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Uni Watch

A Glove Affair

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There’s a new trend in the NBA: players on the bench wearing gloves to keep their hands warm. Patrick Patterson of the Raptors (above left) did it on Monday night, and Reggie Jackson of the Pistons did it two nights before that. Here’s a close-up view of Patterson’s (click to enlarge):

I tend to wear fingerless gloves quite a bit this time of year — I’m wearing them right now as I type this, in fact — so I can relate.

As you can see, so far nobody has provided Patterson or Jackson with team- or league-branded gloves. What do you think the over/under is on how long it’ll take for that to happen? I figure by the end of this week.

Meanwhile: New ESPN column today, about football-style facemask attachments that’ve been worn by MLB players. I think you’ll all enjoy this one — check it out here.

Speaking of which: For years my standard go-to photo of Ellis Valentine’s two-bar facemask has been this one. But while researching today’s ESPN column I came across a Valentine photo I’d never seen before. Check it out (click to enlarge):

Doesn’t seem like that’d offer much protection, eh? Like, if a pitch hit him in the mask, it’d just drive the mask bars right into his face. Definitely an interesting look, though.

• • • • •

Boys with toys: Matt Harvey, who’s back with the Mets this season after missing last year with Tommy John surgery, may (or may not) turn out to be a great pitcher. For now, he is a 25-year-old who has a career record of 12-10 and has managed to complete zero MLB seasons. Despite this, Harvey’s behavior consistently suggests that he is under the mistaken belief that he is a celebrity. This belief appears to be largely a function of his ego — an ego that may eventually serve him well on the field (as a Mets fan, I hope so) but for now just makes him come off like a jerk.

One aspect of that jerkitude is Harvey’s penchant for showing up in doucher men’s fashion spreads, or discussing his taste in menswear, or talking about how he’ll stroll down to the boutique on a Saturday afternoon and pick out a new suit, or saying how he wants to be on the best-dressed lists. These adventures tend to be chronicled in the type of men’s magazines whose business models are predicated on making their readers feel insecure about their wealth, their wardrobes, their tech gadgetry, and their dick size — insecurities that can only be assuaged by running out and buying the types of conspicuously consumptive products offered by these magazines’ advertisers.

Anyway: The photos of Harvey that appear in these articles often show him wearing a jacket but not a tie, or sometimes the tie is untied. (These photos are not to be confused with the ones in which Harvey is wearing more casual clothes, or the emperor’s new clothes.) Up until now, I had assumed this lack of neckwear was part of Harvey’s bro-ish image, along with the perma-stubble and all the gunk in his hair.

But then the Times ran this story about the Mets asking their players to participate in some video shoots that’ll be shown on the Jumbotron later this year. Here’s the key passage:

During one video feature, the players were asked to tie a tie. [Noah] Syndergaard, a top pitching prospect, and Matt Harvey admitted they did not know how. Harvey asked to be excused, although Syndergaard played along. He tied the tie in a knot around his head.

“I’ll watch the video board to learn how” to tie a tie, Harvey said.

So let’s review: Matt Harvey, a 25-year-old who shows up at fashion shows, likes to drop major coin on suits, and has all sorts of opinions on clothing — a guy whose stated ambition is to appear on best-dressed lists — doesn’t know how to tie a necktie.

Have I mentioned that Matt Harvey is 12-10 lifetime?

(Apologies to Mets Police honcho Shannon Shark for stealing some of his best lines.)

•  •  •  •  •

Major beefsteak announcement: The Brooklyn Beefsteak has now been delivering the beef, beer, and fun for six years running. Many of you have no doubt seen my various beefsteak reports during that time and thought to yourselves, “Dang — I wish something like that could happen in my town!”

Your prayers are about to be answered, because the Brooklyn Beefsteak (which, I note with a certain pride, was inspired by this article of mine) is taking its act on the road. Over the course of 2015, Brooklyn Beefsteak events will be held across the nation and even across the pond! The tour is shaping up as follows:

New Orleans: March 29
London: May 3
Boston: June 21 (Father’s Day beefsteak!)
Chicago: Aug. 16
Washington: Oct. 11
Philadelphia: Oct. 25
Austin: Nov. 15

For now, tickets are available only for the New Orleans event. Further details regarding the other cities will be coming soon. All events will feature the same mix of unlimited beef, unlimited beer, and hearty good cheer that have been the hallmarks of the Brooklyn Beefsteak experience, and the plan is for the mighty Susquehana Industrial Tool & Die Co. to be onstage for each stop on the tour. I will probably be on hand to handle my usual onstage duties for the events that are relatively close to NYC (Boston, Washington, Philly) and may try to attend one of the others as well. The tour will conclude with a triumphant homecoming beefsteak here in Brooklyn at the end of the year, and of course I’ll be there for that.

I’m impressed by how far Brooklyn Beefsteak honchos Derek Silverman and Andrew Dermont have taken this concept, and I’m proud to have played a small role in their success. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the cities slated to be on the tour, don’t miss.

•  •  •  •  •

Baseball News: Our own Phil Hecken’s latest SportingNews.com piece is about the best National League uniforms of all time. … Lots of new uniform combos for Shepherd University. … Cool move by Brewers P Matt Garza who’s given uni-themed bathrobes to his fellow Milwaukee starters. But man, those rear views really show how bad the team’s name/number font is. … Cactus League-themed Duff Man bat knob decals for Giants infielder Matt Duffy (thanks, Phil). … As we’ve noted earlier, A’s pitcher Pat Venditte can throw with either hand, so he wears a special glove. What we hadn’t noted before is the way he’s listed on Oakland’s breakdown of available pitchers (from Colin Nicholas). … Several years ago I wrote several times about the Dodgers having their minor league players wear letters instead of numbers during spring training. Now Keith Olbermann has found a new example of that phenomenon that we hadn’t seen before. That’s Gordie Windhorn, a prospect who never panned out. … Phillies P Mario Hollands was wearing his stirrups backwards yesterday. But hey, that’s what spring training is for, right? (From Frank McGuigan.) … Speaking of the Phils, they wore their BP caps with their regular uniforms yesterday (screen shot by David Cattai). ”¦ Former MLB player Billy Bean, who came out as being gay after his playing career was over, has been visiting many team camps this spring, but the Mets went a step further by putting him in uniform. Disappointing, though, to see that at least one Met is still clinging to the mistaken notion that being gay is a “lifestyle.” ”¦ Padres asst. clubhouse manager Tony Petricca dressed up in a throwback uni the other day, although he forgot the stirrups (from Barry Brite). ”¦ Ian Okorofsky notes that the Blue Jays’ roster currently includes two pitchers with single-digit numbers: Kyle Drabek and Marcus Stroman (who wore No. 54 last season but has changed to No. 6 this year). Imagine if they both make the final roster cut — when’s the last time a team had two single-digitized pitchers? ”¦ Several promo jerseys on tap this season for the Modesto Nuts and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Whoa, what’s the deal with MidAmerica Nazarene University’s pants striping? Makes for an odd pairing with the striped stirrups. That pant design is apparently an Adidas template, and holy shit does it suck. ”¦ Central Michigan and Texas State went G.I. Joe vs. tequila sunrise a few days ago (from Zach Williams). ”¦ Hartford’s new baseball team is trying to narrow down its list of potential team names (from Dan Budak). ”¦ The Red Sox and Boston College all saluted ALS-stricken Pete Frates by wearing his name and number in yesterday’s exhibition game. ”¦ Very nice tequila sunrise jerseys and gold pants for Georgia Tech softball. Some serious compression on that NOB lettering, too. … Another cap from MLB’s “Special Events Collection” has appeared — this time for the Cubs. Basically the same as their current cap, but a darker blue. “It’s slated to be worn on April 25, which is a road game at Cincinnati,” notes Brendan Hickey. The Reds are planing a Nasty Boys bobblehead giveaway on that date, so this will apparently be a throwback game. No sign yet of the Reds’ throwback cap, however.

Pro and College Football News: The 49ers have quietly removed some Jim Harbaugh memorabilia from their team museum, which seems pretty petty (thanks, Brinke). … South Carolina helmet concepts, wheee! ”¦ Some great video quality in this early-1960s Navy/Pitt game. “I especially love the end zone wordmarks — way ahead of their time,” says Jeff Flynn.

Hockey News: Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec has a Bruce Springsteen-themed mask design. “My new favorite player,” says Alan Kreit. ”¦ St. Paddy’s Day warm-up jerseys upcoming for the Blue Jackets (thanks, Phil).

NBA News: The Spurs will go G.I. Joe this Friday. … I don’t think we’ve seen the Wizards’ Latin Nights jersey yet, but here it is on a video game. … The Cavs and Celtics went color-vs.-color last night (screen shot by Matt Harris). ”¦ Unusual color-vs.-color game last night in Charlotte, as the Lakers wore gold on the road against the teal-clad Hornets. ”¦ Los Bucks jerseys apparently in the works in Milwaukee.

College and High School Hoops News: The high school girls’ hoops team that was bounced from the playoffs for wearing unauthorized pink uniforms has been reinstated on appeal, but their coach has been banned for the rest of the playoffs. … When Auburn wore memorial ribbons the other day for former NBA player Anthony Mason, who was the father of current Auburn player Antoine Mason, they got a big assist from Texas A&M’s equipment staff. Very nice story (from Lenny Vangilder). ”¦ Nike has produced a timeline of college basketball uniform innovations — well, Nike innovations — over the past 25 years. ”¦ Nike’s new March Madness uniforms appear to have almost a women’s-style racer-back cut. ”¦ Best team name and chest insignia ever: Ladies and gents, I give you the Lusk Kittens! ”¦ Filmmaker Errol Morris has done a short film on how someone took the Michael Jordan jersey banner from UNC in 1998 (thanks, Mike).

Soccer News: A player in yesterday’s Hull/Sunderland match was wearing a blood jersey. ”¦ New alternate jersey for the New England Revolution, a new primary for the Houston Dynamo, and a new secondary for the Philadelphia Union. Man, I hate it when a sentence mentions three teams and none of them ends in an “s.” … This may come as a shocker, but it turns out that there have been some bad soccer uniforms over the years. Who knew? (From Tom Gronek.) ”¦ Finally, MLS news about a team whose name ends in an “s”: New primary kits for the Portland Timbers.

Grab Bag: Lots of new uniforms for the Gaelic Games (thanks, Phil). … National Rugby League referees will no longer wear pink jerseys because nobody was taking them seriously (thanks, Phil). … Should women’s lacrosse teams wear skirts or shorts? … Some military veterans in Brooklyn are turning their old uniforms into works of art. … Good slideshow of British school uniforms. ”¦ Volvo has come out with a high-tech bicycle helmet that warns cyclists and car drivers of each other’s positions.

 
  
 
Comments (112)

    The tie thing makes me wish all the fortune of Super Joe Charboneau for Harvey’s career. For the love of pete, the baseball gods need to arrange his trade to a team like the Yankees that really deserves a player of his class and character.

    Perhaps Harvey should focus on the bow tie for his cravatte of choice. Simple and elegant, it could become his signature look. And lets face it — when untied and dangling from this neck, it looks a LOT cooler than a loosened or untied regular tie.

    Gotta put that 7 years of High School french to work somehow, right?

    Actually, I was hoping Scotty might elaborate on the finer points of bow ties, and more importantly, explain how to tie one. The only times I’ve ever had occasion to don a bow tie have been weddings, and perhaps a high school formal or two, and all those times have been with the pre-tied (back clasp) variety.

    The proper way to tie a bow tie:

    link

    It would work much better for Harvey than his untied-necktie thing.

    Took me a year to learn to tie a bowtie without having to watch YouTube video instructions while tying. It’s a much simpler knot than any necktie knot, so if you’re used to a necktie, your hands will sort of naturally try to overcomplicate the bowtie knot and screw you up.

    How to tie a bow tie? The same way you tie your shoes, assuming you do that correctly. Which most people don’t.

    That Pitt-Navy game was October 28, 1961. Jim Traficant, Pitt’s quarterback, went on to be a disgraced congressman before dying recently.

    I was just looking for a pic of him and his Beam Me Up lines when he was done speaking on the floor.

    Typo Watch:

    “Aplogies” should be “Apologies”.

    Should “doucher” be “douchier”?

    “Doucher”? That’s a new one to me.

    More importantly, I’m concerned.

    Only shave on Mondays. Check.

    Gunk in hair. Check.

    Uses the dress shirt with no tie with suit or sport jacket look. Check.

    Oh no… I’m a…. oh well, I’ve been called worse.

    Here’s a good self-test for this sort of thing:

    If your look is something that you like, and with which you feel comfortable, don’t worry about it.

    If, on the other hand, you’ll likely be changing your style in a few years to whatever the other “fashion-forward” people happen to be sporting, well…you might be a doucher.

    doucher [doosh’ er] noun. One who douches, or engages in the practice of douching.

    Nah, seriously…it’s [doo’ shay], French for “to shower.”

    Red Sox game with everyone on both teams (Sox and Boston College) was fun to listen to on the radio (no TV coverage) as the announcers had to keep asking who that was on the field. For both teams, as the Sox were playing their second game of the day and none of the regulars were playing, especially after the first few innings.

    Your definition of fun is quite unlike mine.

    Another turn of the rachet…how many more of these everyone-wears-the-same-number games must we endure? When I’m appointed Uniform Number Czar, you’ll have to find another way to honor someone.

    Paul, I used your tweet to make a joke about where my high school played its home basketball games when I was growing up. They shared the venue with the old Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. When the ice was down it was very cold.

    Is there any correlation to the players doing this and the arena possibly being shared by NBA and NHL franchises? The guy from the Raptors would make sense if that’s a home game, but the Piston looks like he’s wearing blue shorts which one would assume would mean it was a road game but with the current state of the NBA one never knows (see the color-on-color in Cleveland last night with the Cavs in their navy versus the Celtics in their normal road greens). Plus, if Detroit was at home this would not be the case anyway because the Pistons and Red Wings play in different venues.

    Interesting analysis, Dougie. But maybe this is just in keeping with the trend of NBA players wanting to stay warm in general. So many of them now wear the leggings, right?

    I never thought of that… but yes, interesting point. For instance, I caught some highlights of the local high school district championship games from over the weekend. They were played at Peterson Events Center at Pitt and many of the players I saw also we were long sleeve t-shirts under their tanks. There is no ice surface at the Pete.

    Kek – this was my first thought as well.

    For arenas that share NBA and NHL, that was exactly where my mind went to. I’ve spent time on the floor of the Saddledome when its set up for concerts, rubber matting on top of the ice and after a couple hours down there it gets COLD.

    For NBA arenas that don’t share with the NHL, legitimate question, do they have ice underneath? Some of them share with AHL teams, others used to share with AHL. Does the Palace still put ice in?

    Good point Mike, forgot about AHL angle, which could explain some places like Milwaukee or Cleveland if we saw gloves cropping up.

    According to wiki, the Palace hasn’t been used for hockey since ’01 (Vipers)

    The Lakers-Hornets game appears to have been gold vs. “teal” (which, to my eyes is closer to cyan, but whatever).

    if Nike keeps making their hoops unis lighter, they might as well use body paint and jockstraps. If that happens, I’m going to watch curling full time.

    Yeah, but remember…lamers will buy (and wear) the replica, no matter HOW bad it gets.

    So I’ll probably just hide under my bed and cry.

    “I’m going to watch curling full time.”

    ~~~

    If only!

    Have you been watching the Brier this week? ESPN3 FTW baby.

    IS ESPN3 = ESPNCanada?

    Brier has been good, but there are a couple of teams that should be there. Manitoba needed Grand Slam of Curling money leader Mike McEwen there.

    Teebz, ESPN3 is the streaming arm of the worldwide leader… also the watch ESPN app on your phone or tablet.

    Most of what is on the family of networks is on there, but there is also a large amount of material that’s online only.

    Yes. I wouldn’t call it cheating because that thing is technically a brush, but come on.

    link

    Maybe it’s been covered before here, but what is that crest(?) on Mario Holland’s stirrups?? Should it be on the outside or the inside??

    Yep. I just googled it.

    As I was looking, however, I came across these beauties!! April 26, 2015 giveaway item!!

    link

    I think there might be some weird forced-perspective thing going on in the photo of Ellis Valentine that’s making the facemask look closer to his face than it actually is. At the very least, I think the top bar might stick out further than the bottom one does.

    Love how it’s just a sawn-off double bar football face mask. Looks like noodles. Compared to Stanton’s G mask from the other day, this is downright quaint (and light years less douchey)!

    The name of the college with the odd baseball pants is actually MidAmerica Nazarene University, not just “Nazarene University.” There are several Nazarene universities in the U.S. And Canada and they all have different names, not simply Nazarene University. I’m a graduate of one of them.

    Admittedly I may be waaaay out of the loop on this, but does anyone know the deal with the Cavs and yellow shoes? There always seems to be at least one player wearing them (last night it was Timofey Mosgov). Informal captaincy thing? Personal preference? Good luck charm? This is all just a dream and I haven’t woken up yet? What gives?

    Let me start this post by saying, THIS IS NOT A TROLL. I am genuinely curious about this topic.

    I understand that fingerless gloves can be quite appropriate for activities where one needs to protect the palm of the hand, but keep the fingers free to manipulate objects.

    But why would they ever be worn for warmth? From my experience, the fingers tend to get cold well before the rest of the hand.

    So…what’s the deal?

    They make a huge difference, at least for me. Keep my hands warmer while still letting me type. Your mileage may vary, etc.

    Yeah, but don’t your fingertips get cold? That seems to me to be the important part.

    Not really. Obviously, it’s not the same as wearing regular gloves or mittens, but it still make a big difference. At least for me. Wearing them right now!

    I used to wear fingerless gloves so I could use my phone in the cold, going back to the pre-smartphone age. It’s a tradeoff for sure, but at least my hands were warmer than they would be bare.

    Now I wear touchscreen gloves, though.

    Two-in-ones are the answer. Fingerless gloves with a mitten that pops over.

    I have those and I love them. My fingers still get cold with just fingerless gloves, so it’s nice to have the option.

    Russians, who know a little something about how to deal with cold while still being active, solved the problem with the trigger-finger mitten:

    link

    During my previous delivery jobs I would usually often wear fingerless gloves in the winter (except on the coldest days).

    My gloves had a ‘mitten flap’ attached to them so that when I was outside and not giving change for money the mitten part would be over the fingers.

    Here’s a pic of a similar style (except mine had velcro on the back instead of a button):

    link.jpg

    Maybe I’m late to the party, but what is that Phillies sleeve patch? Hadn’t seen any mention of that before.

    Hornets are wearing their teal uniforms with purple numbers vs the Lakers.

    re: Matt Harvey – This might be the first time I have ever seen actual player stats quoted on this site.

    I agree, though. Learn to dress yourself, Harvey.

    Except the “stat” quoted was win-loss record, which is essentially meaningless. Have to say I’m surprised that Paul puts value in it.

    true, not the best means of measuring a pitcher’s worth…especially when he has been pitching for the lolMets.

    I think “12-10” is more than “stats” though. I think 12-10 is already been thrown at Harvey to try to put him in his place. Paul isn’t the first. It’s like saying “scoreboard” to a flashy opponent whose team is down twenty.

    I think another baseball player had Tweeted “12-10” in response to one of Matt Harvey’s more glamorous adventures. I can’t remember who did it. Anyone here?

    It was less a discussion of Win-Loss vs. advanced metrics and more of a “know your place, Rook.” comment.

    As a Mets fan, I’m looking forward to a full return and a long career (for the NYM) for Matt Harvey. I don’t care if he wears Sansabelt slacks.

    so more of a put up or shut up kinda thing?

    still, odd to see Paul throw any kind of stats on this site.

    Mario Hollands’ stirrup mix-up caught the attention of Phillies dynamic duo radio broadcasters Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen. Started with Franzke commenting on how high Hollands had his pants cuffed and the stirrups. The always alert LA pointed out he was wearing them backwards and proceeded to educate Franzke on the proper way to wear them. (Sure wish that Scott and LA would do the TV side and replace the dreck we have to listen to instead.)

    Re: Harvey not knowing how to tie a tie

    I don’t blame him….I blame his father

    I can deal with Matt Harvey being a jerk. I never planned to meet him, and the hauteur will serve him well on the mound. I’m less sanguine about Daniel Murphy being a Christian from hell. Not only does he look down on me, but fundies have a rap for being clubhouse cancer.

    Murph’s comments yesterday were very disappointing. But if he was a clubhouse cancer, I think we’d know about that by now. Let’s not go down this road. Thanks.

    However, I’m glad the Mets offered Bean the uniform. I’m proud of the statement this makes, and I’m proud of the Mets.

    Ties are one of the most pointless fashion accessories in existence, and I have no problem with anyone not knowing how to properly tie one.

    Neither do I — unless that person makes a big fuss about menswear and has a stated goal of appearing on best-dressed lists.

    Context matters.

    Fashion accessory: Ties are fine.

    Steel Mill worker uniform accessory: pointless.

    As soon as you say the word “fashion” there are no rules and therefore everything is, and is not, pointless.

    Mr. The Jeff,

    This wardrobe accessory that you demean as being a pointless bit of fashion was actually part of a real no kidding UNIFORM – albeit one of a military bent.

    Uniform sartorialists such as Messrs P.Lukas (aestheticus atheleticus)or P. Hecken (aestheticus weekendius) would be loathe to point out that the necktie as we know it, originated in the 17th century. King Louis XIII hired Croatian mercenaries who wore a piece of cloth around their neck as part of their UNIFORM.

    While these early neckties did serve a function (tying the top of their jackets that is – see sporty utility right there), they also had quite a decorative effect — a look that King Louis was quite fond of. In fact, he liked it so much that he made these ties a mandatory accessory for Royal gatherings, and — to honor the Croatian soldiers — he gave this clothing piece the name “La Cravate” — the name for necktie in French to this day.

    I got over the exact same attitude The expresses by going back to basics: In civilian attire, the tie originally served the purpose of tying one’s collar closed. So I resolved long ago that when I must wear a tie, I don’t button the top button of my shirt. My tie actually keeps my collar closed.

    I love neckties and learned how to tie one when the skinny-tie fad took off in the late ’70s. Mind you, I’d have a different opinion were I forced to wear one for my job. They’re fun.

    “Lots of new uniforms for the Gaelic Games”

    “Gaelic games” is a generic term to refer to any sporting events under the remit of the GAA. You really wouldn’t use it with the definite article except maybe when it’s in an adjectival form (eg. “the gaelic games action from the weekend”). The way you’ve used it here would be like saying “lots of new uniforms for the football” or like when my dad says “the twitter”. Best to just go with the actual name of the competition itself, the GAA World Games.

    Sure, let’s keep repeating Matt Harvey’s W-L record, despite the fact that it’s a completely meaningless statistic. I love this site, but you’d do better to not reference the godawful Metspolice blog. Wonder what he’ll have to say about his boy Murphy calling homosexuality a “lifestyle choice”.

    I like Mets Police, so I’ll keep referencing it as I see fit, thanks. As for what Shannon thinks of Murph’s comments, no need for you to wonder — you can see for yourself:
    link

    I find the phrase “fingerless gloves” interesting. Seems inefficient nomenclature. Technically, the word “mitt” refers to fingerless gloves, but given the association with baseball in the US it doesn’t work so well.

    I think other places in the world you could pull it off. I know rugby allows mitts, not gloves. I’ve hear announcers refer to mitts without explanation. The official entry in the rule book actually reads “mitts (fingerless gloves).”

    Wait a minute.

    Did we start using “mitt” for baseball gloves because the very first gloves (back in the 1870s) were in fact fingerless?

    And then “mitt” came to mean “a glove worn by baseball players” rather than “a fingerless glove”?

    Were the language purists in the 1880s looking at all the fingered gloves and saying, “those aren’t mitts; they’re gloves!”

    I think I know what I’ll be using next time I have to write a linguistics paper that requires an example of semantic change.

    I think the “fingerless” nature of the mitt relates to the lack of individual fingers i.e. the fingers are indeed covered, just not by a separate compartment for each within the structure as with a glove.

    Mark in Shiga, my guess is that is what happened semantically. We don’t even recognize it. I’m suspicious that when non-North American English speakers hear baseball mitt, their first thought is, “Why do they call that a mitt?!”

    Padday, you are confusing two different thinks. A “mitten” has one big compartment for all fingers. A “mitt” has individual finger slots, with no coverage of the finger tips. You can find this both in women’s fashion and in other sports.

    link
    link

    I used to have a two-bar mask like Valentine’s on my football helmet one year when I was playing pee-wee. Those bars were pretty sturdy and didn’t flex at all Mine wasn’t the toy nylon two-bar on replica helmets; it was an actual real Riddell two-bar made from resin (I think).

    Yeah, but your facemask was attached at both ends and your helmet was strapped to your head.

    If a pitch had hit Velentine’s facemask, it would have just knocked the whole thing off his head and driven the bars into his face.

    I think similarly regarding Giancarlo Stanton’s mask as well (noted a few days ago here).

    Without a chinstrap (and perhaps even with) to secure that lid tightly to their heads, a fastball ain’t stoppin’ just ‘cuz it hits the mask. That’s just physics, folks.

    Sure, it may not shatter their face this time, but it’s gonna leave a hurtin’ on ’em.

    I doubt the purpose of the face mask players like Valentine and Roenicke wore was to stop the impetus of a pitch, but rather to redirect the pitch away from the face via deflection; the wearer already would be trying to move his face out of harm’s way. In which case a double-bar mask might’ve provided reasonably adequate protection, without significantly reducing visibility a la Dave Parker’s “Jason” mask.

    Also keep in mind that guys like Valentine and Roenicke mostly preceded Charley Lau’s influence on hitting technique, i.e., they strode directly towards the pitcher in lieu of diving into the pitch like modern batters do. Which in turn reduced, at least somewhat, their exposure to such pitches.

    I know uni-rankings are totally subjective, but sheesh, you’ve got a couple of clunkers on your list Phil. IMHO

    – Mr. Red on the ’56 uni is bush league. Cartoon mascots shouldn’t be on big league uniforms – I’m looking at you Mets alts. Mr. Red’s cap doesn’t even match what the team is wearing! The link for home and road is much better.

    – Sure mustard is… OK I guess, but the sansabelts were always a bad idea and the sleeve stripes on the Pirates unis are too big. The previous set with the link was much better for the Buccos. Maybe my all-time favorite.

    – I think I like the original Brewers unis (with the Pilots remnants) better than those plain pullovers you chose.

    “Cartoon mascots shouldn’t be on big league uniforms”

    Maybe not in lieu of the team/city name on the front of jerseys, but I’m OK with them appearing as sleeve patches (San Diego, Minnesota, Chicago NL…Milwaukee’s “Barrel Man” would be a nice addition!)and the occasional cap (Indians, Baltimore).

    I was trying to think of a cartoon mascot I liked on a uniform, f’got the Swinging Friar. Maybe an alt, but not everyday.

    I love Mr. Met, but can’t stand the Mets current BP cap (and the orange panel is atrocious.) Think the Oriole bird is fantastic, but feel like it’s inclusion in the everyday uniform cheapens the overall look. Agree with Paul’s ESPN rankings, O’s have taken a step back with the cartoon and the panel cap. I feel the same way about the “beloved” Brewers ball in glove logo, it’s kind of clever, but definitely a gimmick that screams “Look at me a groovy time traveller from the 1970s.”

    Let me be the first to say. . . why aren’t they doing a beefsteak where I live? Obviously, we would be a great site for one! (MPLS BTW).

    Great piece. I absolutely cannot believe Dave Parker wore a Mylec street hockey mask as protection.

    Every time you do a story about the beefsteak I wish I was closer to Brooklyn. How can I convince them to come to Buffalo for a future Beefsteak World Tour? It would be a hit here, I am sure.

    Paul’s writeups give me massive beefesteak envy too. DC may be too square for a beefsteak, but Milwaukee or Madison?

    Milwaukee has a restaurant that’s been doing its own beefsteaks. I was actually in discussions with their chef to come out and assist/consult, but then they swapped him out for a different chef and it fell thru. Dang….

    I’m not sure that the “Los Bucks” shirts necessarily mean that jerseys are coming. I believe a number of teams have been wearing those shirts without having a matching jersey in the works. More merchandise the NBA can foist on us.

    Patrick Patterson is actually wearing a “Los Raptors” shirt in the glove picture. ¡Dios mio!

    Nice to see the writers of this site still don’t respect anyone’s opinions that conflicts with their own…

    I agree. Respecting the opinions of others is bush-league.

    Also, check your grammar.

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