TAMPA — Yankees and Mets players have produced their own Fashion Week. Turns out some of them are design stars, too.
CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran, among others, designed their own jersey, hat and T-shirt this past week through a program developed by the Major League Baseball Players’ Association called the Players Choice Signature Series.
It’s not going to be just Yankees and Mets team-wear on the shelves anymore. Come June, fans can buy gear developed by their favorite players. Eleven Yankees and Mets took part in the venture as they conceptualized ideas and worked with designers from Majestic and Banner ’47 to make it a reality.
“I had the New York skyline, the most beautiful skyline in America, man, and the Statue of Liberty,” said the always enthusiastic Nick Swisher. “It was cool, but it’s still a Yankee-themed shirt. I explained to the artist what I wanted and they drew it up. . . . I can’t even draw a stick figure. All three of mine, the hat, the jersey and the shirt, are interchangeable. You can wear them all together or individual. The jersey is sick.”
Sounds as if Swisher has a bit of fashion sense.
This is a way for the Players Association to get in on the burgeoning market for designer sports gear with a star twist. The Phillies and Twins also are taking part in the project. The players wanted to design items that embodied their baseball and personal story.
Sabathia is a devoted Oakland Raiders follower.
“I got the New York skyline in there and made sure it was Silver and Black, Raiders colors,” Sabathia said with a smile. After baseball ends, CC can be found at all Raiders home games, a tailgate maven. “It’s crazy, I’m there at 6 in the morning and then we tailgate after the game, too, because there’s so much traffic. It’s all day.”
Fans get to see their favorite players through the artwork. Jeff Francoeur went for a beach look, a bit of a surprise, considering his love of golf.
“I picked a Tiki bar with a beach, because that’s kind of what I love,” Francouer said. “I love the beach in the offseason.”
Of the Mets’ session, Nancy Willis, the MLBPA’s apparel director, said. “Carlos Beltran was quiet but focused on the task and was really taking it seriously. He has a great eye for fashion and I think it is going to show in his design. Jason Bay was pumped about Canada hockey and you could tell that Canadian pride was on his mind.”
Beltran is the best-dressed Met. He understands fashion trends.
“I did a hat with the Mets logo on the side,” he said. “I wasn’t very creative like Johan. He did a train, two trains, something crazy.
I wasn’t very creative.”
Beltran incorporated his Silver Slugger and Glove Glove award into the artwork.
“It was kind of like a reminder when I won the awards in the same year,” he said.
Teixeira would not reveal exactly what he designed but noted he combined old school with new school. That fits his personality. Everyone knows he was a Don Mattingly fan growing up, but his Yankees roots run deeper. Teixeira revered Mickey Mantle.
“When I was in Legion ball, we wore Yankee-style uniforms,” said the switch-hitting Teixeira, who emulated Mantle’s style. “We had the pinstripes, we had the gray road uniforms and I wore No. 7 for a couple of years. I tried to look like him.”
Said Willis of the Yankees’ session, “At one point, Andy [Pettitte] and Joba [Chamberlain] were working with the Majestic designers and CC was hanging out, looking over their shoulders at what they were designing and really not wanting to leave. Swisher came in with a firm idea about what he wanted to do and was quick to pick up a pencil to sketch it out for the designers.”
Curtis Granderson is a new Yankee, but incorporated an older NY logo on his jersey. On the back he outlined his number in baseball stitching. Being from Chicago, he utilized both the skyline of the Second City and New York.
The center fielder loves music and put headphones on his T-shirt. On the back he’s DJ-ing with two LPs, one from Chicago and one from New York.
“I’m mixing it,” Granderson said. “It was a really good time.”
And just maybe, there’s a budding Calvin Klein in this lineup.
Additional reporting by Mike Puma
kevin.kernan@nypost.com
Drawing board
A glimpse at the themes some Yankees and Mets players used when designing team gear for the Players Choice Signature Series:
YANKEES
Joba Chamberlain: Family heritage and New York
Curtis Granderson: Music with a throwback feel
CC Sabathia: New York championship with a fashion eye
Nick Swisher: Love of NYC and Yankee tradition
Andy Pettitte: Hunting and his personal history with Yankees
Mark Teixeira: Yankee heritage and fashion
METS
Jason Bay: Inspired by Canada and hockey
Carlos Beltran: Baseball fundamentals and fashion
Jeff Francouer: A beach scene
Jose Reyes: Love of music and tattoos
Johan Santana: Heavy NYC theme