Major League Baseball is adding a new piece to its off-season show-and-tell. According to the league’s official press release, more than 70 current and former MLB players–plus stars from the Athletes Unlimited Softball League–were set to participate in the 2025 MLB Awards and a brand-new golf tournament, the inaugural Capital One MLB Open, hosted at the exclusive Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.
The MLB Awards took place on Thursday, November 13 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and aired live on MLB Network from 9-11 p.m. ET. The golf tournament was scheduled as part of “Awards Week,” running November 12-14, with players representing all 30 clubs in the field.
Why This Matters for Baseball and Beyond
This move by MLB signals a broader ambition beyond just playing nine-inning games. By launching a golf tournament tied to the awards show, the league is tapping into lifestyle, entertainment and cross-sport appeal–an approach we’ve seen in other sports and now being adopted by baseball.
Names such as Tarik Skubal, Ronald Acuña Jr., Cal Raleigh, CC Sabathia, Gary Sheffield, Juan Soto and others were listed as attendees or participants in the mix.
For fans of both golf and baseball, it presents a unique hybrid: star athletes you know from the diamond swapping spikes for golf shoes, across one weekend of glitz, performance and off-beat competition.
The Capital-One MLB Open: Format, Venue and Participants
The golf event was held at Shadow Creek, which is an elite, invite-only course owned by MGM Resorts International. The format of the event is not a standard PGA Tour stroke-play event; rather, it was a special off-season tournament geared toward entertainment, competition and crossover appeal.
Coverage for the event will air Tuesday night, November 18 on TNT, with a behind-the-scenes show on MLB Network airing Thursday, November 20 at 9 p.m. ET, and additional coverage Saturday, November 22 at 1 p.m. ET.
This scheduling suggests MLB expects the golf event to reach not just baseball fans, but broader sports-media audiences. It also positions the event as more than a novelty; MLB clearly intends for it to have staying power if successful.
Skubal’s Joggers Steal Headlines
The weekend wasn’t just about birdies and drives, though. Fashion also made an unexpected cameo. Detroit’s ace Skubal, fresh off back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards, turned heads at the Capital One MLB Open when he showed up on-course in what Golf Digest described as a “pair of OBSCENE joggers.”
The outfit lit up social media, with fans playfully roasting the pants while also appreciating his laid-back take on tournament week. One comment read:
“Someone get bro proper pants.”
Another saying:
“In the wife’s pants is epic tho. Damn.”
However, the pants should be less of a concern to viewers. The focus really belonged on the exciting putt he buried, a smooth, pressure-ready stroke.
Skubal’s presence highlights the tone of the new event: less traditional golf tension, more personality, crossover star power, and a chance for athletes to show a different side of themselves beyond their primary sport.
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