Every fan seems to have an opinion about baseball uniforms. Do you adore them? Do you despise them? Do you have a fan jersey yourself?
Yes, darling, let’s talk fashion. What’s in? And what is way out? I really like most of the current baseball uniforms that teams are wearing in the late years of this decade. Maybe I’m trapped in the prism of my own fashion times, but I especially like the alternate jerseys. In a recent game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, the Red Sox wore one of my favorite uniforms -- a bright scarlet baseball shirt with blue black Red Sox letters outlined in white over snow white pants. Sharp looking! Such a contrast to their usual old time baseball look, which is a bit reminiscent of the thirties and forties, which I also think is a classic baseball look.
Not surprisingly, the Yankees, coming from the fashion center of the country, always looks good, if on the conservative side. Blue on grey, blue pinstripes over white, solid blue over white. Always as stylish and classic. The baseball version of the little black dress. (Rumor had it that the pinstripes came into vogue during Babe Ruth’s term with the Yankees, because Ruth was so, hmmm, uh, how you say, big boned, and vertical stripes tend to be slimming,. It’s not true but there is a lesson to be learned about dressing for the workplace.) The Seattle Mariners also have a conservative bent to their uniforms, though since they do live in the Northwest, you know that they have to be wearing polar fleece in there somewhere.
I have no doubt that the designers of Fashion Week in New York would die to design baseball uniforms for all of those good looking boys. But, of course, in their big fat rulebook, Major League Baseball have some rules about uniforms. (Funny thing is, they don’t mention baseball caps, the most ubiquitous fashion statement around. And slimming lines are left to each team.)
The official Major League baseball rules about uniforms are this:
Every team must have two set of uniforms. A white uniform is worn for home games, and a uniform of a distinctly darker color must be worn for away games. Most teams have an alternate jersey as well for playing at home, such as the Red Sox Red Jersey over white leggings (oops sorry, pants.) Every player must were matching uniforms identical in the style, colors, trim and graphics. Players are not supposed to attach stuff to their uniforms that differ in color or proves detracting such as shiny buttons. No one can wear a graphic or details that resembles a baseball to prevent players from every seeing more than one baseball at a time on the field. Sleeves are supposed to b the same length (I guess undershirts are okayed to be asymmetrical. Jacoby Ellsbury has been wearing a one long sleeve look, and I noticed Derek Jeter doing the same thing during a game.) Players uniforms must have the number of each player on his back, but whether or not they have the name of the player on the uniform is up to the league.
Teams have several versions of their uniforms for away and at home. Sometimes a team will wear their team name uniforms at home (such as Rays or Astros) and wear the name of their town away (such as Tampa or Houston.) But it will be the home team wearing some version
of white, and the visiting team wearing a darker color.
Some players tuck in their pants into their socks for the old time 30s look like Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek . I was eavesdropping on some middle age male fans at a local ball game and they called it “long sock” look and the “short sock” look. They also claimed that Reggie Jackson was the sharpest looking player ever to play the game and always wore his uniform the right way. They weren’t too crazy about Manny Ramirez’s uniform when he played for Boston. Manny claims his baggy pants pays homage to the hip hop culture of the streets he calls home, but I think they are just more comfortable that way when he trots around the bases.
Uniforms are subject to change because teams try to keep up with the time, and keep updating their looks. Some teams, like the Yankees and the Red Sox seem to change their basic uniform very little. I notice that the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be a little more daring in their fashion choices (such as the round flat top cap of the Seventies and the vesty thing they are wearing now.) It doesn’t always work for me but I do believe it is good for a ball club to be aggressive.
A fun game to play with long time baseball fans is to ask them what they think have been the best and the worst uniforms ever made. Chances are someone will mention the Houston Astros of the 1970s. That’s the one that gets my vote.
But then I discovered that the Chicago White Sox experimented with a shorts version for those muggy Midwestern days. Yikes! I guess somebody thought that was a good idea until someone had to slide into second base. (I am stuck on bandaids…)
Every once in awhile in today’s game, you’ll see a “Turn Back the Clock Days” where the stadium goes retro and the home team wears the uniforms of the Eighties or the Seventies. The Toronto Blue Jays (who have a very smart looking uniform in 2008) sponsor Flashback Fridays
in which they wear their very distinctive powder blue outfits of old. First time I saw them wearing them, I didn’t know about the retro thing and I just about popped my eyes wondering whoever thought that that particular shade of blue looked good. But knowing now it’s a retro-thing, I think it is fun.
Other retro uniforms from the Seventies will probably not work as well. Yellow seemed a popular color back then, but the uniforms have not dated well. Though those pinstripes just make Dave Parker practically disappear, don’t they?
There are a ton of websites listing the ugliest uniforms ever so I don’t need to go down that street in the Garment District. As I said, it’s a favorite sport of fans to do the Michael Kors Project Runway critique of past uniforms. Probably someday, someone writing a blog about baseball in the future will look back on this decade, and look at the bright, cherry red of the Red Sox uniform clashing against the stark virgin white of the leggings (oops, I mean pants) and write, “Whatever were they thinking?”
Yes, darling, let’s talk fashion. What’s in? And what is way out? I really like most of the current baseball uniforms that teams are wearing in the late years of this decade. Maybe I’m trapped in the prism of my own fashion times, but I especially like the alternate jerseys. In a recent game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, the Red Sox wore one of my favorite uniforms -- a bright scarlet baseball shirt with blue black Red Sox letters outlined in white over snow white pants. Sharp looking! Such a contrast to their usual old time baseball look, which is a bit reminiscent of the thirties and forties, which I also think is a classic baseball look.
Not surprisingly, the Yankees, coming from the fashion center of the country, always looks good, if on the conservative side. Blue on grey, blue pinstripes over white, solid blue over white. Always as stylish and classic. The baseball version of the little black dress. (Rumor had it that the pinstripes came into vogue during Babe Ruth’s term with the Yankees, because Ruth was so, hmmm, uh, how you say, big boned, and vertical stripes tend to be slimming,. It’s not true but there is a lesson to be learned about dressing for the workplace.) The Seattle Mariners also have a conservative bent to their uniforms, though since they do live in the Northwest, you know that they have to be wearing polar fleece in there somewhere.I have no doubt that the designers of Fashion Week in New York would die to design baseball uniforms for all of those good looking boys. But, of course, in their big fat rulebook, Major League Baseball have some rules about uniforms. (Funny thing is, they don’t mention baseball caps, the most ubiquitous fashion statement around. And slimming lines are left to each team.)
The official Major League baseball rules about uniforms are this:
Every team must have two set of uniforms. A white uniform is worn for home games, and a uniform of a distinctly darker color must be worn for away games. Most teams have an alternate jersey as well for playing at home, such as the Red Sox Red Jersey over white leggings (oops sorry, pants.) Every player must were matching uniforms identical in the style, colors, trim and graphics. Players are not supposed to attach stuff to their uniforms that differ in color or proves detracting such as shiny buttons. No one can wear a graphic or details that resembles a baseball to prevent players from every seeing more than one baseball at a time on the field. Sleeves are supposed to b the same length (I guess undershirts are okayed to be asymmetrical. Jacoby Ellsbury has been wearing a one long sleeve look, and I noticed Derek Jeter doing the same thing during a game.) Players uniforms must have the number of each player on his back, but whether or not they have the name of the player on the uniform is up to the league.
Teams have several versions of their uniforms for away and at home. Sometimes a team will wear their team name uniforms at home (such as Rays or Astros) and wear the name of their town away (such as Tampa or Houston.) But it will be the home team wearing some version
of white, and the visiting team wearing a darker color.Some players tuck in their pants into their socks for the old time 30s look like Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek . I was eavesdropping on some middle age male fans at a local ball game and they called it “long sock” look and the “short sock” look. They also claimed that Reggie Jackson was the sharpest looking player ever to play the game and always wore his uniform the right way. They weren’t too crazy about Manny Ramirez’s uniform when he played for Boston. Manny claims his baggy pants pays homage to the hip hop culture of the streets he calls home, but I think they are just more comfortable that way when he trots around the bases.
Uniforms are subject to change because teams try to keep up with the time, and keep updating their looks. Some teams, like the Yankees and the Red Sox seem to change their basic uniform very little. I notice that the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be a little more daring in their fashion choices (such as the round flat top cap of the Seventies and the vesty thing they are wearing now.) It doesn’t always work for me but I do believe it is good for a ball club to be aggressive.
A fun game to play with long time baseball fans is to ask them what they think have been the best and the worst uniforms ever made. Chances are someone will mention the Houston Astros of the 1970s. That’s the one that gets my vote.
But then I discovered that the Chicago White Sox experimented with a shorts version for those muggy Midwestern days. Yikes! I guess somebody thought that was a good idea until someone had to slide into second base. (I am stuck on bandaids…) Every once in awhile in today’s game, you’ll see a “Turn Back the Clock Days” where the stadium goes retro and the home team wears the uniforms of the Eighties or the Seventies. The Toronto Blue Jays (who have a very smart looking uniform in 2008) sponsor Flashback Fridays
in which they wear their very distinctive powder blue outfits of old. First time I saw them wearing them, I didn’t know about the retro thing and I just about popped my eyes wondering whoever thought that that particular shade of blue looked good. But knowing now it’s a retro-thing, I think it is fun.
Other retro uniforms from the Seventies will probably not work as well. Yellow seemed a popular color back then, but the uniforms have not dated well. Though those pinstripes just make Dave Parker practically disappear, don’t they?There are a ton of websites listing the ugliest uniforms ever so I don’t need to go down that street in the Garment District. As I said, it’s a favorite sport of fans to do the Michael Kors Project Runway critique of past uniforms. Probably someday, someone writing a blog about baseball in the future will look back on this decade, and look at the bright, cherry red of the Red Sox uniform clashing against the stark virgin white of the leggings (oops, I mean pants) and write, “Whatever were they thinking?” 
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