Major League Baseball today announced details for Memorial Day, which will be commemorated nationwide on May 28, 2018 to honor and remember those who lost their lives during their military service to the United States. During all games taking place over Memorial Day weekend, all players will wear commemorative apparel (caps, uniforms and socks). MLB will donate 100% of its royalties from the sales of Memorial Day weekend apparel to charities supporting children and families grieving the loss of a military loved one. The organizations - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and Folds of Honor Foundation - will receive a minimum $500,000 collective donation. 

On Memorial Day, all Major League ballparks on Memorial Day will pause at approximately 3:00 p.m. Local Time as MLB and all Clubs will once again participate in the National Moment of Remembrance. In-game action and pregame activities will pause to observe an extended moment of silence at this time. Clubs not in action at 3:00 p.m. Local Time will observe a brief moment of silence prior to the National Anthem before their respective games. Major League Baseball has supported this effort since 1997.

In addition to the Memorial Day charity donations, MLB established the Club Military Community Grants program, which allocated funds for all MLB clubs to provide localized support of the military community. Funds may be used for charitable grants, events or programs that benefit service men and women, veterans and military families in the areas of transition services, mental health, and quality of life programming. Many Clubs will host Memorial Day weekend ceremonies to distribute charitable grants as part of this program to nonprofit partners focused on supporting families of fallen service members. 

Commemorative apparel worn during Memorial Day weekend games will include caps, uniforms and socks. New Era's camouflage-designed cap will include a commemorative side patch featuring five stars to represent the five branches of the U.S armed forces for all U.S. based Clubs. The Toronto Blue Jays will adorn four maple leafs on the right side of their caps to demonstrate respect for the Canadian Armed Forces. All Majestic jerseys will include matching commemorative sleeve patches and green twill to replace the normal team color fonts on the front and back of the uniforms. Stance socks will include camouflage designs with matching commemorative patches sewn across the apparel. MLB players will also don a lightweight hooded fleece with green twill to replace the normal team color fonts (available for BP and on bench during the game). Commemorative base jewels also will be used in all games.

Previously, Memorial Day royalties funded the Welcome Back Veterans (WBV) initiative, which began as a means of support for nonprofits targeting veterans' greatest needs, including mental health as well as job training & placement. Close to $30 million in grants has been made through the Welcome Back Veterans initiative. Starting in 2010, WBV funds began supporting a national network of Centers of Excellence to provide the best care to veterans while also funding groundbreaking research for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Centers of Excellence are located at internationally recognized, university-based medical centers across the country, including treatment centers where evidence-based therapies are being delivered directly to veterans and their families, family and peer-to-peer-based programs connect those in need to resources, and training initiatives focus on enhancing community-based capacity to serve the population. Funded sites include: University of Michigan Depression Center, Mass General Hospital (Boston), Emory (Atlanta), UCLA, Duke University, Rush University Medical Center (Chicago) and New York University Langone Medical Center. More than 10,000 individuals have been served since the support from WBV has been established at these facilities. These grantees also provide training to close to 30,000 individuals to help prepare additional organizations to better serve military members and their families. Additional funding through WBV has supported active duty servicemen/women, veterans and military families programming around mental health, education and employment (e.g., Project Return to Work, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, National Veterans Business Development Corporation) and evaluation of programming. More information about the impact of Welcome Back Veterans can be found at WelcomeBackVeterans.org.