Lots of uni-notable moments in yesterday’s Opening Day games, none better than when Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett (who already has the best name in the bigs) adjusted his pants and revealed a set of anchor-patterned socks! You can click on that photo to see a larger version, and here’s a bigger but blurrier close-up. Maybe this should be a rule: If you insist on being a pajamist, you should have to wear interesting or even absurd socks, just so we can have a little surprise when you futz with your pants.
Other notes from yesterday’s season-opening games:
• The Phillies debuted their “SLB” memorial patch for co-owner Sara Buck and, as per their recent custom, positioned it over the heart. They’ve really painted themselves into a corner with this protocol — if they use a sleeve patch, it’ll be perceived as a lesser tribute than the heart placement, so now they’re stuck with it, even if, as in this case, the patch is for someone that nobody ever heard of. (As an aside, this was a weekday-afternoon home game, so shouldn’t the Phils have worn their retro alts? Or do they routinely suspend that protocol for Opening Day?)
• In a move that hadn’t been previously announced, the Giants wore World Champions patches. It also seems possible that they’ll be adding a memorial patch for broadcaster Lon Simmons, who passed away on Sunday. Yesterday the Giants changed their Twitter avatar to this, so that could end up being a patch design.
• Surprise move by the D-backs, who waited until Opening Day to spring the news that they’re going with matte-finish batting helmets. Here’s how it looks with the rest of the uniform. I’m still kinda processing this one. Definitely doesn’t look as good here as it does for the Pirates, but it’s not terrible. Interestingly, the the base coaches’ helmets were still glossy, making for a good side-by-side comparison. Also still glossy: the batboys’ helmets.
• Memo to all teams: Opening Day is no time to be wearing your colored alternate tops. I’m talking about you, Blue Jays, Pirates, Rockies, Rangers, and Twins.
• Speaking of the Twins, last month I wrote about pitcher J.R. Graham, who wears stirrups so his visually impaired mother can more easily spot him on the field. The good news is that Graham made the Twins’ roster, got into yesterday’s game, and was wearing stirrups; the bad news is that his stirrups didn’t have the “TC” logo like the ones he was wearing in spring training.
• Speaking of stirrups, they sure look good when a team lines up on Opening Day. That’s Mets pitcher Sean Gilmartin, whose teammates look like total schlubs. (And speaking of schlubs, look at the Indians — woof! And yeesh, Carlos Santana, what a mess.)
• On the other hand, Rays pitcher Chris Archer had a Little League-style stirrup malfunction (and not for the first time!). Meanwhile, the other high-cuffed Rays wore non-striped socks. Come on, people, be consistent about it — either everyone go striped or everyone go stripe-free.
• In a related item, A’s starter Sonny Gray wore green socks with gorgeous feather-edged gold stripes. Second baseman Eric Sogard also wore the striped socks (sorry, no photo from yesterday, but he was also wearing them in spring training). It’s a great look, but it only works if it’s used consistently by all the high-cuffed players, so I asked A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich if all A’s hosiery would now be striped. His response: “No. Personal choice.” Grrrrrr.
• Reds first baseman Joey Votto appears to have his uniform tailored for a much trimmer fit this season.
• There had been some question as to whether Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton would continue to wear his “G” facemask in the regular season. Looks like he will, at least based on yesterday’s game.
• Speaking of the Marlins, pitcher Henderson Alvarez wore white shoes.
• Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is still wearing a cross on his armband (something he began doing toward the end of last season).
• Orioles outfielder Adam Jones may be the first MLB player — or at least the first I’ve seen — with a hashtag on his bat knob decal.
• We’d been promised that Mariners players going high-cuffed this season would have striped stirrups or striped socks. And sure, enough, both of those were on display yesterday. Very nice — now let’s hope they stick with it.
• Last week I Ticker-wondered if the Nats would use lowercase lettering for newly acquired outfielder Matt den Dekker’s NOB, as the Mets had done. Answer: Yes.
• This is so awesome — check out the new bike lanes on the Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh.
• Someone showed up at Yankee Stadium dressed as Babe Ruth.
• Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista posed for a pregame photo with a kid who was wearing a Yankees uniform and a Jays cap. According to the AP caption, “Bautista replaced the fan’s Yankees cap with a Blue Jays cap before the photo was taken.”
• Former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium and wore a jersey with a right-sleeve patch that I don’t recognize. Anyone know the story behind that one?
• Someone on Twitter is claiming that Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said newly acquired reliever Alex Torres will wear a padded Mets cap similar to the Padres version he wore last season. I was watching that game and didn’t hear Cohen say that (and Torres didn’t get into the game), but maybe it happened while I ran to the john or something.
• Finally, MLB.com posted a very nice uni-centric Opening Day video. I don’t know who put that together, but it’s a really nice piece of work. Good know the MLB folks can do something classy when they want to. Recommended viewing.
(My thanks to all contributors, including Douglas Adams, Dan Chelgren, Andrew Cosentino, @Ethanhats, Christopher Guy, Joe Janke, Mike McKinnon, @MetsBro, Michael Romero, Nicholas Schiavo, @thefrownyface, @ThePittFan, @TheRealBirdgang, James Venes, Vincent Verhei, Jason Umberg, Jason Wojciechowski, and of course Phil.)
Military intelligence: Surprising news yesterday out of West Point, where the Army athletics department announced that all of the military academy’s teams will be getting a makeover. The unveiling will take place next Monday, April 13, at 8pm Eastern (when I’ll be busy attending the Bucks’ logo unveiling in Milwaukee, and then the next day I’m heading to Cleveland for the Browns’ uni unveiling — that’s gonna be a busy couple of days).
But the bigger news came from Army football beat reporter Sal Interdonato, tweeted something that was left out of the official announcement: The Army teams will now be called the Cadets, not the Black Knights, reversing the name change that was made in 1999.
I’m all in favor of this. West Point students are not medieval warriors engaged in some comic book fantasy game; they’re officers-in-training. Calling them the Cadets has a lot more dignity (plus it forms a nice parallel with Navy’s teams, which are called the Midshipmen).
The only question now is how much camouflage will be included in the new designs.
T-Shirt Club launch for May: As I mentioned last week, we’re deviating from our usual schedule and doing an early release for the Uni Watch T-Shirt Club’s latest release. That’s because the May design is inspired by Cinco de Mayo, so we want the shirts to arrive by May 5.
Here’s the design, which we’re offering in three options — home white, road grey, and a raglan-sleeved baseball shirt (click to enlarge):
As you can see, we translated “Uni Watch” (which is now “Observación de Uniformes”) and “For People Who Get It” (“Para la gente que comprende”) on the front of the shirt. On the sleeve patch, the month (“Mayo”) and “T-Shirt Club” (“Club de Camisetas”) have been translated as well. The uni number is 5, for Cinco de Mayo. And the colors have been tweaked to match those of the Mexican flag.
Here’s everything you need to know about ordering the shirts:
1. You can purchase the May shirts on this page. (Ignore the bits about “reaching our goal” and the “campaign being successful” — that’s for Teespring clients who use T-shirt sales as fundraisers.) Domestic shipping is $3.85 for the first shirt, $1 for each additional shirt; Canadian shipping is $9.50 for the first shirt, $4 for each additional; shipping to other international destinations is $12.50 for the first shirt, $4 for each additional.
2. The white and grey shirts are available in your choice of American Apparel or Hanes; the raglan-sleeved shirt is American Apparel. The tailoring and sizing vary from brand to brand, so use the “View Sizing Chart” link to be sure you get the shirt that’s best for you.
3. This design will only be available through next Monday, April 13, 11pm Eastern. All shirts ordered by then should be delivered by April 27 (and in many cases well earlier than that).
4. If you’ve been buying each month’s shirt in order to qualify for the year-end bonus prize, you do not have to purchase all three of the May formats in order to qualify — you only need to purchase one (although you’re welcome to purchase more than one, of course).
I think that’s it. Again, the May shirts can be purchased here. If you have any questions, give a holler. Thanks.
(Special thanks to Uni Watch reader Omar Jalife for his assistance with the Spanish translations for the May design.)
Sponsor shout-out: As you may have noticed in the right-hand sidebar, longtime Uni Watch favorite Jeff Suntala is marking the start of the baseball season by offering a 20% discount on his beautiful ballpark renderings. Check them out here.
Uni Watch News Ticker
By Garrett McGrath
Baseball News: Competing men’s style magazines GQ and Esquire both had uni-related features yesterday, about why baseball managers shouldn’t wear uniforms and the differences bewtween the Yankees’ and Red Sox’s uniforms (thanks, Phil). … A new poster has an infographic of Yankees starting lineups from 1995-2014 (thanks, Paul). ”¦ Unusual scene on Conan O’Brien last night, as described by Ferdinand Cesarano: “Conan introduced ‘Sandy Koufax’ to the crowd, and out came a black guy wearing Koufax’s No. 32 uniform. Andy Richter objected, saying that that was not Sandy Koufax and pointing out that Koufax is white and Jewish. Conan replied that the man next to him was white, and had him recite the Four Questions of Passover. Conan then denounced Andy as a racist and asked rhetorically why a black actor couldn’t portray Koufax in this sketch. A voiceover then announced, ‘This has been “Casting Screw-Ups Covered Up by Racial Indignation.”‘ An inset showed a white actor saying, ‘I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.’ Then Koufax trotted off, showing that his uniform was NNOB, but with long pants.”
NFL News: Here is the latest Cleveland Browns uni leak. Like all the others, it’s not clear how legit this one is, but we’ll find out for sure one week from tonight, when they finally do the unveiling in Cleveland (thanks, Paul).
College Football News: Here’s thorough pictorial history of Notre Dame’s football uniform pants and the debate over their gold color (from Steven Luft).
Hockey News: Good riddance: The Sabres wore their yellow third sweater last night for the final time(from Zach Palvino). … Here’s a wonderful Tumblr of terrible hockey sweaters (from Alan Kreit). … “Hockey Hall of Famer Elmer Lach died last week at the age of 97,” John Verruso says. “I found this photo, accompanying Dave Stubb’s tribute to Lach, on the Montreal Gazette’s website. The great Punch Line ”” Rocket Richard, Lach, and Toe Blake. Three Canadiens immortals wearing three different sweaters (at practice, I assume).”
Soccer News: Reader Trevor Williams has shared a lot of uni news from the soccer world: Here is a look at the Real Madrid home uniform and the Real Madrid training uniform. … Here is an Inter Milan photo that could be an April Fool’s joke, and a more legitimate-looking leak here. … A look at the Turkish team Galatasaray’s away and third uniforms. … Here is a better photo of the Arsenal third uni. … Manchester United training jersey from Adidas here. … The new Adidas Juventus 2015-2016 Training Jerseys will debut July. … The new Puma Newcastle United 2015-2016 home, away, and members kits have been revealed. … The new Nike Paris Saint-Germain 2015-16 third Kit. … Sacramento Republic FC has new home and away uniforms. … The 2015-16 away kits from River Plate have leaked. … Morocco has a new home uniform with an interesting crest. … And to close it out here are some fantasy kits inspired by social media companies. Thank you Trevor!
NBA News: No photos but new uniforms are apparently in the works for the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to the owner of the team (from Mike Nessen).
College Hoops News: During halftime of last night’s big game, the scoreboard mistakenly showed Kentucky’s logo instead of Duke’s. ”¦ Quinn Cook’s Final Four patch went missing during the postgame celebration. ”¦ On last weekend’s edition of Saturday Night Live, they opened with a Final Four skit, which featured cast member Bobby Moynihan in a Duke uniform (from Chris Flinn).
Grab Bag: Reader Seth LaFleur has imagined a new airline with a Uni Watch livery — nice! ”¦ When Scott Brayton attempted to qualify for the 1994 Indy 500, he used Eddie Cheever’s backup car, which had a predominantly green livery. After Brayton qualified in the car, it was changed to his red and yellow livery for the race (from Graham Clayton).
“One from Conrad Burry” seems to be missing something.
that browns helmet is the same photo that was going around 2 or so weeks ago
opps didmt click the actual link before hand…
Previous Browns “leaks” have shown brown TV numbers. Today’s jersey has orange. Orange would be ironic I guess, seeing how the last time the team tried to do that they didn’t make it out of the preseason before changing it.
That’s not a TV number; that’s trim going right up to the collar.
Hrm. Right you are. The style guide leak shows 2 stripes which go to the seam where the shoulder meets the neck, and this doesn’t match that. So… one of the leaks is wrong, at least.
Most of the comments on Reddit believe they’re numbers, based on the drop shadow.
Phillies always wear pinstripes for Opening Day. That’s the lone exception, playoffs included.
Sort of like the Reds breaking their recent protocol of wearing their red jerseys during day games – except Opening Day.
I recall reading that their protocol is if a game starts 3pm or later, they go pinstripes.
I actually think it’s 5 p.m. They usually wear alts for 4 p.m. FOX games.
Philadelphia did wear their ‘bad luck’ alternate blue caps for their home opener in 1994 (though that wasn’t Opening Day).
That’s the only time I can remember any deviation from their standard uniform for their first game of the season.
. . . and the 1994 season never was completed. Those blue hats – and all depictions of them – should be destroyed!
Sacramento Republic: Maybe the best Euro-style soccer team name in North America. Terrific unis to boot.
Commissioner Rob Manfred was in DC to announce the 2018 All-Star Game… and to throw out the first pitch at Opening Day (which was delegated to a boy). The Nationals unveiled two banners in the stadium to announce the All-Star Game. There is a “Home of the 2018 All-Star Game” banner up on the Red Porch bar. And then there is a large sign on the left field wall by the foul pole.
I think this the patch on Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s jersey:
link
It looks like a patch celebrating the dodgers first WS in 1955.
Valenzuela patch is the Dodgers “55 since 55” patch
link
Man, great opening day video! I recognize the narrator’s voice but can’t pin his face to it. Who is that guy?
I’m hearing Billy Bob Thornton. But with a high degree of uncertainty. Could be Matthew Rhys doing a mild Arkansas accent just to prove he can.
I am willing to bet that is Jeff Daniels. He is a big Tigers fan, and he has written articles for MLB before.
I think the Mariners need anchor-patterned socks for kids day at the ball park.
Important question: are those actual athletic socks, or did he find some “fun” socks at the mall?
Re: Phillies and owners’ patch. With the number of co-owners this franchise has, and most are up there in age, this may be a recurring theme for years to come.
1. I agree about the alts on Opening Day. Alts seems somehow dressing down.
2. In re: the Browns’ leak — that wordmark for “Cleveland” seems large to me, as though they’re a college team. Any other NFL team feature that large a wordmark, rather than the kind of collar decoration such as the Patriots have?
The Dolphins, and theirs doesn’t look good either.
I think the narrator of the video is Steve Phillips, ex Mets GM and MLB Sirius radio host.
The Army alternate uniforms over the last few years have been very nice. I hope they are similar to them.
Army name change is great!
Re: Alts on opening day.
It’s so easy to get uniforms right and have a very sensible protocol for what gets worn when. It seems completely lazy to wear alternates on a special day. But I guess on a day when you’re gonna be sold out it’s good advertising to wear the jersey the least amount of people own.
I believe they were all visiting teams, weren’t they?
You are correct from those photos. My comment still stands about it being easy enough to keep special days special.
I like the alts. But in all honesty I don’t care that much for baseball uniforms. Football I do care about.
Yes.
You know what? If any of those five road teams break out their gray jerseys for any of the games 2 or 3 of their opening series, I’m going to be even more pissed off than I was at them last night!
I’d rather have it ambiguous as to whether or not they could have left their grays at home, than have it verified that they actually had them for the opening series and just didn’t give a fuck about how they looked on Opening Day.
Texas going blue again vs. Oakland in yellow.
Rockies went gray, so to hell with those assholes.
I find it inconsiderate when teams do have have a set jersey/cap protocol. They try to get the fans to buy all of the variations, and assuming you do, wouldn’t you like to wear what the team is wearing that day if you go to a game. With most teams it is a pure guess, because they never announce anything in advance. I find it frustrating.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Wear whatever you want and stop worrying about “matching” the team (which you don’t, unless you’re also wearing baseball pants/socks/shoes/jockstrap/steroids/etc.).
Now that would just look stupid ;)
My thought is this: wear whatever the hell you want to at a game, and don’t worry about what anyone else is wearing – even the team on the field.
but what if they need to ask someone from the stands to play? You are ahead of everyone else because you are already matching them…and you brought your glove!
Well, it has happened before.
link
Just make sure you have a sewing kit handy in case someone important dies and they don’t let you on the field without the proper memorial patch.
“Well, it has happened before.”
The story is on page 18, for those having trouble finding it.
I’m rather amazed that the score was only 24-2. Did the A’s just go easy on them?
Here’s a more detailed article about the game. The Tigers didn’t truly pull randoms out of the stands to play, but rather had arranged beforehand for them to play if needed. But apparently the A’s played the game in earnest:
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AKA The Full Kit Wanker.
I agree teams shouldn’t wear alts on Opening Day (or ever, actually), but in the Rockies’ case, they’ve made quite a big thing of “Purple Monday” in recent years, with regular promotions etc., so I wasn’t surprised they didn’t break the protocol of always wearing purple on Mondays.
They were on the road.
Which has nothing to do with breaking the Purple Monday protocol.
There are “regular promotions” on the road?
Yeah, I know. Not saying I think it’s right, just that I’m not surprised. They really have made it A Thing, encouraging fans to wear purple every Monday — not necessarily just team gear, and not necessarily just to the game. Just wear the color.
If this is indeed true, then I think it’s safe to say Paul’s contempt for the Rockies for their use of that color has hit an all-time high.
XD
Love the Seattle stripes, especially alternating navy / teal.
Morocco’s football jersey with the three items (Adidas mark, number, team crest) in a row at basically the high sternum level? As posted here previously by others: The items are basically the same size and the look doesn’t work.
I don’t know, maybe make the number bigger and lower it to split on the stripe?
I was watching the Rangers/A’s game last night and noticed the home plate umpire was wearing a black hockey style mask as opposed to the traditional umpires mask. Is this the first for an ump or did I miss things? I will try to get a pic and post it.
Some plate umps have been wearing hockey-style masks for over a decade now.
One detail worth noting: There’s no way to wear an ump’s cap — not even the short-brimmed plate-ump style — with the hockey-style mask. So if a plate ump wearing this type of mask removes the mask (during an argument, say, or for any other reason), he suddenly becomes the only person on the entire field with an uncovered head:
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This is unseemly, because the umps are supposed to be the most formally attired people on the field. In fact, formal attire used to be how umps got CHOSEN to be umps in the first place — the best-dressed gentleman at a game was routinely chosen to be the ump, because it was assumed that he was a man of character and a fair arbiter.
The catcher would look the same when he removes his hockey-style mask, so the umpire wouldn’t be the only one.
Incorrect. Catchers usually wear a backwards cap under the hockey mask:
link
This option isn’t available to an ump, because an ump with a backwards cap would look absurd.
I think we need to clean up the game. All baseball players should wear three piece suits while playing. Also, sliding should be outlawed so that players can retain a look of decency and formality at all times. Caps can be replaced by fedora hats.
Paul – wearing the caps backwards is the FIRST thing we tell newbies NOT to do. First sign your umpire is unprofessional, and has ZERO real training.
I think we need to clean up the game. All baseball players should wear three piece suits while playing. Also, sliding should be outlawed so that players can retain a look of decency and formality at all times. Caps can be replaced by fedora hats.
Your sarcasm reflects an ignorance of the game’s origins. Early baseball uniforms were in fact called “suits,” and were labeled as such in early sporting goods catalogs. And why do baseball caps exist in the first place? Because it was seen as improper for a gentleman to be outside with an uncovered head. Why do umpires wear slacks and polo shirts and sometimes jackets? Because early umpires were usually the best-dressed men attending the game and were drafted out of the crowd to umpire the contest, often while still wearing their long tails and top hats.
I’m not saying we need to go back to that. But some historical perspective is useful before you sound off like a smart-ass.
My point of reference is Buster Posey, who doesn’t wear a cap under his helmet, but I have seen some MLB catchers wear a “skullcap” under their helmets.
I am a high school softball ump, and we are supposed to wear caps at ALL times – even if you wear the hockey mask behind the plate. So those people have to buy the little beanie cap to wear – usually most of us wear at the 4 seam cap behind the plate, but some wear the 6 seam one, or even the full 8 seams with the mask. All of the MLB umps wear the full brimmed 8 seamer with their masks. It is supposedly more professional, but a PITA to learn how to whip the mask off without pulling off the cap at the same time.
I actually meant no offense by my smart ass comments. I am aware of the game’s “gentlemanly” roots. In fact, I’m fascinated by that era. My sarcasm was more of a commentary on the juxtaposition of attitudes in baseball then vs. baseball now. At some point, tobacco chewing and pajama pants became more synonmous with baseball than the virtues the game was founded upon, and it’s a bit unfortunate, in my opinion.
^^^^
Ed Hickox pulls it off. link
Notwithstanding some of the uni mistakes of opening day, I’m still reminded baseball has the finest uniforms of all sports.
MLB should mandate that alternate jerseys are not to be worn on Opening Day!
Also, while I get why players would rather wear long pants than showing their socks (even though I don’t like it), if socks/stirrups are shown, for a given team they should all look the same/uniform (i.e. all with stripes, or none with stripes).
Carlos Santana: Oy vey como va!
Carlos Santana: Absurd.
Lee
i actually like the “softball” top for most of the teams that went with their Alt look.. especially the pirates
The Indians’ Yan Gomes was wearing a Chief Wahoo navy/red helmet last night:
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Is that a new look for him this season?
The matte batting helmet thing is growing on me. Makes the helmets look more like caps. It has more texture. When the Pirates announced it, I was OK with it as something that maybe one or two teams do to be unique. But the more photos I see, the more I think it’d be OK if it became the default, and let the clownish shiny-helmet thing become the look-at-me exception.
I’m with you re: the texture. Really wish the teams using the matte helmets would also use some sort of faux-flannel uni fabric, so the entire look would be textured. (Actually, I wish *every* team would go with faux flannel, but one thing at a time.)
I’d like to see real flannel if nothing else just to see the Diamondbacks wear them in the desert heat.
New Era has done a good job of keeping the apparent texture of the old wool caps as they transitioned to poly. And the more recent generation of thicker poly material used for BP caps has even richer visual texture. Kind of a shame that Majestic has gone the opposite direction with its parts of the uniform. Though my wish for faux flannel is more about darkening MLB’s too-light road gray fabrics than with the visual texture. For all intents and purposes, the Phillies wear pink unis at home and white unis on the road. It’s especially jarring to watch the Phillies take BP on the road and then see someone with a vintage or vintage-style gray jersey walk by on the field. Not just the Phillies, but they’re the offender I see most in person, wear gray so light that they’re about as bright as Giants cream.
For whatever reason, I’ve been completely fine with every photo of a matte baseball helmet I’ve seen, but even the matte football helmets that I like conceptually just look wrong to me. Football helmets should shine, goshdarnit!
Anyone know where MLB replays are shown this year? Last year daily trip to the twitter (MLB replays) would reveal previous day’s replay challenges. Today, only 2 are presented when there must have been way more.
link
The Dodger jersey Fernando was wearing is a 2010 model. Maybe an austerity plan by dodgers management as a majority of the LA area can’t see the Dodgers on TV due to an ongoing carriage dispute.
That’s not Elmer Lach in that photo with Blake and Richard.
That’s Keith Jones from NBC Sportsnet, who are you trying to fool ….LOL
The glossy and the matte Diamondback helmets both look poor to me when side by side…why not a semi-gloss finish?
Well, thank god Esquire posted that article about the differences between Red Sox and Yankee jerseys. Up until now, I had no idea there was any difference at all…
The GQ and Esquire articles mentioned in today’s ticker were a bit… intern-y (crappy.) The GQ article is just critical because well, everyone has to think everything sucks these days. They mention managers wearing stirrups and cleats, but come on – hardly anyone in the game wears stirrups, despite our efforts. The managers can easily go for pajama comfort. And cleats? Why bother? They neglect to mention many managers just wear a warm up jersey or a sweater/jacket thing. I rarely saw Ozzie Guillen in a full uniform when he was managing, and he was into his uni as a player. Remember the added red stripe he wore above his right stirrup as a player? link Ozzie definitely dressed more casually as a manager.
But the question the article misses is: who doesn’t want to wear a baseball uniform? If you can remain in the game you love after your playing days and have the option of wearing a major league uniform every day… who wouldn’t choose to wear one? The real story is that grown men in managerial positions just can’t help themselves. Someone will sport the Connie Mack look again, and probably look great doing it. For most other guys, it’s an irresistible pleasure. And who knows… six or eight guys on your team may keel over from food poisoning during a close game and… well, the old man IS in uniform… you never know…
Re: the Esquire article: is anyone editing there? I mean it was a nice casual story but the line “Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees have their names on their home jerseys.” should read “Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees PLAYERS have their names on their home jerseys.” If the writer’s getting paid per word, that error cost him an extra five cents!
Are GQ and Esquire even relevant anymore?
(Then again, I am a nerdy manchild who never had any interest in those publications to begin with, so… XD)
Me too.
Don’t have an issue with teams wearing alternate tops for opening day, I don’t think MLB should get involved in this area.
However, I would like the Pirates to introduce a yellow alternate jersey, modeled after the popular black alternate. The club had a sharp yellow spring training jersey a few years ago, and it was disappointing to see it dropped.
Don’t have an issue with teams wearing alternate tops for opening day
Let’s just agree to disagree on that point.
A yellow alternate for the Pirates would be a nice change of pace from them wearing black all the time, though.
Don’t mind alternate tops, but they should be white and gray. Softball tops aren’t fitting for baseball teams.
agree to disagree
Don’t if it was was missed, or I missed it, but the Cleveland baseball team is wearing the number 7 on their sleeve. It’s for Al Rosen, who passed away last Friday.
Was reported here and in my MLB season preview column on ESPN.
The Seattle Mariners use a logo on their batting helmets that is subtly different than the logo on their caps. I’ve never known why. I always assumed it was because the decal “pops” better on the shiny helmet if it is outlined in white, too.
If the M’s switch to a matte finish on their batting helmets, does that mean they can change the logo so that is identical to the one on their caps?
Totally agree on the Phillies memorial patches. I emailed the team today to plead the case that it’s adding to the funereal atmosphere surrounding the team. And I added they’ve painted themselves into a major corner given they have several other significant organizational figures in their 70s and 80s who will also likely get the black patch treatment.
And to add, this owner died in August. So they waited to gift her own season when, if necessary it should have been done last year
When Robin Roberts passed, the Phillies wore a memorial patch on the shoulder. So the Phillies aren’t bound by the placement of the black patch over the heart.
Paul
Comments on the post about JR are closed so I will post this here. I played with him in HS (Livermore High School, Randy Johnson’s high school) and can say he is a great guy and always has worn high socks but about wearing white cleats to distinguish himself in high school; that may have been the idea but in practice this probably did not work so well. Being in the east SF bay area and having Green and Gold school colors our team modeled itself after the Oakland A’s. So that meant most of us were wearing white cleats. Not to disprove the article or disparage anyone… just an interesting note. Glad JR has made the show after some arm troubles. Great guy and great talent
I’m not gonna beat up those teams who wore their alternate uniforms yesterday. I don’t see what the big deal is. Let them wear the tops they wanna wear from game to game. Who are they really hurting?