Throw(them)-back

DAMN IT, BRYAN!

Stop taking LI Phil’s line!

how players wear their uniforms — and by implication the uniforms’ cut — is completely different from the uniforms’ color, logo, etc. then and now, it’s the players who specify how big or small they prefer their uniforms to be. insisting that a “true throwback” must embody the tighter uniform preferences of the era from which the old uniforms come is essentially the same thing as insisting that a throwback uniform is incomplete unless everyone also adopts the same hair style as prevailed at the time of the old uniforms.

the giants’ orange uniforms looked fine. but pointing out how crappy the padres current helmets looked with the throwback uniforms would have been a far better use of time than this tiresome rant about how the various uniforms were too baggy, (and who, by the way, would enforce your preferred stirrup-wearing style?)

I’d never say anything had to be “enforced”. I just think it’s too bad that players don’t get into the spirit of things…at least a little…cuz I guess it sort of indicates that the entire “history” element of TBTC is lost on them.

And that’s what’s really too bad, that they appear to have so little feel for anything outside themselves, that apparently they’ve never been “fans” of the game they play. Lord knows many of them seem to know very little about it.

SI once reported that Don Mattingly was surprised to learn that Babe Ruth was a real person. “I thought he was cartoon,” Mattingly was quoted as saying.

Of course, the Lakers took this to extremes earlier this season with the short shorts…

Of course, they looked ridiculous with the baggy jerseys, but that’s a grumble for another time.

link?

….

now…in re the throwbacks…i’ve thought about it, and i’ll save you all from a cranky old-man (im 42, im a man) rant…(well, one that would have been three times as long as what follows, anyway)

there are two things that piss me off more than anything about uniforms, the first of which is that they, especially nowadays, aren’t…the other is that oftentimes todays unis (and im talking only about baseball here) offend my OCD…

point #1…it’s a goddam uniform…no matter how crazy, staid or garish…please, PLEASE…make every effort to look UNIFORM…either ALL wear stirrups or don’t…either all wear baggy pants, bloused perfectly and showing sock…or don’t…i’d rather 25 guys look like cecil’s son than 25 individual showboats stylin’…i’d even rather have 25 flatbrimmed 3930’s than a mish-mash of “look at me” guys (i would, in a prefect world of course, prefer link of course)

as to #2…which feeds off number one…it’s a UNIFORM…so please…try to make the uniform UNIFORM…stop with the softball tops and mis-matched pants…and STOP THE MODERN HELMETS with the throwbacks…stop the retrophobia

i loved what the fathers did yesterday, but the helmets SUCKED and i really wish they had worn the link they did have with that year’s uni…it may have looked horrible back then, or even now…but goddamit, it was uniform…the softball tops they emplyed, especially with the white AWAY pants…didn’t like that then, don’t like it now…it was authentic, but it doesn’t make it more uniform…

off soapbox now, rant over

bryan, you can stay on my lawn…the rest of you kids…

i like the throwbacks and don’t really care that the players are wearing them baggy. now you can tear me apart. also, who, exactly, is li phil?

God forbid the players wear uniforms the way they feel the best and therefore they can compete the best in. It’s only the way they make all their money. And the reason why we watch. Nope, let’s put the uniforms before the game and the players’ performances.

Seriously, if Manny Ramirez doesn’t feel comfortable wearing his pants cuffed, then I want him wearing long pants. The uniform shouldn’t be a distraction.

A FROSTED MUG!

[quote comment=”275653″]God forbid the players wear uniforms the way they feel the best and therefore they can compete the best in. It’s only the way they make all their money. And the reason why we watch. Nope, let’s put the uniforms before the game and the players’ performances.

Seriously, if Manny Ramirez doesn’t feel comfortable wearing his pants cuffed, then I want him wearing long pants. The uniform shouldn’t be a distraction.[/quote]

this guy looks pretty comfy to me
link

it just all depends on the era. it went from loose to tight to lose to tight
link
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[quote comment=”275658″]Could it possibly be that these “non-conforming” players are giving the proverbial finger to the business of baseball? Maybe the players that have baggy uniforms are actually making a statement…. ?[/quote]

or maybe they’re just giving the proverbial finger to everyone who’s not them

after all, if you’re uniform doesn’t say “look at me” who will…especially of you’re a .260 hitter making $8M?

/it’s actually a good argument, tony, im not looking to start a fight…i just think you’re giving the ‘modern’ player WAAAAYYYYY too much credit for having a brain social conscience

[quote comment=”275654″]God, we whine a lot about throwbacks.

I want my free beer in a frosted mug, damn you![/quote]
If we can’t whine about throwbacks here, then we where can we?

If we can’t make typographical errors here, then where can we?

[quote comment=”275664″]the pads actually did have a uniform that was brown with white pants – 1978 road unis. the helmet is pathetic, but it’s the padres, and this year they are a pathetic franchise. (i’m from san diego, i’ve suffered through worse, but still.)

as for complaining that the cut is too baggy – that’s stupid. the point is not to model the clothes, it’s to model the colors, the fonts, the design. i am definitely picky when it comes to uniform stuff, but let’s face it – the giants nailed it. the did a perfect recreation of the old unis.

whining that the cut is not right says more about the person whining than it does about the effort the giants made.[/quote]
I’m going to have to disagree on that point. Stirrups were a part of the uniform back then. To not have them showing, i.e.: to use the footie pajamas instead of the hiked-up legs, is, in my mind, an inappropriate liberty taken. It would be like a throwback Flyers/Whalers game without Cooperalls. “Sorry, but that’s the way it was, and we’re throwing back to that era. It’s in your contract. We pay you to play for and wear the uniform we, the team, provide you. And today, we provide everybody shorter inseams, stirrups, and sanitaries,” the equipment managers should have said to the players. “And the rose goes in the front, men.”

[quote comment=”275666″]why don’t we just ban all foreigners who don’t look like us from the game too. That’ll make everyone look exactly the same. Oh, wait….[/quote]

look…i’m not asking you to agree with my opinion, but i would ask that you respect it

if you want to see a bunch of mismatched slobs playing baseball, that’s fine and that’s your opinion and you are most certainly entitled to it

i’d prefer my team to look like a team, but that’s just my opinion

i don’t know why everytime i make a comment it’s always misinterpreted as racist or something…i don’t care what your skin color is…im talking about UNIFORMS here…i think there are plenty of foreign born and non-white players who know MORE about this great game of baseball than many native born and english speaking players…they know how to wear (what is in my opinion a properly tailored uniform) and are certainly more knowledgable about the game than their contemporaries

respect the game and the uniform, that’s all im saying

roberto clemente, jackie robinson, sadaharu oh…class acts all and all respected the uniform and the game

and they knew how to wear it properly…LIKE THEIR TEAMMATES

[quote] I also don’t want a team of squares playing ball. It’s one of the reasons why I hate the Yankees so much…[/quote]

heh…i tend to hate them for steinhitler, the 26 rings, the $600M payroll…making the mets the ugly sister, etc…

but i do like their unis

aight…imo spend the rest of the day with dad…watching the mets lose in their softball unis to the rangers in their softball duds…then tiger take down number 14

could be my dad’s last father’s day, so imo enjoy it while i can…everyone have a great summer sunday…see ya after the open

[quote comment=”275673″][quote] I also don’t want a team of squares playing ball. It’s one of the reasons why I hate the Yankees so much…[/quote]

heh…i tend to hate them for steinhitler, the 26 rings, the $600M payroll…making the mets the ugly sister, etc…

but i do like their unis[/quote]

How about the fact that Steinbrenner makes players shave and cut their hair whenever they join the team? LAME. I mean, remember when Giambi was actually cool and scruffy-lookin’? Or when Damon actually had a personality? Or making Randy Johnson cut his hair? Now all Giambi can muster is that lame porno-stache. It sucks.

[quote comment=”275678″]I’m not going to say Palmer is wrong to say those ChiSox unis are horrid, but there are alot of contenders for worst unis ever. One of my top (worst) picks woud be the Angels’ unis from ’97-’01. Those were bad, maybe not worst ever, but pretty bad. That’s too bad because right before they switched to those monstrosities they had imho one of the best unis in baseball from 1993-1996.[/quote]

it trips me out that some of the worst in history become such a part of fashion nowadays
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you got rappers rapping about many throwback jersey the have…

Gonna say it again…I don’t know who decides the cut of a uniform, and that wasn’t my point.

I do know baseball allows more leeway for personal preference than any other team sport, and the players (if personal comfort is so essential to playing baseball, which in fact it probably isn’t) should be thankful for that. The NFL has uniform “cops”, for pete’s sake, who walk the field during final pregame warmups, checking players for fineable uniform violations such a pulling their white socks up too high (former Viking punter Greg Coleman has that job for games at the Metrodome).

What bugs me is that the players don’t, as the Twins did for that 1997 game in Texas, think, “What the hell, let’s have a little fun with it.”

It’s that prima donna, I’m-too-cool-to-wear-stirrups, etc. attitude that’s irksome.

Taking the essence of what Norm Peterson once advised from his stool at the corner of the bar, “I suggest you have a couple beers and LIGHTEN UP.”

The slip n’slide antics from last night felt more like baseball than a lot of the baseball being played these days.

And THAT was my point.

[quote comment=”275682″]At the end of the Turkey-Czech Republic match at Euro today the Turkish goalie got sent off for shoving a Czech player. Since Turkey had used all its subs at that point another Turkish player had to take the goalie jersey and play goal. Unfortunately, he put it on inside out so the swoosh was backwards and there was no name/number on the back. I found that tremendously entertaining.[/quote]

Geoff,

You know what I find entertaining? Turn to ESPN2 and check out the Barbados national team in their Highlighter Yellow kits. Wow… My eyes hurt.

“It’s that prima donna, I’m-too-cool-to-wear-stirrups, etc. attitude that’s irksome.”

To be clear: I meant that attitude toward TBTC games.

No problem with individual styles the rest of the time. Also, no problem with teams having their own uniform standards (the low stirrup edicts of the Reds and Tigers for so many years come to mind).

If the team standard is to be strict about uniforms, that’s its style. If a team standard is to give guys some latitude that is, in its way, its uniformity, its team culture. A team has the privilege of defining its own culture. Think about the shaggy Red Sox of recent years, the mustachioed A’s of the early 70s, the clean-shaven low-stirrup no-logos-on-shoes Big Red Machine. An indiviudal player’s way may not fit–and he may not prefer it–but the team is well within its rights to define itself.

Can you imagine the MLB Players Association suing for Manny’s right to wear his jammies? That would unbelievably stupid.

Talk about a waste of time and energy.

(I’ve scanned and sent Paul a clipping about Calvin Griffith and the Twins stirrups that kinda addresses the team culture issue…for better or worse depending on your point of view, I suppose).

[quote comment=”275686″]Thanks for the plug that my argument had some weight Mr L.I. Phil. Yeah, I’m probably giving those utility infielders way too much credit!

Oh, from the conversation the other day about Boston’s road grays from the 80’s … they look an awful lot like the Civil Rights Game jerseys, don’t they?[/quote]

Simple, it was, that 80s Red Sox road jersey. But it also was the only road “look” Ted Williams ever wore. Those basically were throwbacks a lot of us appreciated at the time…especially coming out of the sansabelt era.

Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League have altered their primary home uniforms for the ’08 season, removing the piping:

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and changing to pinstripes.

[quote comment=”275690″]The first all-off white uni game in recent baseball history was played today in Cleveland, as the Padres (in sand) took on the Indians (in their cream alternates.) Wha, couldn’t the Fathers on Father’s Day have the cajones to put on their navy alt jerseys?[/quote]
Not so fast, James. You forget that the Padres play 3 series a year in San Francisco, whose everyday home set is cream.

Unless “recent baseball history” is defined as “since June 1,” then the comment’s a little bit off.

[quote comment=”275691″][quote comment=”275690″]The first all-off white uni game in recent baseball history was played today in Cleveland, as the Padres (in sand) took on the Indians (in their cream alternates.) Wha, couldn’t the Fathers on Father’s Day have the cajones to put on their navy alt jerseys?[/quote]
Not so fast, James. You forget that the Padres play 3 series a year in San Francisco, whose everyday home set is cream.

Unless “recent baseball history” is defined as “since June 1,” then the comment’s a little bit off.[/quote]

I think the Giants home unis are among the very best. The creme is juuuuust light enough. The Padres “sand” is way to dark for my tastes.

Regarding MLB’s Father’s Day Prostate-Palooza,

did any D-backs or Royals fans catch todays game? Somewhere in I believe the 7th inning, the D-backs’ home network zoomed in on Jose Guillen to see an unmistakable blue ribbon temporarily tattooed on his LEFT CHEEK. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a screen cap, but doesn’t that seem like a bit much?

Wristbands, logos on the field, sure. A temporary tattoo on the face? Erm, no.

einstein flunked out of school, twice…beethoven was deaf…helen keller was blind…i think link got a good chance

or…link

[quote comment=”275674″]Check out Shaq and his McDonald’s All-American uni back in 1989

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Shaq must have put on an additional 200 lbs since then. He’s all arms and legs in that footage!

I wonder, what are the chances that AI has no idea who Paul Arizin is, or even that the Warriors once were the Philadelphia Warriors?

Or that he cares?

[quote comment=”275703″]who is AI?[/quote]

Some former 76er.

Please. I have zero sympathy for .260 hitters who make $8 million a year. If they were making sandwiches at Subway, and different uniforms somehow affected their frozen bread-heating ability, you’d be onto something. But “the only way they make all their money”? The average MLB salary is over $2 million per year. That must be a bitch. Save the pajamas for the other 161 games.

You are a joke, you know that? Why are you pulling this “the players are spoiled brats who make two million so they won’t wear their uniforms properly crap”. The players weren’t bitching about money, you were the one who brought up money. It has nothing to do with money, it has to do with performance. Why don’t we enforce you to wear 1950’s journalism attire…three piece suit maybe. You have to wear that now instead of your sweatpants and oversized white tee shirt while typing these posts in your mom’s basement.

Since performance is pretty much a direct correlation with future contracts, you would think you would do whatever thought helped you perform better…

Seriously, your argument is damn awful. The players don’t even design the damn throwbacks. Uniform manufacturers probably just make the players current uniform size in the different color/style.

I’m sorry the world evolves and different things are popular. The uniforms are a salute to past teams and the fans like them. Ya maybe they aren’t executed to perfection, but your logic as to how the players income is the reason for the poor look is just absurd.

O ya, and you are a negative nancy, Bryan.

[quote comment=”275699″][quote comment=”275695″]Regarding MLB\’s Father’s Day Prostate-Palooza,

did any D-backs or Royals fans catch todays game? Somewhere in I believe the 7th inning, the D-backs’ home network zoomed in on Jose Guillen to see an unmistakable blue ribbon temporarily tattooed on his LEFT CHEEK. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a screen cap, but doesn’t that seem like a bit much?

Wristbands, logos on the field, sure. A temporary tattoo on the face? Erm, no.[quote]

First we might ask Guillen if perhaps he has someone close to him who has battled–or worse, has lost the battle with–prostate cancer.

I had 3/4 of my prostate removed six years ago. Wasn’t cancer, but was enough the scare me…and I got to see the relief on my hospital roommate’s face when his doctor told him they’d got all of his prostate cancer in his surgery.

So you’ll forgive me if I don’t have big problem with Guillen’s facepaint.

And, frankly (unless you and those love have some sort of magical immunity to cancer), you shouldn’t, either.

Know why? Because–speaking on the basest of levels now–even if it’s not cancer, the ED is no goddamn fun, partner. I sincerely hope you never have to deal with it.[/quote]

Ah, seems we didn’t exactly communicate on the same level, or at least get the same meaning out of my comments.

I’m not opposed to the prostate-awareness promotions, and nowhere did I say that.

What I’m saying is that I find the temporary tattoo to be in unusual taste, and something that I find to be another silly “look at me, I’m raising more awareness than youuuu” type thing.