the spirit seems to have been expanded to young players in general, as several of these guys debuted in 2016 — including Sean Manaea as early as April. Many among them also dressed up last year, so, maybe this new group is just extra fun?

Let’s have a quick look through some highlights. My very favorite is at the end.

Joey Wendle, Sean Manaea, and Daniel Gossett (I think?), followed by Bruce Maxwell.

Your daily dose of coincidence: Daniel Mengden was acquired in a trade along with another prospect, catcher Jacob Nottingham. We were all ready to call him The Sheriff as a Robin Hood reference. But Nottingham was later traded for Khrush (no complaints), and so that never came to be. On this day, Mengden picked up the mantle, and brought his fightin’ stache.

Ryon Healy and Chad Pinder as the figure-skating main characters from the film Blades Of Glory. Size-wise they should really be reversed (actors were Jon Heder and Will Ferrell), but that only adds an extra layer for those familiar with the characters.

Michael Brady is 30 years old, drafted back in 2009, and he finally gets to be a part of rookie hazing in the Show. That’s gotta be some feeling.

Finally, we have a special conclusion. Folks, the internet has been around in the form we know for a couple decades now, and I submit that all of it, every byte of data that has flown through its tubes, has been but a buildup leading us to this final picture.

Prepare yourselves.

Matt Chappmendale, and Babe Olson. I’m not sure which I love more — the expression on Chapman’s face, or Olson’s cigar and old-timey hat. These are hands-down the two breakout stars of this young group so far, and they did not disappoint off the field either.

Well done A’s, and thanks for sharing some pics! Also, I feel compelled to note that even with the new set of rules there are still nearly 20 players in that group photo and they all have entertaining get-ups. I don’t think the effort to be more socially conscious robbed even one iota of fun from this tradition.