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Off Again, On Again

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Very odd sequence of events last night for Tigers starter Max Scherzer. He pitched the first two innings in a standard Tigers road jersey, as you can see in this shot from the bottom of the 2nd:

Then he pitched the next three innings in a different jersey — one that had the team’s Sparky Anderson memorial patch, which was worn in 2011:

Then in the 6th inning he was once again wearing a patch-free jersey:

We know for sure that Scherzer changed jerseys after the 2nd inning. At first it wasn’t clear whether he changed jerseys again after the 5th or if someone finally found a seam ripper and removed the patch, but that question was answered by Tigers beat writer Jason Beck, who posted this tweet:

This all seems very odd. It’s one thing to have a two-year-old jersey lying around in your home clubhouse, but the Tigers were on the road last night, which means someone had to go out of his way to bring that 2011 jersey along. Weird.

(My thanks to the many, many readers who sent Scherzer screen shots and info.)

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Uni Watch News Ticker: We’d already seen the MLB All-Star Game BP cap and jersey designs via a video game leak a while back, but here they are in the flesh, and here’s a better view of the caps. … A top political messaging firm is convening focus groups to see if the ’Skins should change their name. … Meanwhile, an Idaho high school, “citing respect and honor for Native Americans,” has decided to stop calling its teams the Redskins, and they somehow managed to come to this conclusion without any focus groupery, imagine that (from Brian Mazmanian). … Here’s a good NHL realignment map (thanks, Phil). … Killer stirrups — with gold sannies! — for Caesar Rodney High School in Delaware (from Mike Williams). … Tim Tebow will wear No. 5 for the Patriots. … Elijah Netting recently visited the Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, West Virginia, where one of the displays was about coal miner baseball teams and their uniforms. “According to the exhibit, each coal company (of which there were over 200) in the early to mid-1900s had its own baseball team and they created leagues and played each other,” says Eliah. “Eventually, they evolved into full county leagues and let non-miners play too.” … Rams first-rounder Alec Ogletree made a local appearance wearing a Reebok Rams jersey and a Cardinals cap (from David Tolcou). … ’Tis the season for new NFL facemasks. Robert Mathis has one, Darnell Dockett has one, and Brian Orapko has a “secret” facemask in the works (from Phil, Chris Flinn, and Tommy Turner, respectively). … It’s one thing for a high school to poach the Vikings’ logo. It’s another when the school is in Wisconsin, the heart of anti-Vikings sentiment! “I figure that logo probably has few fans deep in the heart of Packers country,” says Brian Ites. … Interesting piece about the Whitney Museum of Art’s deceptively simple new logo (thanks, Brinke). … A fascinating trademark case between Adidas and a Chicago church has put Derrick Rose in the middle. Recommended reading (Tommy Turner again). … This is pretty awesome: an article lamenting the state of newfangled baseball uniforms — in 1909. It ran in the 4/22/09 edition of the Attica Daily Ledger (great find by Josh Yetmar). … If you’re into prog-rockers wearing hockey sweaters, then you’ll want to check out this thread (from Mathew Algeo). … Early yesterday evening I went into Manhattan to see a free show by Los Straitjackets, who were resplendent as always in their Mexican wrestling masks. Then I scooted back to Brooklyn to see Versus, the Cannanes, and the Lilys, none of whose members wore anything uni-related but who were all wonderful nonetheless. ”¦ It’s a little hard to see, but Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner, apparently not content to wear a camouflage jersey every Sunday, has been wearing a G.I. Joe undershirt (from Jared Buccola). ”¦ Not uni- or sports-related, but if you’re a certain kind of music geek, you’ll likely do a double-take, as I did, over this New York Times headline. ”¦ Another Ray in those gorgeous striped stirrups! That’s new call-up Jake Odorizzi, who I sense is destined for big things, at least on the hosiery front (from Cork Gaines and Kevin Kleinhans) ”¦ Speaking of MLB lower legs, there was a sublime moment in last night’s Phils/Twins game: logo hose vs. logo hose! That’s so great, I might just drop my objections to interleague play (from Pat Costello). ”¦ The video embedded on this page has some interesting shots of Bart Starr. At the 0:29 mark, he’s wearing No. 51 in practice, and at 0:51 he’s wearing No. 27 (from Peter Fredrickson). ”¦ Here’s a new example of something we’ve seen several times before: an old photo of Dodgers minor leaguers wearing letters instead of numbers, and logo-less caps, during spring training. As you may recall, the letters are part of a code that identified the level of the minors that the players are in (from Trey Ashby). ”¦ That conflict over a Canadian soccer federation that won’t let Sikhs play while wearing turbans, which I first mentioned in yesterday’s Ticker, is growing. ”¦ Eric Trager was at the Istanbul airport when he spotted this T-shirt. “No matter where I go, I find myself unable to escape this blasted logo,” he says. ”¦ Do the Patriots have a new wordmark? Never seen that one before. Anyone..? (From Eric Keskeys.)

 
  
 
Comments (106)

    My question is, do pitchers normally change jerseys during the game? He said he grabbed the Sparky jersey out of his locker, so he had to go back to the clubhouse to change mid-game.

    Is this the equivalent of a hockey player changing gloves during a game? Prefers dry equipment?

    His switching jerseys has to be superstition and not a sweat issue. If it was sweat, I’d think he’d switch his cap just as often since that would get soaked. But it looks like he has the same cap in both pics.

    Yes, pitchers often change jerseys during games because of moisture. I think it’s more of wanting to have something dry to wipe their hands on, among other reasons, which is why you don’t see them change caps.

    Today’s Tiger telecast mentioned he changed his jersey 3 times due to the heat and humidity in KC.

    Was there a post about a phone patch on a baseball jersey up a minute ago? I’ve been awake for a long time, so I could be imagining things!

    I accidentally posted the wrong entry. Once I realized my mistake, I took it down and posted the proper one. Phantom!

    The one you briefly saw will be posted at a later date — maybe tomorrow.

    The NHL Realignment map should be updated with the new logo for DAL.

    Or maybe it shouldn’t, because it was a bad change on their part.

    Hope not, as the “Central” surrounds the Atlantic, extending east, west, north, and south of its partner division. Which is to say, the Atlantic is literally in the center of the “Central.”

    It’s not the first time that a Central Division has had a team close to the Atlantic coast. The Charlotte Hornets spent 12 years in the NBA’s Central Division despite their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and for 1989-90 the Orlando Magic were in the Central.

    In fact, the map just straight-up uses the 1970-2004 NBA divisional names.

    I should say, it wouldn’t be the first time, if those names get used (which I would hope not).

    Worth pointing out:

    The NBA’s Northwest division has just one team in the Pacific time zone, two teams in the Central time zone, and two teams at a lower latitude than Sacramento in the Pacific Division.

    link

    Rob, don’t forget the Heat being in the Midwest for the ’89 season, the Hornets being in the Midwest for the ’90 season and the Magic being in the Midwest for the ’91 season… Strangely, the ‘Wolves were the only 88/89 expansion team that didn’t jump around the divisions.

    As a cartographer, you guys are going to make me break out in hives or something.

    The fact that other leagues fuck this up too isn’t an excuse for the NHL to do so. And I’m not concerned with geographical accuracy. I’m concerned with the correct use of simple English words. If one group of things is in the middle of another group of things that completely surrounds it, and you want to name one of those groups the “central” group, then the group that’ surrounded must, by definition, be the one called “central.” It’s the one in the middle – in the center. The group of things that’s on the outside, surrounding the other group, cannot be called “central.” If you call that group “central,” then you’re not actually speaking the English language.

    I was gonna say, I haven’t heard anything official or unofficial about the names yet.

    Here’s a suggestion, NHL: name Divison A the Smythe Division, Division B the Norris Division, Division C the Adams Division, and Division D the Patrick Division.

    The NHL needs to disregard Gary Bettman’s previous announcement about using geographic names and go retro.

    Adding to all the angst over actual geographic lines, anyone disagree that Boston should be in the “Atlantic” and Columbus move to the “Central”?

    I don’t know, Frank. I think the obvious solution is to swap Florida & Tampa Bay with Pittsburgh and Columbus. If you move Boston too, then you probably need to give Detroit to the Midwest.

    Hmm… no, that ain’t right either. Why does the Eastern conference have 2 more teams than the Western? Blarg. I’m not sure what the proper solution is at the moment, but that map isn’t it.

    It was a compromise agreement for the Red Wings and Blue Jackets, both of whom argued to move east. The Red Wings claimed that they had the first right to move east based on the fact that they were an Original Six team, plus the fact that at the time of the last realignment, Columbus wasn’t in the league yet and the Red Wings were the only Western Conference team in the Eastern Time Zone. For the Blue Jackets, well simple geography would tell you that Columbus is further east than Detroit–heck, Columbus is only three hours from Pittsburgh, Detroit five–plus unlike the Red Wings, Columbus isn’t as financially secure. (This isn’t the Blue Jackets fault: I have family in Columbus, and while the Blue Jackets do have a strong local following, Columbus is dominated by Ohio State for the local sports dollar.) The NHL let both teams east as a compromise, since the Red Wings are an Original Six team and the league seems to be serious on building Columbus into a strong market–plus the proximity to Pittsburgh means an instant rivalry with the Penguins.

    mike 2: I would be content keeping the Eastern and Western conference names since the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence Campbell Trophy still have those names. But the divisions? Nothing says tradition like Smythe, Norris, Adams, and Patrick.

    Part of me agrees with you.

    ON THE OTHER HAND,

    One of the things that has pissed off hockey traditionalists for years is Bettman’s disregard for tradition. We had great conference and division names, great rivalries, and it seems like its been 20 years of dumbing down the game to sell it in the sun belt. “Campbell” and “Wales” are too hard to remember, let’s call them “West” and “East”. Let’s make the puck glow on TV. At one time there was talk that having three periods was too confusing for new American fans used to their sports having quarters (thank goodness nothing came of that).

    I suppose we’re lucky that Bettman didn’t try to replace the Stanley Cup with a bland new trophy or rename the various individual trophies (Ross, Smythe, Norris) to conform to other sports (MVP).

    So going back to the original names isn’t just about what works, its about reasserting that some of the league’s old traditions are actually pretty awesome.

    They aren’t really “original” names. The alignment that everyone seems to pine for existed for 12 seasons, from 1981-82 to 1992-93.

    When the Buffalo Sabres were in the Adams Division, every time they played a divisional opponent, the Memorial Aug organist would play about 100,000 renditions of the opening bars of “The Addams Family” theme song.

    Good times. Good times.

    The Patriots wordmark looks a lot like those seen on the 2012 Draft Hats (used by all teams).

    link

    However, I don’t know if it’s the same or not.

    Where on the Bengals page was this actually posted/published? Maybe we could glean more understanding if we knew where it came from. I’ve never liked the script word mark (with or without Flying Elvis) and I don’t know if this is an improvement. Bring back the star-spangled word mark of the Pat Patriot Era (and Pat too while we’re at it)!

    Luckily, the government would NEVER use the technology to track where cars go … unless national security could be improved …

    Ticker should read “Tim Tebow has been assigned no. 5, but since the patriots use un-numbered jerseys in OTAs, Tebow will likely never wear no. 5 for the Patriots”.

    I wonder if the Washington Redskins will issue a press release about how Teton High School doesn’t have “pride”.

    Anyway, I don’t know if this link has been posted here before, but here’s a nice long-ish response (mea culpa: I haven’t finished reading) to the Redskins’ disingenuous and factually incorrect press release about all the high schools who call themselves “Redskins”: link

    In your opinion, should the Ticker also read:

    ‘Meanwhile, an Idaho school district superintendent, “citing respect and honor for Native Americans” has decreed that everyone stop calling its teams the Redskins, and he somehow managed to come to this conclusion without a vote or any focus groupery or even input from the school board, the general public, the American Indian population and the student body’?

    NFL rules dictate that single digit numbers may only be worn by quarterbacks, kickers and punters. i guess Tebow has been learning to kick on the sly.

    Hey, if Ronnie Brown or LaDainian Tomlinson could throw the ball while wearing numbers in the 20’s, then Tebow can run it while wearing a 5. That rule is outdated and needs to go away.

    I agree it’s outdated, but an irrational part of me likes the semblance of order that the number rules create.

    Anyway, I think there’s precedence for players keeping old position numbers after they convert to a different role – Frank Wychek kept wearing his TE number as an FB, and Eric Metcalf kept his RB number even as he stopped lining up behind the QB.

    I agree it’s outdated, but an irrational part of me likes the semblance of order that the number rules create.

    I think this sentiment nicely captures how many of us feel — not just about the NFL’s numbering guidelines but about all sorts of uniform protocols.

    You could even make a case that the numbers rule isn’t needed for offensive lineman–the only position that has a REAL need for the numbers rule–due to how big lineman are in relation to the skill position players. If you can’t tell the difference between a lineman and a running back, then you shouldn’t be a referee.

    They’re selling his jersey on NFL.com with a “5” on it as well. And we all know the professional sports leagues are infallible…

    The only numbers RB/WR/TEs can wear are 10-49/80-89, so wouldn’t Tebow have to report as eligible if he lines up at RB?

    The only players that have to report as eligible are linemen. Every number from 1-49 and 80-89 are considered eligible on offense, regardless. Tebow lining up as an RB or WR isn’t any different from a RB taking the snap in the Wildcat formation or a CB lining up at WR, neither of which require any sort of referee notification.

    I bought my daughter that shirt last year. She had all kinds of YOLO stuff, thought she should have that one!

    Good comic, too.

    RE: Alec Ogletree pic in Rams jersey. People still use date stamps on digital camera pictures? Wow. That’s so 2005.

    Seriously. So ugly and pointless when digital photos have timestamps in the EXIF data.

    I don’t think D-Rose will be on the side of that church – their “Add a Zero” insignia looks a lot like the gang symbol for the Four Corner Hustlers. Rose has strong ties to the rival Gangster Disciples.

    I’m not sure “strong ties” really tells the story. He grew up in Englewood. Gangster Disciples dominate Englewood, and a kid growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago often don’t have a choice but to be affiliated with whatever gang is running the neighborhood.

    If anything, it seems like gangs are keeping a respectful distance from Rose – they designated the park where he played a non-violent zone.

    There was that time a photograph of Rose flashing a GD sign while he was at Memphis popped up, and he explained it away as a “bad joke”. I think that’s probably a half truth – he’s probably “tied” to the gang in the sense that he probably knows members and he enjoyed their protection, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that he was part of their criminal activities.

    Hey that’s me, Garden Dreamer, in that prog rock jersey thread. I gave a shout-out to UniWatch and Teebz’s blog in one post.

    -Jet

    That was you, Jet? Mucho gracias!

    FYI – a lot of great photos on there. I’m going to grab a pile of them and credit those who posted them. Many thanks for posting the link, Paul, and thanks again, Jet!

    When Stuart Holden gets ready for a US national team match, he really gets ready, down to the skivvies:
    link

    Warning: possible flag desecration

    Interesting that “old gold” was already “old” in 1909. Was it ever “new gold” or even just “gold” at any point in uniform design?

    My favorite line in that whole article is The love for color, which is more or les barbarian…” Amazing.

    Also, describing colors as “oriental” also caught my eye. Anybody have an idea of what they meant?

    As far as the usage of “oriental” goes, my best guess would be that would refer to the xenophobic tendencies towards Asian cultures, as they are often marked by vibrant colors in their fabrics, paintings, and other images. I could be wrong, but as I said, that would be my best guess.

    I’m guessing they’re like the “gay colors” offered by the “sporting good houses”.

    Jake Odorizzi is actually the same age as me and went to high school about 20 minutes away from me. Luckily, I didn’t play baseball, because he would’ve made me look even worse than I am already.

    Did some research, it seems as though the only high school picture of him I found didn’t have stirrups:

    link

    but other minor league stops did:

    link
    link
    link

    re: high school dropping “Redskins”

    I don’t know if this link has been posted here before, but here’s a nice long-ish response to the Redskins’ press release about all the high schools who call themselves “Redskins”:
    link

    Scherzer wearing a 2011 jersey is even more surprising when you factor in how aggressive the Tigers are about selling their game used merchandise. You’d have thought that would have entered their retail operation and been sold a long time ago.

    There are probably a ton of photos showing Starr in No.51. Lombardi often had players in practice wearing number that weren’t theirs, possibly as a way to confuse other teams’ spies, especially operatives of the Halas empire. (Note to youngsters, in those days the practices were usually held outside and could be (and were) watched by anyone. Lombardi might take the team into Lambeau Field for a Saturday run-through, though). It was silly, of course – Starr almost always wore 51 (15 backwards) and that bald guy with no teeth wearing 82 had to be Nitschke, right?

    Not only does the Wisconsin city I live in poach the Vikings logo, but their colors are green and gold. This is Parker High School in Janesville, WI.

    link

    and not only that, but they’re football team seems to borrow from the Buccaneers

    link

    It’s my alma mater and I never felt conflicted. We even had those giant viking heads painted in our cafeteria.

    Fantastic COTD today, Paul – and especially appropriate as I sit here wearing a Pettibon-designed T-shirt…

    Growing up in West Virginia, I always heard my grandfather talking about traveling down to “Coal Country” to play some of the baseball teams when he was a young man. It was rough baseball and a man’s game to say the least. Lots of gambling on those games.

    The uniform with “Plum Orchard” across the front reminds me of a lake near Beckley, West Virginia where I had fun catching some of the biggest blue gills (brim) that I have ever seen.

    Regarding the Wisconsin high school Vikings logo, they’re far from the only one.
    Holmen (past): link
    Denmark (only a slight variation): link
    Valders: link
    New Berlin West: link

    How about the following schools in Minnesota:
    Waubun: link
    Windom: link

    It makes sense that schools in the Upper Midwest would choose “Vikings” as their nickname, but that’s a lot of blatant copycatting going on.

    Lawrence University in Appleton (about a half-hour drive from Green Bay) has also used that same Viking head logo in the past, and their football helmets feature a Minnesota-esque Viking horn: link

    Don’t remember what my reaction was to the videogame shots, but jeez those ASG caps are horrible. The Mets skyline logo is too detailed to be an effective cap logo… and adding in an ornate letter just makes it a mess. Then add in a white front panel… ugh.

    On the other hand the wordmarks on the jersey’s are great. Skyline + bridge wins just about every time (except for those caps!)

    I don’t think the hats are great, but the wordmarks on the jerseys are way too detailed and not enough height. I think they should have used the Mets script for “National” and the away New York font for “American”.

    Looks like Roger Goodell sent a letter to some members of Congress defending the nickname of the Washington pro football team. He called it “a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect.”

    link

    Ah, company baseball teams. Funny that Beckley got mentioned. Some of these teams played in nearby Fayettevile, now the home to New River Gorge National River. I’m sure knowing these companies who mostly employed immigrants who spoke little English (as well as African Americans, many of whom were sons of former slaves, who were already at a disadvantage), they REQUIRED their workers to play on these company teams. Just like they were required to buy stuff from the company store, live in company houses, and were only paid in company scrip.

    Tell me any corporation in the United States besides the military where this is still legal.

    The museum said that “Miners who were good ball players were paid play and were given easier jobs in the mines.”. It didn’t mention anything about a requirement, but it did say that “Some [players] were even recruited from other mines”, so it was apparently important to the companies on some level. I was just shocked that the men would have the energy to play ball after working such long hard hours in the mines.

    And when you mean long hours, as in 16 hours a day, seven days a week long.

    A note on the All Star game what-not being released.

    MLB is the only league wherein the players wear the league/conference gear during the pre-game festivities and their regular team gear for the actual game.

    link
    link

    The NHL and the NBA use the team gear for pre-game competitions and (usually) have a special uniform for the game itself:

    link
    link

    link
    link

    Lawrence University in Appleton, WI used to use the Vikings horns on their helmets. I believe they have since changed them.

    link

    Black Flag, Redd Kross, Descendents AND Husker Du?!

    They just don’t book ’em like they used to.

    A 1909 sports uni-centric article laced with strong tradition-based opinions lamenting modern designs. Incredible find!

    Cashner’s undershirt looks more like cammo that a hunter would wear, not a soldier.

    NFLPA is selling Pride t-shirts with player names and numbers: link

    Gotta say, they’re not too shabby.

    Cashner is wearing UA Mossy Oak camo and others (Josh Beckett, etc.) have done the same before. It’s a nod to the great outdoors, not the Military.

    Clint Grimes(Dolphins) was just interviewed on ESPN wearing the old Dolphins logo on his t-shirt.

    Best looking Stanley Cup Finals since the late 70’s – Montreal/Boston?

    If you think this Finals looks good (and you’d be a rare kind of exceptional to think otherwise), the 1992 Finals had all the same colors in Pittsburgh/Chicago.

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