Major League Baseball needs to impose some serious quality control on the uniform front, because it looks like some second-rate gear is ending up on the field. First, as we discussed here yesterday, it was Esteban German diving for a ball and ending up with a broken belt. Something very similar happened yesterday in Detroit, where Kenny Rogers dove for a ball in the 5th inning and one of the buttons on his jersey popped off. He spent the rest of the inning with an embarrassing case of jersey gap, as you can see to varying degrees here, here, and here. (Unfortunately, the MLB.TV video is from the White Sox broadcast of the game, which didn’t have many front-view shots of Rogers; reader David Chisolm, who was presumably watching the Tigers broadcast, assures me that Rogers’s jersey was “flying open whenever he threw a pitch.”)
A broken belt on Wednesday, a broken button on Thursday, and I’ve been spotting a high-than-average number of torn pant legs, too. Who’s making this crap, Old Navy? I don’t wanna sound like Grumpy Old Curmudgeons R Us, but you know damn well this kind of thing never happened in the days of wool flannel unis. Memo to Majestic: Bring the unis back up to spec, pronto, before someone bends down for a grounder and ends up breaking his zipper fly.
Underbrim Update: In what’s shaping up as a disturbing trend, Marcus Thames has become the latest player to decline to provide Uni Watch with an explanation for his cap annotations. “Marcus would prefer to keep that personal,” said a Tigers spokesman after checking with Thames, who now joins Ted Lilly and Ambiorix Burgos on the speak-no-evil roster.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Georgia Tech will wear throwbacks against Virginia on September 21st. … Jonathan Carone notes that the Duluth Huskies, who play in the college-level Northwoods League, are sporting some excellent sock stripeage. … The Padres and Astros will be playing in 1976 throwback unis on August 3rd, which should be good news for whoever’s selling sunglasses at the stadium. … Soccer note from Robin Fishbein: “On August 16th Italy will play its first soccer match since winning the World Cup — a friendly against Croatia. National teams traditionally add one star above their national federation crest for each World Cup , so the August 16th game will be the first one in which Italy will wear a jersey with four stars.” … Genius logo creep catch by Chris Velardi — look here. … Fantastic note from Matthew Spencer, who writes: “I was eating at a local Italian restaurant tonight when I went to use the bathroom. I’m washing my hands and notice the picture hanging to my left doesn’t match the pictures of Italy that are all over the bathroom, and I realize it’s a picture of the ’57 Jayhawk basketball team, complete with Wilt in the middle. What then caught my attention was the their uniforms, specifically their belts. I apologize in advance for the less-than-fantastic picture quality — I was using my camera phone.” … The Cleveland Browns’ long-rumored uni changes are now official.
I don’t recommend others trying to take photos in the men’s room . . . good catch though.
On the MLB.com homepage right now, there is a picture of Bob Wickman. There appears to be something written on the underside of his cap as well.
How bad does number 36 look in that Deluth Huskies pic? You’d think somebody on the team could talk him into losing the pajama look.
Here’s where I think Uni Watch is making a difference; in the past, do you think a team like the Browns would have announced such subtle uniform changes, or just started doing it without fanfare and just see if anyone noticed?
Not uni related, but still interesting… The button pictured at the top of the column is on Penn’s campus. It is rumored that if you step on the compass that is inlaid on Locust Walk (a street on campus that is closed to cars) you will fail midterms/finals. In order to reverse your fortunes you must have sex under the button. GO QUAKERS!
As much as I love uniform changes, I could care less about the Browns and their futile attempts to retain their glory days. I agree that they should have let the team name die in Baltimore but even that wouldn’t have made them any more appealing in Western PA.
Cleveland sucks!
Those gray facemasks on the Browns helmets just look awful. Why glorify the technological limitations of an era? Why not just give everyone the Joe Theismann single-bar mask as well?
It’s one thing for the Giants to go to the gray mask…it looks awesome with the gray pants. It’s a very unified look. And the Cards…well, they’re the Cards. At least the mask has been consistent throughout the facemask era for them. It’s not like they went red or black and then back to the gray.
But for the Browns to go back to the gray masks just looks bad. There’s no gray anywhere. Nor should there be. Orange, brown, white. Period.
The black shoes are a nice touch…black shoes always look good.
In reference to Italy’s fourth star, while most teams put the stars above the crest, as Germany does in the picture you showed, Italy actually has integrated the stars into their crest.
link
Thus, the fourth star will more than likely be added into the crest.
Notice the hats on the Duluth team. They are pinstriped, they look pretty cool paired with those socks.
This weeks Sports Illustrated has a small piece on how some player got there uniform numbers.
link
Hate to have to mention SI again but in the same issue as the uniform numbers piece (July 24, 2006 w/ Reggie Bush on the cover) there is a small article on NFL players fiming a commercial, somebody posted a picture of Chad Johnson from it yesterday, Willis McGahee is in on of the picture sporting a old Bills uniform along with the white helmut, are the Bill changing there uniform this year? Nobody else appears to be in throwback in the pictures.
Sorry I couldn’t find the picture of this online.
[quote comment=”3098″]Those gray facemasks on the Browns helmets just look awful. Why glorify the technological limitations of an era? Why not just give everyone the Joe Theismann single-bar mask as well?
It’s one thing for the Giants to go to the gray mask…it looks awesome with the gray pants. It’s a very unified look. And the Cards…well, they’re the Cards. At least the mask has been consistent throughout the facemask era for them. It’s not like they went red or black and then back to the gray.
But for the Browns to go back to the gray masks just looks bad. There’s no gray anywhere. Nor should there be. Orange, brown, white. Period.
The black shoes are a nice touch…black shoes always look good.[/quote]
And how awful do Indy’s gray face masks look? Please go back to blue! There’s no gray anywhere in your uniform. And why do they have a double stripe on the jerseys, pants, and socks but only a single strip on the helmet?
[quote comment=”3098″]Those gray facemasks on the Browns helmets just look awful. Why glorify the technological limitations of an era? Why not just give everyone the Joe Theismann single-bar mask as well?
It’s one thing for the Giants to go to the gray mask…it looks awesome with the gray pants. It’s a very unified look. And the Cards…well, they’re the Cards. At least the mask has been consistent throughout the facemask era for them. It’s not like they went red or black and then back to the gray.
But for the Browns to go back to the gray masks just looks bad. There’s no gray anywhere. Nor should there be. Orange, brown, white. Period.
The black shoes are a nice touch…black shoes always look good.[/quote]
I will have to respectfully disagree with your opinion on the grey facemasks. I think it will be an outstanding look for the Browns. I think it will look even better with a dark tinted visor.
Side note: However in just checking the Browns roster, not a single player is pictured wearing a dark visor, only Lee Suggs and Leon Williams wear visors and they are both clear. This may be an interesting topic in the future, are there entire teams that go visor less, and are there teams or coaches that restrict their players from wearing visors? I know it happens in college, my younger brothers coach for one, but could it happen in the NFL?
For anyone that watched the Browns movie on that page, it mentioned that Charlie Frye will get to wear “the same facemask as Bernie Kosar, Brian Sipe and even Otto Graham.” Kosar never wore the gray faskmask…
Count me as one Browns fan who will enjoy the change, I really don’t care what other teams/fans think. I just hope the socks are more regulated so they are striped every single time.
Possible versions of the new Azzurri/FIGC crest:
link
link
I vote for for the first one, however, if the FIGC symbol was in the middle of the white (vertically), the four stars could placed in a cross, which would be impressive.
Here’s McGahee in the new Bills uniform.
Sorry, link.
The Detroit News got Marcus to say what’s under his brim: “Under my ball cap,” said Thames, “I’ve written, ‘Do something every day to help the club win.'”
regarding the bills… I have not heard a thing about them going to the early 70’s (phenomenal) uniforms since last season…
after wearing them for the first couple games, they petitioned the NFL to keep wearing them, but the league nixed it, sticking to its “2-game throwback limit” decree..
articles/scuttlebut at the time was that the bills were notifying the league that they wanted to change for good this season (players and fans loved them)… but, that was months ago and I hadn’t heard anything since…
was that posted photo of mcgahee from last year??? damn, I’d love to see that switch permanent…
[quote comment=”3097″]As much as I love uniform changes, I could care less about the Browns and their futile attempts to retain their glory days. I agree that they should have let the team name die in Baltimore but even that wouldn’t have made them any more appealing in Western PA.
Cleveland sucks![/quote]
I got news for you “Pittsburgh” nobody cares about making the Browns more appealing in Western PA. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that is a target market for the Browns.
So gray facemasks, black shoes, and the removal of a stripe on the brown jerseys (which they almost never wear) is going to recapture the glory days?
Here is a uni topic…teams that try to recapture feelings by dressing similar to the way they did during a more “lovable” period. The Phillies have done it with the Whiz Kids knock-off. The Indians did it with the script that knocks off their 1940-1950s unis. The NY football Giants went retro. The Braves did it with the tomahawk. The Cavaliers went back to wine and gold. And I am sure I missed more than a few.
How about building a good team instead and all these little ploys aren’t needed.
I forgot the Jets went retro as well.
Who cares what Pittsburghers think? Especially about the Browns..no? As a Football Giants fan, I applaud the upcoming Brownie changes & the cool website w/ the detailed explanation for the changes. Bravo! Keep talking crap, P-burg. You’ll soon be on a weekly crow diet this fall, hope you enjoyed the 4 months of smugness & arrogance.
Hey Lars,
It’s not only the bad teams that are wearing throwbacks…
I think it’s good marketing, plus the young fans get to see what we had to put up with.
Possible versions of the new Azzurri/FIGC crest:
link
link
I vote for for the first one, however, if the FIGC symbol was in the middle of the white (vertically), the four stars could placed in a cross, which would be impressive.[/quote]
Thanks DJL..
Regarding the tinted visors in the NFL. I believe the NFL has followed along with the NCAA by banning tinted visors without a specific medical need. High school rules ban them entirely because trainers need to be able to see a player’s eyes to evaluate concussions.
Paul, you gotta go have a talk withlink:
“I don’t care if players still honor the late-1800s tradition of wearing two pair of socks — colored stirrups over white sanitaries — on 100-degree days.”
For those that need a background on stars and soccer crests, visit link . Not only is it good background, but it’s also a comprehensive list of all teams (international and professional) that employ stars into their logos.
Note that it states the US Women’s team wears two stars on their sleeve to represernt their two WC wins. However, why does the link for all US Soccer teams have three stars (really two small and one big)?
[quote comment=”3119″]Hey Lars,
It’s not only the bad teams that are wearing throwbacks…
I think it’s good marketing, plus the young fans get to see what we had to put up with.[/quote]
It’s not all bad teams that do this. The last comment was directed more towards the Browns.
The Indians and Braves enjoyed much sucess after the switch and Philly even got to a World Series. My comment is more for the teams who have nothing for the fans to look forward to (Jets, Browns) so they implore them to look back to when the team actually meant something.
Ive never been a fan of the brown and orange combo so i guess im kinda biased when i say that these new changes are nothing spectacular, and i dont see why it has been so publicized for months now. Im guessing there probably done with their orange alternate jersey…
[quote comment=”3126″]For those that need a background on stars and soccer crests, visit link . Not only is it good background, but it’s also a comprehensive list of all teams (international and professional) that employ stars into their logos.
Note that it states the US Women’s team wears two stars on their sleeve to represernt their two WC wins. However, why does the link for all US Soccer teams have three stars (really two small and one big)?[/quote]
the USA has stars on its crest because it has stars in the flag. they represent nothing, as far as i know.
Love the old style grey face masks (see USC in college) but I have one question….WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE STRIPPED SOCKS?? Now every team is going with the half and the Browns are no exeption…they used to wear the stripped socks identical to the sleeve stripes but then during the second part of the season, they went with the horrid half brown, half white socks. Like the Colts going back and wearing stripped socks every game, will the Browns do the same to keep the uniform nice? I’ve also wondered about the Ravens and their straying away from their socks…Any comments or facts about why teams go away with the stripped sock look? I love the striped sock (like in Kansas City), makes the uniform look SOOOOOOOO much better, and the black shoes are a nice touch. As a diehard uni and Browns guy, I love this new look!!!
The move to retro styles can be called an attempt to bring back past glories, but, in many cases, let’s be honest, it’s a chance to sell more merch. Heck, I don’t think that teams whose heyday incorporated some heinous jerseys will jump back to those if they know they won’t sell…
I’ve always said that the Browns need to relate to “the old Browns” to get some fan base/tradition back. This is a good way.
Lars,
Now for other crap hole teams, I get what you’re saying.
[quote comment=”3110″]regarding the bills… I have not heard a thing about them going to the early 70’s (phenomenal) uniforms since last season…
after wearing them for the first couple games, they petitioned the NFL to keep wearing them, but the league nixed it, sticking to its “2-game throwback limit” decree..
articles/scuttlebut at the time was that the bills were notifying the league that they wanted to change for good this season (players and fans loved them)… but, that was months ago and I hadn’t heard anything since…
was that posted photo of mcgahee from last year??? damn, I’d love to see that switch permanent…[/quote]
The photo of McGahee is recent, the article mentions that the ads were filmed in June
[quote comment=”3129″]the USA has stars on its crest because it has stars in the flag. they represent nothing, as far as i know.[/quote]
But why, oh, why are the stars on a red field and why are the stripes blue? That crest looks like it was based on the link.
WHY?
Anyone notice the ball boy at the Blue Jays game who made the diving catch of that foul ball that has been shown about 100 times on ESPN was wearing old-fashioned stirrups ala Juan Pierre?
[quote comment=”3131″]The move to retro styles can be called an attempt to bring back past glories, but, in many cases, let’s be honest, it’s a chance to sell more merch.[/quote]
In 1990, when the White Sox unveiled uniforms that were reminiscent of what they wore from the late 40s through the mid 70s to replace these, the league asked (ordered?) the team to wear them for the final week of the season instead of waiting until 1991 in an effort to drive up merchandise sales.
However, the biggest reason for mining the past to draw inspiration is that they happened to be damn fine looking uniforms and that’s why they’re still wearing them.
Did anyone actually read the clevelandbrowns.com link? I don’t think the word ‘why’ means what they think it means…
Lifelong Browns fan here. As long as I can remember I have loved our football team and had equal amount of disdain at the same time for our uniforms. The whole “we don’t need logos on our helmets, it makes us unique” shtick is long past old. You know what else makes us unique? We’ve never been to a bloody super bowl. I’d imagine few Clevelanders would claim that as a point of pride. Actually I say redesign the things altogether.
[quote comment=”3138″]
In 1990, when the White Sox unveiled uniforms that were reminiscent of what they wore from the late 40s through the mid 70s to replace these…[/quote]
Oops. I forgot the URL. That should have been
…to replace link…
When did orange and brown become a logo? Okay Cleveland, it might have been quaint to not have a logo when Paul Brown was running the show but not anymore.
Create a logo already and let’s sell some real merchandise…
And yes Paul I am still calling out to the UniWatch Nation…
The UniWatch bandanna article?
link…
and this:
link…
and this:
link…
I am appealing to the Power of the UniWatch Nation?
What gives?
Hip hop meets Sock hop…
T
[quote comment=”3140″]Lifelong Browns fan here. As long as I can remember I have loved our football team and had equal amount of disdain at the same time for our uniforms. The whole “we don’t need logos on our helmets, it makes us unique” shtick is long past old. You know what else makes us unique? We’ve never been to a bloody super bowl. I’d imagine few Clevelanders would claim that as a point of pride. Actually I say redesign the things altogether.[/quote]
I have been a Clevelander for all of my 31 years and still don’t buy this whole “no logo makes us unique” gag. Penn State can get away with it, but a pro team can’t.
If you want to talk tradition, I have seen multiple pictures of the mighty Jim Brown wearing a Browns helmet with a uni number on it. Why not go back to that? Why not use the Brownie logo that was used way back when until Art Model decided he didn’t like it? Do something. these aren’t the old Browns. There is no tradition to this team that was created in 1999. Its time to form a new identity and stop reaching for the past.
hey chris.. thanks for the bills uni follow-up… well, if the shot was from last month… maybe there’s a chance???
I posted something on a bills fan forum.. haven’t heard anything back… naturally the website offers no clue at this time… with camp opening soon, I suppose we’ll all find out…
Paul, in yesterdays ESPN.com column you mentioned the old Vancouver Canuck’s jerseys radical V striping. You stated the popular belief that it stood for Vancouver, which would be logical, but it actually stood for Victory to inspire the team to win, the idea didn’t pan out as they went below .500 in every season with those jerseys.
[quote comment=”3145″]Paul, in yesterdays ESPN.com column you mentioned the old Vancouver Canuck’s jerseys radical V striping. You stated the popular belief that it stood for Vancouver, which would be logical, but it actually stood for Victory to inspire the team to win, the idea didn’t pan out as they went below .500 in every season with those jerseys.[/quote]
The Canucks lost to the Islanders in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. They broke .500 at least one year.
FYI Tsuyoshi Shinjo Update: At the Japanese League All-Star Game, Shinjo was wearing a belt with a scrolling LED display thanking the fans. Picture can be seen here… link
click on the pic for a better look.
[quote comment=”3148″]FYI Tsuyoshi Shinjo Update: At the Japanese League All-Star Game, Shinjo was wearing a belt with a scrolling LED display thanking the fans. Picture can be seen here… link
click on the pic for a better look.[/quote]
not only that, but it looks like he’s wearing a button-up shirt, 3 very thin sweatbands on each arm, made out of the same fabric as the shirt, and a bracelet. he’s gone crazy
The article also made Shinjo look like a bit of a boor — the LED message is in English and says ‘Never mind whatever I do! Fan is treasure!’ but the Japanese journalist translates the first part as something closer to ‘It’s my life, so leave me alone!’ and uses much ruder language than English ‘never mind’.
It’s too bad because Shinjo genuinely loves his fans and has really contributed to the Ham Fighters being accepted and popular up in their new home in Sapporo.
[quote comment=”3143″][quote comment=”3140″]Lifelong Browns fan here. As long as I can remember I have loved our football team and had equal amount of disdain at the same time for our uniforms. The whole “we don’t need logos on our helmets, it makes us unique” shtick is long past old. You know what else makes us unique? We’ve never been to a bloody super bowl. I’d imagine few Clevelanders would claim that as a point of pride. Actually I say redesign the things altogether.[/quote]
I have been a Clevelander for all of my 31 years and still don’t buy this whole “no logo makes us unique” gag. Penn State can get away with it, but a pro team can’t.
If you want to talk tradition, I have seen multiple pictures of the mighty Jim Brown wearing a Browns helmet with a uni number on it. Why not go back to that? Why not use the Brownie logo that was used way back when until Art Model decided he didn’t like it? Do something. these aren’t the old Browns. There is no tradition to this team that was created in 1999. Its time to form a new identity and stop reaching for the past.[/quote]
The Browns are the Browns and you would be the only fan that would be in favor of the change. The orange pants might be a good look in my opinion but you can’t change the uniform. We are not the Bengals, we are not the Cardinals. You don’t see the Bears or the Packers radically changing their unis? And have you seen the “new” changes around the league? I don’t think you want to be a part of that crap. The numbers on the helmet might work, but you gotta leave it plain, it’s the freaking Browns. Bring back the stripped socks!
[quote comment=”3097″]As much as I love uniform changes, I could care less about the Browns and their futile attempts to retain their glory days. I agree that they should have let the team name die in Baltimore but even that wouldn’t have made them any more appealing in Western PA.
Cleveland sucks![/quote]
Thank you, Pittsburgh, for showing everyone the level of class with which you conduct yourself. You guys are really something else.
By the way, I doubt the Cleveland Browns target demographic lives in Western PA.
As for the uniform changes, I’m indifferent. The uniforms have always been blah, but I think that’s what I like about them. I think I’d die if they put that stupid Dawg logo on the helmet or something. ICH.
[quote comment=”3126″]For those that need a background on stars and soccer crests, visit link . Not only is it good background, but it’s also a comprehensive list of all teams (international and professional) that employ stars into their logos.
Note that it states the US Women’s team wears two stars on their sleeve to represernt their two WC wins. However, why does the link for all US Soccer teams have three stars (really two small and one big)?[/quote]
The three stars represent the men’s national team, the women’s national team, and the various youth teams. A star in the shield is simply part of the shield and is not uncommon (especially among Afrcan teams), a star above the shield is indicative of a WC win and is actually regulated by FIFA (link). The US shield was designed by Nike marketing goons in ’96 and is largely unliked by US soccer fans.
()
on the mlb auctions website, they’re selling one of david wright’s ST hats, complete with inscription: link
Once again, I’m posting a comment that’s not really uni-related, but noteworthy nonetheless.
There is a Lotrimin (sp?) athlete’s foot cream commercial showing a man wearing dress pants. He pulls up one of the pant legs to reveal a sock with a stirrup pattern, complete with stripes (the colors match the Redskins’). They may be real stirrups, but even if they’re not, that is one finely dressed business man, with an unfortunate foot problem.
[quote comment=”3147″][quote comment=”3145″]Paul, in yesterdays ESPN.com column you mentioned the old Vancouver Canuck’s jerseys radical V striping. You stated the popular belief that it stood for Vancouver, which would be logical, but it actually stood for Victory to inspire the team to win, the idea didn’t pan out as they went below .500 in every season with those jerseys.[/quote]
The Canucks lost to the Islanders in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. They broke .500 at least one year.[/quote]
They got into the playoffs with a sub .500 record ala a NFC West team.
Should we be concerned about a possible ESPN office brawl regarding this article “link. He manages to offend stirrups and uniformed managers in the same paragraph.
[quote comment=”3178″]Should we be concerned about a possible ESPN office brawl regarding this article “link. He manages to offend stirrups and uniformed managers in the same paragraph.[/quote]
May I point out that Buck Showalter is wearing stirrups in the photo about halfway down the Bayless article.
Bayless should really be more careful about the pictures he includes in his article if he is going to offend stirrups.
The Cheifs and Royals have had the same uniforms and logos for almost forever. And there some of the best looking uniforms. Other teams just shouldn’t change logos or anything.
Go Chiefs!!!!
Chiefs have inconsistencies all over their identity. They need an update badly. The Royals, all they need is a return to the George Brett light blue uniforms of the 70’s…beautiful. If only baseball’s design mavens could ever get it right…
link
T
i am watching the mets game. what the hell is on lastings millege’s arm? does nerf make body armor? it looks like something you would strap on a retarded child.