Los Angeles Dodgers Relief Pitcher Blake Treinen revealed that Major League Baseball contacted him last season after he displayed the name of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on his cap during a game.
The warning stemmed from a September 2025 game in which Treinen wrote Charlie Kirk’s name and two crosses on the side of his cap as a tribute following the conservative activist’s death. Speaking with the Los Angeles Times and later with The California Post, Treinen said league officials reached out to inform him that MLB rules prohibit players from adding personal messages or statements to their uniforms during games.
“I got chastised by the league when I put Charlie [Kirk]’s name on my hat last year, because a man was murdered in cold blood,” Treinen told Los Angeles Times.
According to Treinen, the conversation did not result in any formal punishment. However, he said MLB warned that future violations could lead to financial penalties.
The issue resurfaced after several San Francisco Giants pitchers were reportedly contacted by the league for writing Bible verses on their caps during the club’s Pride Night event.
“Now these gentlemen who are relievers in San Francisco are getting chastised by the league for putting a Bible verse on their hat. It’s crazy to me,” Treinen said.
MLB said the messages violated uniform regulations but emphasized that the players were not disciplined and that the warning was unrelated to the religious content of the inscriptions.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” the league said in a statement. MLB later clarified that the warning was routine and not tied to the specific content displayed by the players.
Treinen was in the spotlight during the Dodgers’ Pride Night earlier this month when he chose not to wear a Pride-themed cap while pitching against the Los Angeles Angels on June 5. Instead, he appeared in the standard team-issued uniform.
“My job is to abide by the rules,” Treinen told the Los Angeles Times. “Ultimately, the only rule we have is to wear our team-issued uniform. So that’s what I chose to do.”