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Uni Watch

NO SALE! Meet Uni Watch’s Public Enemy #1

By
Sale Scissorhands3

Click to enlarge — image credit: Corey Dieteman

By Phil Hecken

If you hadn’t heard, the Chicago White Sox were scheduled to wear their 1976 “Leisure Suit” Throwbacks yesterday evening. Chris Sale had other plans.

In what may be the most bizarre uni-related story in the history of ever of 2016, according to multiple reports, Chris Sale, starting pitcher for the White Sox, refused to wear the uniforms, and became so upset at being told that he would HAVE to wear them, he cut all the uniforms up with either a knife or scissors. Unbelievable.

Even as I write this (Saturday evening) the details are a bit sketchy, but enough folks have indeed confirmed that Sale took a sharp implement to the jerseys, rendering them unwearable. Now, I normally try to plan my posts ahead of time, and today my plan was to write about the 1976 throwbacks (hence, the tweet from above). I even made a Flickr album so I could compare and contrast. Then, the timeline of events on Twitter became bizarre:

Wait — they’re wearing the Beach Blanket Bingo uniforms? Did I screw this up? Did I get misinformation?

Nope — the news came pretty fast and furious after that:

Tommy Stokke, the baseball guy from “FanRag Sports” was the first to really break the story:

Others quickly confirmed:

You’ll note the statement from the White Sox makes no mention whatsoever of the uniform incident, and if you read it in its entirety, they say “The White Sox will have no additional comment until the investigation is completed.” How long will this Edward Scissorhands be allowed to roam the hallowed halls of Chicagoland until his deeds are brought to light and an appropriate punishment is meted out?

. . .

There’s not much more (so far) to the story — and unfortunately there are no pictures of the destruction. But in the history of uniform watching, I cannot even think of an event that remotely comes close to this. Sure, teams have “lost” uniforms before, fire has destroyed some uniforms, and there have been a few (Mike Keenan nixing what might have been the worst third jersey in hockey) times that uniforms haven’t seen the light of day (or court, or ice or diamond). A while back Paul did a story called “What happens when uniforms are lost, stolen or destroyed?”, but nothing like the Sale incident had ever occurred in the history of uniforms.

Folks, for this deed, we have no choice but to proclaim Chris Sale “Uni Watch Public Enemy #1”.

On Twitter last night I’d asked if anyone wanted to take a crack at designing a “WANTED” poster (and you’ll see the one I chose as today’s splash), but I did receive two other entries that I wanted to share. They are below (and they are also tremendous):

. . .

I’m not sure what’s going on in Chris Sale’s life and I certainly don’t want to speculate. There have been reports he’s not happy with management, that he’s on the trading block — and you’ll remember Sale was openly critical of White Sox team president Ken Williams when Williams said the son of Adam LaRoche would no longer be allowed in the clubhouse.

Ken Rosenthal (whose tweet is embedded above) had this to say during the Yankees/-Giants telecast on FS1.

The blowup occurred because he didn’t want to wear throwback jerseys, so he cut them up and obviously they could not be worn. I was told Sale felt the jerseys were uncomfortable and he didn’t want to pitch with that kind of feeling. So he was upset. There was a blowup during batting practice when he cut up the jerseys. … Basically his feeling was the White Sox were valuing PR and jersey sales more than his comfort and winning, and that’s why this incident took place.

If true, we have a paradox — he didn’t want to wear them because they were “uncomfortable”? Um, I’m calling “bullshit.” If anything, the pullover they were supposed to wear…

…would be as comfortable, if not more so, than the regular uni. Even so, throwbacks (as we all know, and I bemoan every chance I get) are cut to a players’ specs (which is why they so often don’t resemble the uniforms they’re meant to replicate), so the jersey would have fit him exactly (or almost exactly) as his regular one.

Now the second part of Rosenthal’s statement: “…his feeling was the White Sox were valuing PR and jersey sales more than his comfort and winning” (emphasis mine) — doesn’t sound so bad. After all, this might be the first time I’ve heard a player (if it’s true) actually speak out about “valuing PR and jersey sales” (more than his comfort). I’m not buying it though. If after all is said and done, he actually comes out with a statement that says just that, or says it in an interview, I’ll give it more weight. And I’ll give him some kudos. But regardless, throwing a tantrum and destroying the uniforms for which he is paid millions of dollars to wear isn’t going to win him any fans, especially not uniform fans.

I was going to end this by throwing in a bunch of humorous tweets — but it’s already pretty long — so I’ll just add a couple. However, if you read my Twitter timeline, I retweeted a number of funny ones. The “best” are below:

Sale clearly has some issues to work out (and I wish him well with that, because he’s going to need it). He’s probably pitched his last game in a Sox uniform (provided they even have any of those left in his locker). And maybe he truly felt the throwback uniform wasn’t a fit for him. That will need to be sorted out later. But even if he truly is making a principled stand, that’s no excuse to destroy the uniforms.

I say we officially have Public Enemy Number One.

What say you Uni Watchers?

__________

(Paul has a reaction piece on ESPN as well — Click here).

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And there was indeed a throwback game played yesterday…

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A Cardinals uniform without the iconic “birds-on-bat” logo/wordmark? Yep. It was a throwback of 60 years to 1956 — a “one year wonder” where the Cardinals actually dropped their iconic logo and simply wore uniforms with a script “Cardinals.” They’d worn a uniform (either home or road, usually both) featuring the birds-on-bat logo in some form since 1922 — and up until present day — except for 1956. While the uniform is indeed beautiful and simple, it was good the powers-that-be came to their senses after the 1956 season and returned the staple to the front of the jersey, where it belongs.

Anyway, the Cardinals threw back to 1956 last evening, and in an odd twist, the Dodgers (their opponents) wore “B” (Brooklyn Dodger) caps, but kept their normal Los Angeles uniforms. So theirs was a hybrid of 1956 and 2016. The Cardinals pulled out all the stops, and the uniforms looked great. I’ll just post game pics below for your enjoyment. My only complaint is the pajamas, but what are you going to do. At least no one cut these to pieces (click photos to enlarge):

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9

10

Beautiful, right?

The Cards had the period appropriate cap, and check out the beautiful embroidered sleeve patch!

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The Cards uniform was very plain — just some thin pants piping and the left sleeve patch. It’s a beautiful uniform…it’s just not what the classic “Cardinals” uni looks like.

5


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Sadly, the Dodgers wore the Brooklyn “B” cap, but kept their normal helmets (those raised LA letters should be easy enough to chip off, no?) and had the “LA” on their sleeves, which kinda ruined the look — although those uniforms were basically what they wore in 1956 (sans the “LA” part). They did have NOBs (something the team did NOT have in 1956).

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The Cardinals went NNOB, and their helmets (current road helmets) basically exactly align with the cap worn in 1956:

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Still — this was a good looking game and a good looking uniform for the Cardinals. It was nice to see it brought back for one day…but I don’t think we’ll be seeing any uniforms from St. Louis without the iconic b-o-b anytime soon.

More photos can be seen here.

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Leo's World 500

Leo’s World
“Leo’s World” is a new, semi-recurring feature here on Uni Watch weekends, featuring some excellent uni-related finds from Leo Strawn, Jr.. Each installment will feature a new, unique or just very cool collection of related uniform observations and research. You can click the images below to enlarge. — PH

1962 Chargers Photo
By Leo Strawn, Jr.

I ran across this San Diego Chargers photo apparently taken sometime after the 1962 draft. Lots of questions about this one:

Chargers1

First, the jerseys are the 1960 Los Angeles Chargers jerseys…

Chargers2

…worn also in preseason 1961 by San Diego.

Chargers3

Why take a photo in these jerseys? Why did the team even still have them?

Second, they aren’t all rookies. Unless I’m mistaken, that’s Jack Kemp on the left of Sid Gillman. 1962 would be his last for the Chargers as he was traded during the season to the Bills. I’m not 100% certain, but #76 should be Henry Schmidt who was with SD beginning in 1961 after playing a few seasons at San Francisco.

The remainder that I can name were rookies from the ’62 Chargers. I can identify Bambi in the jersey number he wore in his rookie season, front and center. I can also ID Frank Buncom, wearing #55.

I see Reggie Carolan, the #89 who is standing in the back row. Which raises another question, why are there two #89s? And who is the other one?

Also, I don’t know who #57 is, but he looks familiar and it’s driving me crazy trying to figure it out.

Anyone out there know anything more about this odd photo?

Till next time…

Cheers!

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UW Friday Flashback

UW’s Friday Flashback

In case you missed it Friday, Paul’s latest Friday Flashback column over on ESPN takes a look at the history of MLB vests (including some discussion of the ultimate sleeveless player, 1950s Reds first baseman Ted Kluszewski, shown here). Paul even wore a vest for the video accompanying the piece.

Check out the Friday Flashback here.

Enjoy!

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Uni Watch News Ticker

Baseball News: “I was watching an HBO doc on Babe Ruth and found this shot” (of a player with a number pinned on his jersey) says Brad Eenhuis. “Thought you might find this interesting. I sure did.” Looks like it was from the 1934 All Star Game (which Paul noted here). … Last evening the Syracuse Chiefs wore these “Salute The Military” jerseys which contain the names of servicemen (from OT Sports). … Here’s a beautiful photo of the 1989 Fiftieth Anniversary portrait of the Baseball Hall of Fame members (from Bruce Menard). … On Friday evening the Bowie Baysox did their David Bowie tribute. Yep. The front and back of the uniform were two different styles, not unlike Bowie. … Yesterday the Pittsburgh Pirates’ John Jaso went high-cuffed for the first time this season (from John Dankosky). … Just because: here’s Frank Robinson in a Caveman Indians uni (from 216 Sports History). … OK, this is just so wrong (from Josh McDaniel). … Tweeter Sam Middlebrooks asks, “any idea what this ‘divine mercy’ #3 jersey is?” … Johnny Cueto has been getting some good PR for his white shoes (thanks, Brinke). … “Is Ken Griffey Jr. trying to hide his Under Armour logo?” asks Joshua Baker. “Piazza doesn’t seem to care.” … The Reds added and Olde English “C” to their mound yesterday (thanks to Alex Hider). … Uni oddity in this video of the 1980 White Sox: Jim Morrison wearing a “soxless” batting helmet at about the 32:40 mark (from Peter Fredrickson). … Last night Rockies Manager Walt Weiss wore purple sleeves while the rest of the team wore black (from Josh Pate).

NFL/CFL News: “At Old Navy in Rochester, NY,” writes Joseph Bailey, apparently confused about the selection. “I get the Bills, Jets, Giants. The Washington and Steelers as well. But, Vikings?” … “Was watching ‘CFL Traditions’ on youtube (great watch by the way, one on each of the 9 teams… lots of great old uniform footage),” says Gene Sanny. “Anyway, in one of the lead-ins back from commercial, they had this clip that I took a still frame of. A guy pulling on some strings that were attached to something straight on the front of the shoe and tied around the back of his leg, which pulled the toes of the shoe upward. They didn’t go into this AT ALL, just a quick clip. But I’m guessing it was a straight-away kicker, and it helped with kicking. Never seen anything like it.” … “I found the attached screen shot of the logo for Super Bowl LII,” says Wolfie Browender. “I grabbed the image from the Minneapolis-based StarTribune newspaper’s website. The design includes a silhouette of the Minnesota Vikings new stadium (US Bank Stadium) with what I think is the Roman numeral LII inside. I’m not impressed.”

College Football News: Perhaps not surprisingly, Jim Harbaugh is a big fan of the new Michigan uniforms (which will debut at a private event on August 2). Some of his praise includes “They’re A-plus, plus, plus. I’ve seen the jerseys, I’ve seen the shoes. Everything looks great and can’t wait to unveil them and start using them.” Also: Harbaugh said there could “possibly” be something different this year. He also said “we’re great with our uniform.” He also wouldn’t rule out an alternate. … Uniform updates we’ve seen thus far from the University of Cincinnati: White helmets – white facemasks; Red AAC logos; and Satin red helmet in the mix (h/t Nick Colosimo). Also from Nick, a patch update for Cincinnati. … Here’s a better look at the three new Kentucky uniforms with three new helmets with updated UK logo (from Jimmy Smith). … Is this a possible new Oregon uni (and do we even care at this point)? More here. Or are these the new unis? (h/t Aaron Medina & Joey Pants). Because the Ducks need an anthracite uni too, amirite? … MSU is telling fans what to wear to games on the schedule poster (from Chad Fields).

Olympics News: Looks like Argentina has a light brown uniform that they’ll be wearing for the Olympics (via Matt McClain). Our buddy Jimmer Vilk thinks they remind him of the old Washington Wizards unis, sans the black shorts, of course. Probably not the best way to be compared. … Paul Lee notes the Swoosh is on the left side of the USA hoops practice jerseys, but on the left side on the game jerseys.

NBA/WNBA/Basketball News: Whoops, on GMA yesterday, the old WNBA logo was being used (from MIX MASTA B). If, like me, that would have escaped you, this is the new logo. … The WNBA has recinded the fines for teams wearing black warmup jerseys — note — the teams were not fined for wearing “Black Lives Matter” (or similar) shirts — these were plain black tops, but the teams were fined “because WNBA rules stated that uniforms may not be altered in any way.”

Soccer News: The new Manchester United kit was officially unveiled, in line with what had been leaked previously (from Griffin Smith).
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Grab Bag: Race car driver Danica Patrick has changed her helmet design for only third time in career, and it’s an, um interesting design to say the least. … So what the hell is this? No, it’s not a hockey player on a bull — but it is a good (or at least intelligent) emerging trend: Cowboys wearing protective gear in rodeo events. Yeah, there’s all that machismo associated with bull riding, but my only question is: “What took them so long?” … The Saracens Rugby Club unveiled not one but two new unis. … Golfer Bubba Watson is ready for the Olympics (from Johnny Okray).

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And that’s going to do it for today. And this will be my final weekend post until after Labor Day. I’ll be pinch-hitting for Paul during the entire month of August (as Paul takes his much-deserved uni-sabbatical). He’ll take you through all of this week AND next weekend, and I’ll kick off the weekday run starting Monday, August 1st.

So I’ll catch you guys then. Until then…

follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..

“Being a White Sox fan is why we go bald prematurely. Makes you wanna tear your hair out.”

— Seth

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Comments (91)

    The Sox wore the ’76 throwbacks last year, but it was the home version instead. If you look at the pictures from that game –> link you can tell the cut of the uniforms was very baggy. Much more baggy than the originals. Basically they are taking a 2016 baggy uniform cut and combining it with no belt to hold it in, you probably got access fabric around the waist that some players may have hated. This is probably what set Sale off.
    The uniform manufacturers kind of dropped the ball on the bagginess of everyone’s uniforms and not contacting the players appropriately for these unique uniforms.

    Quit trying to make excuses for the crybaby Sale, Mike K. He is paid tens of millions of $$$$$$$$$ to play a game. If he can’t take it, he should have asked Ventura to not play and given up his game check.

    I think the White Sox’ current set is butt ugly and played out way too much. I think their best look is the 1976-81 “leisure suit” uniform, followed closely by 1969-70 when the Sox wore white stirrups over blue sanitaries.

    Careful son… someone’s gonna burn their hands handling that piping hot taek of yours.

    Have to disagree about the White Sox’s current uniforms.

    I love them. I can’t see how they’re played out — if they are so are the Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, etc. — basically any team with a ‘classic’ uniform. I remember growing up and the White Sox kept switching – from the leisure suits to the beach blanket bingo — and they’ve kept these since 1991.

    The current White Sox unis are fine…except for one thing. They. Don’t. Wear. White. Socks. Therefore they are an utter and complete failure. For a team called the White Sox to wear black socks is a joke. Give me the ’76 unis any day.

    I am assuming they didn’t just break these uniforms out of the box before batting practice. They could have had time to somewhat alter the jerseys. (Or the player pays someone or do it himself; it’s not like that is unheard of. Chris doesn’t like how loose they are? One word: velcro. Worked for Wayne Gretzky.)

    This promotion has been planned since the schedule came out. Prototypes were released. A lot of fans wanted to see what the buzz was about. They gave away replica shirts. CSN looked like they were going to use true to the Era graphics, based on the beginning of the game. Scrapped.

    (Big whiff by home play-by-play guy Jason Benetti, who referred to a 1976 picture of then-player – now color commentator – Steve Stone as “something out of Dragnet”. All the cop/detective shows of the ’70s and he picks that?)

    Regardless of Sale not liking the uniform, his actions are about as immature as I have witnessed in some time.

    He is lucky if he has only been benched and sent home. If any one of us regular folk did something like this at our places of employment, we would be fired and likely criminally charged with malicious damage to property.

    The White Sox should trade him to the Diamondbacks as a form of uniform damnation.

    The White Sox should trade him to the Diamondbacks as a form of uniform damnation.

    You should start a “Uni Watch quote of the day”. This quote gets my vote! I hope the Sox are charging Sale for the damage he did during his lil hissy fit.

    Basketball Ticker last item… Both USA basketball photos say “left”. The second should read “right”

    Granted that Chris Sale was wrong to destroy his employer’s property, as well as to refuse to uphold the terms of his employment contract. And granted that this sort of thing is exactly why Bat Girl’s “Bitch Sox” nickname caught on for Chicago’s southsiders. Still, I would like to hope that some good might come out of the incident. There are too many damn alternate uniforms, and it’s clear that alternate uniformery is driven by marketing and merchandising, and likely does come at some cost to player comfort. Even if normal folks could afford to wear new shirts and pants every day, most of us wouldn’t. Clothes you’ve worn, washed, broken in a bit are more comfortable than new clothes off the rack. I’m sure I’m not alone here in really liking throwbacks in general, but throwbacks are a species of alternate uniform. Of which there are too damn many. If Chris Sale’s tantrum leads to teams thinking twice before littering their schedules with alternate uniforms, that will somewhat mitigate his crimes.

    Thought maybe worse than profligate alternate uniformery is the whole deal where the starting pitcher is assumed to be in charge of what uniform the team wears. Sale’s sense of entitlement to choose his team’s gameday uniform seems worse to me than his property destruction and contract-dishonoring.

    Fully agreed, man. For a uniform to be uniform it needs to be worn regularly. When every day brings a new design or outfit, it stops being uniform. And I doubt most fans are forking over hundreds of dollars for each new iteration. At a certain point, we all grow up and put our cash toward mortgages and college tuitions.
    I’ll go one step further and hope for a similar end to fashionable color one-offs. If my team wears ugly colors, they’re my colors and they’re not ugly. I don’t need a lime green or purple or black Phillies hat when red (or the blue alt) will do just fine. I like my team for the team, not its laundry.

    If I were the White Sox, I’d make sure to schedule those throwbacks for Sale’s next start. Incredibly immature act, and I hope he’s suspended for destroying team property.

    Batgirl’s childish name only caught on in the Upper Midwest. The rest of us laugh at her.

    Bat Girl was writing a comedy blog, so pretty much everyone laughed at her. That was the point.

    There’s a difference between being laughed with (which is the real purpose of a “comedy blog”) and laughed at.

    Bat Girl was laughed at. That’s a comedy fail.

    And this right here is why “Bitch Sox” was so brilliant – for the team, but even more for the fans. You can tell whether a Chicago fan can get the joke: He already roots for the Cubs instead.


    And this right here is why “Bitch Sox” was so brilliant — for the team, but even more for the fans. You can tell whether a Chicago fan can get the joke: He already roots for the Cubs instead.

    Um, not quite. A Cubs fan bitches just as much as a Sox fan. Only a Cub fan bitches about goats, and “curses” and Bartman…

    That would be a stereotype, not the truth as I don’t bitch about any of that.

    and Steve Bartman was only 1 of the 2 guys that touched that ball – Bartman was wrongly vilified…..

    I have to disagree deeply. Uniforms are uniforms because they all wear the same thing, not because they are a constant. Secondly, Baseball especially is deeply connected with its own past, and this makes tbtc uniforms even more welcome, my father’s Red Sox and my Red Sox for example are the same team and to have them wear the 75 uniforms and the 46 uniforms more deeply underlines that fact.
    Thirdly, to decry uniform sales and PR as something sports fans should be against neglects that the White Sox are largely in business to sell tickets, sell memorabilia, and sell ad space for someone else to sell chewing gum, all other goals, laudable though they may be are secondary for the White Sox, and Chris Sale’s personal comfort can take a long walk off of a short pier.

    Agree to disagree. The idea of a team’s uniform is that you can identify the team by its uniform – coloring, lettering, striping. When a team wears 6 different uniform combinations in 6 consecutive games, it makes the primary purpose of the uniform (identifying the team; merchandising is secondary) less effective.

    Hey MJ, the Charlie Finley A’s had a ton of combinations as did the late 70’s Pirates.
    Ironically, both teams wore an all Gold uni, but even still I wouldn’t say that they were ever mistaken for each other.

    Having multiple unis to this fan are something fun. Maybe because I’m a Yankees fan and the Yanks never have different unis. So from afar, I’m a fan of all the teams with various uniforms.

    As an aside to the Manchester United home reveal, it seems like Anthony Martial is unhappy his number 9 was taken away and given to Zlatan Ibrahinovic.

    link

    Different from the US ways of players compensating others in exchange for the preferred number. Martial will wear 11 which was Adnan Januzaj last year (when he wasn’t loaned out to Dortmund) who takes 15 which was last worn by Nemanja Vidic in the 2013/14 season

    Two things:
    (1) Sad that teams are making such a big deal out of the logo that they put on the back of the mound. How long until this ends up as an ad? (Mounds comes to mind)
    (2) I remember some kickers doing the shoelace thing back in the early 60s, when straight-on kickers were the norm. Seemed to keep the toe up and straight.

    Of course they should never put an ad on the back of the mound, but if Mounds did it…well, I might have to give it a pass.

    For Chris Sale to say that this is about “jersey sales” would be fine, if it were actually a jersey your typical fan/jersey buyer/wearer actually bought. Living in a Chicago suburb and having taken the 1 hour train ride into the city many times in the last year alone, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a single person wearing the 76 throwback from last year. But I’ve seen plenty fans wearing the beach blanket jerseys that Sale seems to have no problem wearing. If anything, his tantrum will probably boost whatever sales these jerseys will have because of the national attention.

    Re: the Divine Mercy jersey

    The Divine Mercy chaplet is a Catholic set of prayers, usually prayed with rosary beads. Although it can be prayed any time of day, is often prayed during the 3-o’clock hour. Hence the number 3.

    Or maybe the guy attributes the Sawx’s three recent titles to a higher power.

    Phil – What’s up with the flag desecration on your Twitter avatar?

    I worked with a guy who did rodeo & bull riding.
    I asked him if he wore protective gear or not. He said that he did wear some padding, but he did not wear a helmet.
    When I asked him why, he said it was because he felt he respected the bull more if he didn’t wear it. He felt he might take more stupid chances with a helmet on.

    Wonder if UniWatch will allow UniWatch membership cards depicting last nights ChiSox Disco slashed uniforms? That Slashed Sale picture got me thinking

    The words under the Super Bowl LII logo say “Super Bowl LII Host Committee”. Often such organizations make their own logo that is replaced with an official logo closer to the game or event.

    For example: here is the host committee logo for Super Bowl 50: link

    Sorry. First time poster here. I couldn’t get the link to work properly. A Google search of super bowl host committee logos will show how the logo changes once the site has been officially selected.

    I was at the White Sox game last night, and it was a very strange scene.

    Also the Sox used an incorrect font on the scoreboard, which bothered me no end.

    link

    Regarding the CFL kicking shoe: That indeed was a straight-on kicker with a square toe shoe. The shoe lace around the ankle was done to lock the ankle in place and raise the toe, give the kicker the ability to get the ball up quicker and more accurately. It was done in US college play for a while and then banned. I don’t think the NFL ever allowed it.

    Back in the mid-70’s the other kicker on my high school team “tied up” his kicking shoe. He would pull on a hand pad above his ankle, over his sock, and tape it in place. Then he pulled the back of the string over the hand pad so the string wouldn’t slip down. He went on to kick the longest field goal in BYU history.

    I have a couple of meta-journalism questions for Paul if that’s OK?

    As “breaking stories” in the uni world go, how highly did this one rate?

    What kind of follow up articles or features get planned? Did you get called in as a talking head anywhere? Or asked for quotes, etc.? Did your life get appreciably more hectic for a couple of hours?

    How long did it take you to research the ESPN piece? Did someone from ESPN contact you and say “We heard Sale flipped his wig, can you give us something?”

    This is purely speculative but from curiosity. Those “game worn” jerseys can sell highly on eBay. Either Sale committed criminal vandalism by rendering them unusable… or he made some of the most unique collectibles by creating “not-game-wearable” merchandise.

    Again, just meta-journo curiosity, but thanks for any insight you want to share.

    While I don’t necessarily condone Chris Sale’s actions, he did spare everyone from having to see(and wear)those gawd awful 1976 Sox unis. For that, I am thankful.

    Bob Mitinger #89, Lance Alworth #24, Wayne Frazier #57, Reg Carolan #89, Frank Buncom #55, Dick Hudson #78, John Hadl #21, Jack Kemp #15 and head coach Sid Gillman

    Thanks, Walter!

    Looks like the ones I identified were correct. :)

    Still wondering why they are wearing 1960 jerseys…

    Just realized after looking at your link closely that I had Schmidt wrong. They’re right, that’s Hudson, but he’s wearing #76, not #78 as they noted.

    So sale publicly spoke out against the team over the laroche deal. Then the team tanked this year. I really doubt he just hated the uniform that mucj

    Perhaps Sale’s bizarre actions are a reflection of growing frustration among ball players (and fans like myself) to the proliferation of alternate unis? As has been previously documented on Paul’s site,some teams have worn up to 5 (I believe?) different unis in 5 consecutive games! Crazy!

    As MJ states above, for a uniform to be a uniform, it needs to be worn regularly. I would go a step further to say that by definition,a uniform should be identical among all players. I’m fed up with so many players striving to be individuals on the field of play! One of the worst being Cespedes with his lime green compression sleeve. What? He can’t find one in Mets colors? It’s disrespectful to his team, his team mates and to Mets fans!. In a given baseball game you see players wearing different pants. socks. etc…

    In the NFL it’s almost as bad….

    You don’t see the brave men & women of our armed forces disrespecting their uniforms. It would not be tolerated by the military either. .

    If you have the privilege of being part of any great organization, you should be proud to wear the same uniform as your teammates or comrades. BY all means, express your ‘individuality’ in your personal life or on social media, but on the field, uniformity means conformity. Sorry (not) if that offends or confuses the younger generations. Many of us grew up having to wear school uniforms every day. I worked for Walmart, and had to wear that ugly blue vest..

    So while I can’t condone Sales’s crazy and perhaps dangerous actions, (and for the millions he’s paid: suck it up dude!) I can’t help thinking it reflects what some of us are feeling about all these darn alternate uniforms…. Enough is enough already.

    And that’s my rant for today…

    Good on you too Paul, for being right on top of this startling uniform related story..

    Regarding Sale’s ignorant behavior: these jerseys usually get auctioned off for charity after the game, so not only did he destroy his employer’s property, he probably cost some organization devoted to a good cause lots of $.

    Not only that, but he’s lowered his value on the trade market.

    Anyone who visits this blog would probably give their left nut to be able to play major league baseball and wear any uniform. Even for a day. He’s being paid millions to be a crybaby douche. Screw him.

    They could sew those jerseys up and they are probably worth more now than they would have if they were worn in a game…assuming the guy didn’t go completely postal and meticulously destroy every single jersey.

    Chris Sale is apparently a little off-kilter and he also happens to have lousy taste. The 1976 design is, to my eye, one of the team’s best ever. It’s not only beautiful, it honors a monochrome look that was a major aspect of the sport’s aesthetic landscape through the late 19th century and early 20th century — meaning it both defined its era and honored the tradition of the sport as few uniforms have before or since.

    And if we think there are too many alternates, fine. I’m with you all the way on that one. But let’s draw the line not at revisiting and honoring the tradition of the sport and instead look at the batting-practice jerseys and spring-training jerseys and camo jerseys and Star Wars jerseys and Christmas in July jerseys and Father’s Day jerseys and July 4 caps and Padres’ font caps, etc., etc., etc.

    There’s one thing that sets baseball apart and gives it something no other professional team sport in this country can offer — centuries of tradition — and if we choose to draw the line regarding alternate uniforms when tradition is being honored instead of when we’re being buried in gimmicks, we’ll be abandoning what makes the sport special.

    Joseph Bailey, I suspect the selection of the Vikings in Rochester, NY maybe connected to the fact the rochester Red Wings are a Minnsota Twins affliate.

    Cardinals did not wear a period appropriate cap. The STL emblem we saw last night was introduced in 1963. Slightly different STL was worn 56-62. link

    MLB’s slugger bird drawing isn’t quite right, plus last night they went cheap with a patch. 1956 was the original uniform sluggerbird and was chainstitch embroidered onto the jersey.
    link

    ““At Old Navy in Rochester, NY,” writes Joseph Bailey, apparently confused about the selection. “I get the Bills, Jets, Giants. The Washington and Steelers as well. But, Vikings?””

    Somebody is going to have to explain this one to me. Whats weird about the Vikings?

    My guess is: it’s not regionally “common.” Don’t know why Vikings were only ones mentioned since San Francisco is there too.

    To me, it’s a non-issue.

    Sounds like a typical retail shipping screwup. I’m in Columbus, OH, so we typically carry stuff for teams in Ohio – Indians/Reds/Browns/Bengals/Blue Jackets/Buckeyes/Cavs. But the company has stores in a few other states, so every now and then we’ll get stuff that was intended for other locations – like the Colts/Steelers/Bears/Lions/Blackhawks/Wolverines/Wildcats/Fighting Irish…etc.

    My local (suburban NY) Target carries Rangers’ wall-clocks, (or rather, has had the same exact one on the shelf forever). Texas Rangers, that is. Hey, right nickname and right color scheme. Just wrong city, 2 outta 3 ain’t bad.

    Maybe Sale shredded the jerseys in order to get fired, like George Costanza, in order to get a job with the Mets, meet the Mets…

    Alternate jersey sales + HUGE PROFITS. Guess one of the ways MLB (and pro sports owners) pay those outrageous salaries of underperforming spoiled athletes? Merchandise sales. Chris, you get paid because of the sale of throwback jerseys. Idiot.

    Maybe Sale can take some time off today and watch the HOF festivities and find out what real HOFers act like. Hopefully Griffey will don an M’s hat backwards…

    Proofreading: “Paul Lee notes the Swoosh is on the left side of the USA hoops practice jerseys, but on the left side on the game jerseys.” Both say left.

    The Swoosh is on the left side of the practice jerseys–from the player’s POV and on the left side of the game jerseys–from the audience’s POV ;)

    Ironically, I remember a game some years ago at Toronto in which both teams were sposed to wear 1977 uniforms. (the year Toronto franchise started…their first ever game was against the White Sox) That would have been these same jerseys that Sale went snippy snippy too last night. If my recollection is correct, the White Sox did not wear these jerseys because they were all made too small. They opted to only wear the hats. So this is not the first time these jerseys have been shelved for a throwback game.

    As a Sox fan I am amazed at the events of last night. Something is REALLY wrong with Sale and I suddenly hope the Sox can get fair market value for him.

    I was excited for a quick second when I heard last night that the Dodgers were busting out the Brooklyn caps, until I saw that they once again fumbled on the logo. Like in 2011, it looks like they’re using Bakersfield’s logo, which New Era seems to think is the correct Brooklyn logo. Chance Michaels discussed this at length a few years back (link & link) and ever since then it’s bugged me to no end. If New Era were to produce a cap (in the on-field style) with the proper logo, I’d grab one in a heartbeat. Ah well, perhaps one day they’ll finally get it right.

    Those articles vastly overstated the case. The Brooklyn Dodgers’ cap logo varied significantly from year to year, from the iconic figure-8 that New Era refuses to make to something quite like the current Red Sox cap logo. The Bakersfield B isn’t an exact reproduction of any Brooklyn cap logo I’ve ever seen in photographs, but it’s quite close to one of the three most common styles of B the Dodgers wore. It’s a closer and more accurate representation than many of MLB’s most common Cooperstown Collection logos, such as the abominable curly W used for expansion Senators merch.

    Sale just wanted to play his get out of the South Side card. I would say well played but he will be remembered for this as much as anything he does on the mound.

    On July 31 1996, the Brewers and Mariners did Turn Back the Clock night set to 1946, as the minor league Brewers and the Seattle Rainiers.

    Game best remembered for trade announcement of Greg Vaughn at gametime, fans then tore the ‘Vaughn’s Valley’ banner that had been in place in left field bleachers.

    The Rainiers pllayed in sleeveless jerseys not perfectly cut. Ken Griffey Jr. cut off all the sleeves pregame because he wanted to see a sleeveless look. It led to the team adapting a sleeveless alternate set.

    Well played by Grif.

    Info and screenshots here.

    link

    I seem to remember Vaughn being traded to the Yankees but not passing the physical.

    The Cardinals’ alternate will no doubt be lost in the Chris Sale brouhaha, but I would argue that it is a precise definition of the category–a uniform that hearkens to a previous era while offering a clear contrast to the current set–as well as an example of the how tasteful simplicity can be. They sure beat the hell out of the overwrought, overused alts designed by those who think that more is always better.

    Chris Sale has an axe to grind and it goes way beyond throwback uniforms: Just the tip of the iceberg.

    I turned on the Angels/Astros game this morning, and need to mention that Houston’s blue alt jersey with the tequila sunrise side panels is one of the ugliest jerseys I’ve ever seen. Fiers is on the mound, and when the show him straight-on, the blue jersey and high cuffs look pretty good. But then he raises his arms and, wow, that jersey is awful.

    I applaud Chris Sale for his actions – and can’t imagine having to pitch wearing an oversized, untucked jersey. Most pitchers/players are so meticulous in the fit and comfort of their uniform, that any small variation becomes a distraction that may in turn alter their performance.
    What if the jersey slightly altered Chris Sale’s pitching motion? How many times have we heard about pitchers ruining their arm because they were compensating for some other injury they were dealing with (Mark Fidrych, among so many others)?
    This is Sale’s livelihood and it shouldn’t be risked just so the White Sox can trot out the team in clown costumes.

    It seems that, for many, the amount of sympathy for Sale’s actions are directly proportional to the amount of hatred for the “proliferation of alternates”.

    Maybe we’ll find out he had legitimate issues with the fit of this particular uniform and his teammates appreciate that he did something they all support.

    Or maybe he’s just a petulant jerk. If so, do all you alt-haters really want to line up behind him?

    Line up behind him? I despise retro/throwback uniforms so not only do I stand behind him I hope he started a trend & more players do it on their own teams. Last are fine and look great. Retro/throwbacks look awful.

    It’s no secret I despise the retro/throwback trend 95% of the time so while I don’t condone the outburst anybody that destroys any retro/throwbacks are fine with me so Chris Sale is now a favorite of mine.
    I think I may even start referring to every Pirates Sunday (and Thursday) home games as “Can the Pirates please trade for Chris Sale and a pair of scissors or hedge clippers” Days!

    When Sale has his next start against the Cubs, the Cubs should break out the 1900s-1901s all-navy road uniform just to show Sale how good that color looks.

    Also, ignorant question: why are the mid-’80s White Sox jerseys called “beach blanket bingo”? I get the ‘beach blanket’ thing with the word SOX across the front, but why ‘bingo’?

    If Sale demands a trade like LeBron from Cleveland and Durant from OKC, burning his jerseys will just make him happier.

    Yeah, the throwback Sox uni’s aren’t great, but Chris Sale’s behavior is weak and that move is bush league. If I owned the Sox I’d order more and make it the Sunday regualars just to make a point that ONE player is not above the team OR its image.

    It’s past the deadline, but I’d have made it the 2017 Sunday alternate to honor the 1977 South Side Hit Men.

    Having said that, I would have also ensured that the jerseys were tailored so as to be true to the originals — with a snugger fit to wear like a t-shirt. If you’re doing it this far in advance, why not accommodate any reasonable complaint a player (Sale or anyone else) might have?

    Im beginning to think Sale’s actions were somewhat related to Disco Demolition Night.

    Let me add to the unruly galaxy of opinions this story has created: In 1983, the movie Christine came out. I was apoplectic because they ruined a bunch of classic cars during the making of the film. As it turns out, Plymouths like the one in the movie are now sought-after collectibles. Christine ultimately had the effect of saving far more cars in the long run. For the upfront price of Chris Sale carving up a few jerseys in the locker room, far more onlookers are going to be curious about the 1977 White Sox uniform. It’s giving it a life it wouldn’t have had otherwise.

    Destroying one of a two-of-a-kind item will indeed increase the now one-of-a-kind item by over 50%, assuming the item was valuable to begin with.

    NFL ticker: the Super Bowl LII logo is for the host committee, not the actual game. Committee logo has been out for a few years now. Actual game logo will most likely be the standard template they’ve been using for the past couple of Super Bowls (sans 50) with Roman numerals underneath trophy with stadium in background

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