The New York Times today ran an article about the MLB Dream Series, which is an annual program to develop young Black players. I’d never heard of the Dream Series before (there’s more info about it here), but I was struck by the article’s lead photo (reproduced above), which showed a pitcher wearing some very funky-looking socks.
I did some digging and found that the Dream Series has been using this unusual sock design for several years now. Here are some additional pics:
I’ve never seen anything quite like this. They’re not conventional striped socks, and they’re not faux stirrups either. Weird! I went looking for a retail version, just so we could get a better view of the design, but came up empty. Anyone..?
Hey Paul,
It looks like the socks are made by TCK.
link
I’ll do some more digging and see what I can find.
Thanks for all you do!
-S
Ah, nice find. Thanks!
They look like an inverse of these:
link
Those are slightly different than the TCK design. (I wore the TCK version on field, and the striping pattern and back panel are different than the one in the photo.)
Wonder if they make softball socks too
Very interesting look
They are not “bad” compared to some of the other looks, but they are not “great” either. I think I could get used to them better than long pants/no socks.
When my daughter played softball, the sock design was incorporated into their uniform. When she played for the “Fire Ants” the socks the team had looked like flames. I thought it added to the overall look rather than taking something away.
Definitely pushing the envelope, but these are leaps and bounds better than the custom (for lack of a better word) socks MLB players have been wearing lately.
They don’t hit the sweet spot of traditional sock stripes, but stripes remain the primary design element, which keeps it close.
Also seems odd they clearly based the design on the US flag with the stars and stripes, but inverted the blue and red in the design. I could get behind this sock design if it was for the US team in the WBC or for the ASG.
Not a fan. To be honest, I would take pajama pants. No sock beats nonsensical sock.
Interesting but not appealing, like a lot of modern uniform designs. Angular, broken lines or practice gear minimalism. I like uniforms with rounded, simple lines in classic contrasts or with bold color accents. Nicely rounded or spiky retro wordmarks and, most of all, logos that do not emphasize the sports being played (that is why I like college logos the most as they are applied to different sports team of a school). And i love stars on uniforms. That is why the stars on these socks are the only good part to me.