Simply the Best (Dressed)

By Phil Hecken, with Rick Pearson

After a few weeks of contentiousness (in a good way, I think) in the comments section, due to such topics as the renaming of the Cleveland baseball and Washington football teams (more on that contest below), civic versus corporate in terms of team ‘responsibilties,’, advertising on sidewalks and uniforms, and other topics on which we agree to disagree, I thought I’d bring Uni Watch’s sage sexagenarian aboard today to discuss an issue on which we all agree — who is the best dressed player in the Major League today.

Wait…what?

OK, so it’s not a cut and dried issue, by any means, as each of us will have our own prejudices and preferences — maybe even a bit of homerism — on who we think is the best dressed player in the game. When Rick and I bantered this topic about, I had wanted to pick three or four guys who were exemplars of uni-perfection, but Rick insisted we settle on just one. Then I wanted to pick one player from present day and one from the past, but that too, was met with a terse rejoinder of “no.” And Rick had a good reason — let’s see how, if it’s even possible, you can pick the player you feel is the most nattily attired in the bigs; the one player who not only looks great in a uniform, but who does so with a flair and a panache that places him just above everyone else. Think it’s easy? Well it’s not.

When all was said and done, Rick and I agreed we’d pick our sharp dressed man, but defend one runner up (which he’s done, below). I had a very difficult time with mine, and I’ll explain how I settled upon my choice after we hear from Rick. So, Mr. Pearson, who is the one player who is a cut above the rest, when it comes to his appearance on the diamond?

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For me, it was tough to choose between Curtis Granderson and Juan Pierre, but it came down to a personal thing and, yes, it’s picky, but Pierre’s pants might (I say “might”) be just a little too baggy.

Also, because stirrups seem to be extremely rare these days, Granderson best represents how to make it work with non-stirrups. Plus, he’s smart enough to wear lowcuts, not some shit-kicker clodhoppers.So I’ll go with Granderson because my reaction when I see him is always the same, “Damn, that’s a good look, just a nice combination of yesterday and today.”

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Thanks, Rick. I thought this would be an easy “assignment.” Just go with a high-pantsed guy who’s not wearing his cap askew, or flat-brimmed, or with a jersey that’s 3 sizes too big. While there are more than a couple of players who fit that description, I had to really look long and hard, and I’m still not 100% certain on my choice. I love the guy pictured to the right, in the “Catch of the Day,” Nyjer Morgan, but since he left the Bucs, he’s gone a tad baggier, and he likes to wear his cap askew and a few sizes too big. I do like the aforementioned Juan Pierre, since I believe he models his uni style after Jackie, and always looks like a player. But…I don’t like the cap under helmet look, his jersey is just a bit too baggy, and he doesn’t blouse. I also love Stephen Strasburg, and no one blouses his pants as well. There are others, too, but I promised Rick I’d only pick one “runner up.” (Although, if Derek Jeter ever went to low-cuts and could pull up his pants, he just might be the best looking ballplayer in the show.)

So, after much consideration, I have to pick David Wright, of my hometown Mets (oh, there will be a lot of Mets today), but with a bullet. Wright fits almost all of my categories, from perfect blousing to a perfectly fitting jersey. As a bonus, he sports an orange undershirt (albeit one with the MOTB). But…he fails to be 100% perfect in one critical area: he goes long-pantsed at night. Yes, this should usually be more than enough to disqualify him consideration, but this daytime look (when all baseball should be played, you know) outweighs the negatives. To me anyway. But picking Wright over others was no easy chore.

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So, what about you, dear readers — who out there today represents your ideal of the best dressed fella in the game today? What would be your qualifications for choosing him, and can you even do so? Is it stirrups? A classic old school body, look and style of play? Maybe you prefer a lot of hair or a perhaps a guy who is more casual. Maybe you think high-tops and socks can work, you just need to work it right. Whatever it is, what causes you to say, “damn, that is what a ballplayer looks like”?

The floor is open.

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Benchies

by Rick Pearson

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Formidable, to say the least…

Click to enlarge

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Uni Tweaks Concepts

We have another new set of tweaks, er…concepts today. After discussion with a number of readers, it’s probably more apropos to call most of the reader submissions “concepts” rather than tweaks. So that’s that.

So if you’ve concept for any sport, or just a tweak or wholesale revision, send them my way.

Please do try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per image — if you have three uniform concepts in one image, then obviously, you can go a little over, but no novels, OK? OK!. You guys have usually been good with keeping the descriptions pretty short, and I thank you for that.

And so, lets begin:

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We start with Jonah Henderson, who has a new concept for Portland:

Phil:

This is a Portland Trail Blazers Alternate Uniform concept that I designed thinking it could be similar the Miami Heat’s Black and White Alternate.

Sincerely,
Jonah Henderson

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Shortly thereafter, I received a second e-mail from Jonah, who had some new ideas for da Raidahs:

Phil:

These are two Oakland Raiders Uniforms that I designed. On the first design, I featured a black helmet, with a black logo, and a dark gray jersey with black and silver trim. The pants are silver with a black stripe running down the side. The second design however, is a classic yet modern look which features a black helmet with a silver stripe and logo. The jersey features a black uniform with silver and dark grey trim. The pants again are the classic silver with a black stripe on the side, and a raiders logo. Enjoy!

Regards,
Jonah Henderson, Salem, OR

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We close today with Brian Sanford, who has some pretty interesting concepts for Spanish NBA jerseys:

Phil,

I saw your post in UniWatch asking for tweaks/revisions. I mocked up a few ideas in Illustrator recently for Noche Latina as well as potential NBA Chinese New Year themed jerseys.

—
~ Brian F. Sanford
サンフォード • ブライアン

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That’s it for today, kids. Back with more tomorrow.

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Colorize This!

Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.

It’s been several weeks since we had a “Colorize This” but it’s back today — but without the G&G boys, both of whom are taking a sabbatical. But that doesn’t mean the new guys can’t step up to the plate. Today features several colorizations from John Turney and Pete Woychick, both of whom have sent in their efforts before.

Trying out a new format for the colorizations today, hope you like it.

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First up is John, and I’ll just post several of them, with his writeups above each one. Click on each photo to view a larger version:

“This is from way back. I touched up the players, given them more natural skin tone. More of a match on the Giants blue jerseys. Then I colorized the crown. Then I added and Alien Skin Exposure Ecktachrome filter to brighten it up.”

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“I colorized this photo but was not sure if it was his college, or if this was the set of Knute Rockne, All-American. I assumed it was the latter, but was not sure if Notre Dame wore green or blue then. So, I did both and added an Alien Skin Polychome filter in Photoshop.”

—

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This next one is full-size, so no need to enlarge:

“I’ve never seen a good shot of the 1969 Saints black helmets. This shot is used to illustrate them, so I colorized it. It’s not a high resolution photo so there is little to work with, but I added the Saint’s Old Gold to this.”

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There are actually a couple more John has sent me, but I’ll hold off on those for another time. The next submission is from Pete, who also wanted to weigh in on the Colorize This! segment:

“Hi Phil””
This one was a little more involved, as it required some “reconstructive surgery.” I was just going for believability rather than perfection; if you look closely, you can probably tell where the assorted parts and pieces were copy-pasted from in order to recreate the missing torso.

It was interesting to read the comments surrounding the colorization “controversy” last week. Nobody asked, but my two cents are as follows: Making these is an enjoyable creative pastime””challenging enough to be interesting, but not so challenging as to become frustrating. It’s something I will probably continue to do, whether I have an “audience” or not. Submitting them to UniWatch is my way of contributing in a small way to the community here. Others may write guest columns, submit ticker links, or actively participate in the comments suggestion; to each his own. I have been receiving praise for various creative efforts virtually my entire life, so one compliment less, or more, is not going to significantly alter my self-esteem. That said, I firmly believe each of us performs best when we know that our efforts are appreciated, when we are “given our due.” The occasional word of thanks, praise, or encouragement remains a powerful motivation.

Cheers
””Pete

—

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Pete also sent me another, but I’ll hold off on that one as well, since this section has gotten pretty big. Hope you like the new format, and I welcome all colorizers to send me their work. If you guys do like this format, I’ll continue to use it from now on.

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Contest reminder… I’m currently running a contest to redesign and rename the Cleveland baseball and Washington football teams. Full details here. I’ve already received dozens of entries, with a few coming in each day. Contest is open for just two more days, until April 15th (JRR day, dontcha know), so if you have started a concept, you’d best be putting on your finishing touches. If you haven’t begun and want to join, best get crackin NOW. Depending on how my week goes, I will probably begin showing some of the entries next weekend, but it may be two weeks, since I have a couple of columns that were supposed to run this weekend and will now (likely) run next weekend. Stay tuned.

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Maybe the best lookin’ road uni in the bigs???

OK — I hope everyone who had the MLB Preview at least took a look at the Amazin’s and the Phillies last night, because if you did, what you saw was pure beauty:

Oh. My. God. Yeah, they’re my team, but Goddam, how great did those Mets look last night? And it wasn’t just the Mets — their sparring partners, the Phillies, looked great (as usual). It was a gorgeous matchup. In fact, if Jim Mothervilker were doing a “5 & 1,” this game would have been the “good 1.” I mean look at this (and just imagine if that weren’t cropped, and you could see both players lower leg stylings). You can see lots more photos here.

But why did the Mets look so good I needed to put on a new pair of pants? Well, unless you’ve been living in a cave, last year you were likely to see them dressed like this or worse, like this on the road. The “hybrid” cap and black drop shadow had been a bane of Mets gray roadies for more than a decade (since 1998, in fact).

The difference is as clear as night and day.

While the difference is most apparent in the blue accessories (cap, socks, sleeves), just the mere removal of the black dropshadow takes one of the worst looking unis and turns it into one of the best (the homes too, but especially the roads). Without all that awful dropshadow, the NEW YORK is crisp and clear. So much better.

And while last night’s game was outstanding (for both teams), it will be even better today when the Phillies wear their cream alts (at least I think they will — it’s a 4:05 start), and who knows what will be in store when they meet up Sunday at 1:35, for Jackie Robinson day. Could be magic, if both teams are NNOB, right?

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And finally…

What the hell is this?

Click to enlarge

Are those the “rejected” Nike designs for the NFL? Well, not quite. But they are hilarious. Those come from “Dave’s Art Locker” who had described them thusly:

“Nike just released their uniform redesigns for the NFL. Outside some fabric changes, and the noteable exception of the Seahawks, none of the uniform designs changed much. The seahawks somehow were made worse. Just bring back the freaking neon green jerseys and everyone will be happy. I know I will be, the Neon jerseys had a definite identity which was loads better than the weird blue they wear nowadays. Blue is so distinct, that’s why half the league wears some variation of it.”

Some of the concepts are actually better than what the teams currently wear, which is a bit scary. I mean, look at the Jags — Jim Vilk would wear that.

You can read the whole article and check out all the designs here. (h/t to TimE)

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And that will do it for today, everyone. Let us know your best dressed MLBer, tell me if you like the new “Colorize This” format, give me shit for posting so much Mets, whatever. It’s all good.

Lots of good stuff on tap today, including the who gives a shit much-anticipated release of the new Mizzou football unis. Back with more good stuff tomorrow, but until that time…enjoy your Saturday.

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I don’t know why the University of Houston would want to highlight “UH” anyways. I look at it and say, “Uhhh.” Why does the U have to be in there at all? Saying U-H out loud rolls right off the tongue and onto the floor.

— Alex Parisi