Braves rookie Dansby Swanson already a high-profile ‘ambassador’

Braves rookie Dansby Swanson, pictured before his Aug. 17 major league debut, is already a high-profile New Era Cap “ambassador” after playing fewer than two months in the big leagues. (Curtis Compton /ccompton@ajc.com)

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Braves rookie Dansby Swanson, pictured before his Aug. 17 major league debut, is already a high-profile New Era Cap “ambassador” after playing fewer than two months in the big leagues. (Curtis Compton /ccompton@ajc.com)

Dansby Swanson became a Braves fan favorite in his first major league stint in 2016, and the rookie shortstop’s celebrity has already extended well beyond the South.

That was underscored again Tuesday with the announcement that Swanson is one of five new brand ambassadors for New Era Cap, which makes the caps worn by all major league teams.

Swanson, 22, is in some heady company: New Era’s other four new ambassadors are American League MVP runner-up Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, National League Rookie of the Year Corey Seager of the Dodgers, four-time Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve and Mets All-Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

They join previous New Era ambassadors Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Dellin Betances, Josh Donaldson and Kyle Schwarber. New Era will have an ad campaign starting in spring training that features all of its brand ambassadors.

Swanson is unique among the New Era ambassadors in that he’s played only 38 games in the majors. The former Marietta High School and Vanderbilt University standout will still be a rookie in 2017 after totaling 129 at-bats in 2016, one shy of the maximum for a player to retain rookie status.

In making the announcement, New Era official Tony DeSimone said, “Aside from being All-Stars on the field, the collective group of ambassadors each has their own unique sense of style off the diamond encompassing what New Era is all about. Kids look up to each of these players and want to emulate them by wearing the exact same caps and in the same manner that they wear on the field.”