MLB Stars Christian Yelich and Dustin May Take Bold Steps to Attract New Baseball Fans

Major League Baseball's face-lift is starting to pay off—literally. Game times are down, stadium attendance is up for the first time in a decade, and even the old-school fans are running out of reasons to grumble (well, almost).

While everyone’s eyes are on the field, some of the league’s top players are stepping up to help baseball reach new fans off the field, too. Milwaukee Brewers slugger and 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich says it’s not just about scoring runs, but also growing the sport. "It’s important to attract as many new viewers as possible, obviously keep your existing audience and have it be a good product for everybody to consume. If you can have an impact as a player, you should do it."

Yelich and stars like Dodgers pitcher Dustin May and Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson recently teamed up with DirecTV for their "Nothing On Your Roof" campaign. The message? You don’t need a satellite dish to catch the ballgames anymore—just streaming and, apparently, a willingness to wear a bald cap on national TV.

For the commercial, all three players ditched their signature hairdos in favor of bald caps, which May admits was a wild change-up. "I like my hair, and I have a lot of it," May joked, adding he started growing it out back in high school. Thankfully for May, the bald look is just for laughs—his wife, for one, would not be on board with a real haircut.

Yelich called the campaign a "cool concept," and said he didn’t know what to expect when he saw himself bald, but thought it looked "so realistic" he almost didn’t recognize himself. The ad’s main point—baseball fans can now watch their favorite teams without clunky satellite hardware—definitely scores.

Ultimately, the players agree: their job isn’t just to hit home runs, but to make baseball fun and accessible for everyone. As May put it, "We're here to put out a good image. So people want to come back and want to watch." There’s nothing old-fashioned about that.