Avoiding the blank avatar: MLB players spice up new Twitter look

Sure, many Major League Baseball players are switching their social media avatars to blank faces in response to MLB purging their images from its own website after a work stoppage officially began in the wee hours of Thursday morning. But some are also creating their own works of personalized art with those blank avatars on Twitter.

Check out any of the team pages affiliated with MLB and you’ll see the 40-man roster (like this one, as an example, from the Colorado Rockies site) has blank avatars for each of the player’s pictures. The move to go with blank avatars was one of several made by MLB to clear the slate of the players in response to the current lockout, including taking down all stories on MLB sites about current players. As MLB writes here, “Until a new agreement is reached, there will be limitations on the type of content we display. As a result, you will see a lot more content that focuses on the game’s rich history.”

Many MLB players have used the “blank avatar strategy” to their own advantage, however, copying the blank avatar look and trolling MLB by using them on their own Twitter pages, such as this one from San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove.

Some MLB players, however, are using the blank avatar on their social media pages … with a twist

But why stop at a blank avatar if you can get your point across and still show your own personality and flair for the game, or maybe even some physical features that already distinguish you from the crowd?

Such was the case with Minnesota Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak, who has a mustache and glasses that gives him his own look on the mound. The right-hander figured out a way to bring that look over to social media with his new avatar as well.

Current free agent pitcher Johnny Cueto commented on Dobnak’s new profile picture, saying he needed one that showed off his flowing locks of hair. Soon enough, Cueto had a new Twitter profile picture as well.

Cleveland Guardians slugger Jose Ramirez also got into the tweaked avatar act, and even included some personal branding in his new look.

With this being the first work stoppage since social media became such a big part of all of our lives, it’s interesting to see how MLB players are not only trolling MLB by using those blank avatars, but also having a little fun with making them their own as well.