Uni-driven pandemonium at Shea Stadium yesterday, as Baltimore outfielder Ed Rogers’s jersey figured prominently in a key play. The follies began when David Wright hit a line drive to left, which Rogers short-hopped. But the ball, instead of bouncing off of Rogers’s glove or his chest, went up his left sleeve and then briefly lodged in the back of his jersey (you can see the bulge behind his neck here), where he pawed at it until it popped loose. Completely bizarre play.
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball was doing its annual Father’s Day routine to boost awareness of prostate cancer, with most players wearing blue wristbands, blue chest ribbons, or both. Umpires got into the act, too. But Uni Watch didn’t spot anyone wearing blue eye-”black,” like in some years past. Also, after all the fuss about the pink bats that MLB rolled out to promote breast cancer awareness on Mother’s Day, Uni Watch is surprised there were no blue bats yesterday.
Uni Watch News Ticker: One of the nicest things about interleague play: the annual appearance of the Phillies’ blue-brimmed caps. … Nice cap prank pulled on Fernando Rodney yesterday. … Used to be that a catcher had just one mask, which he wore for all games. But more and more catchers now have separate masks for home games and road games. And nobody’s masks are more highly differentiated than Victor Martinez’s. Check it out: home vs. road. … Eagle-eyed Bill Blevins reports that A-Rod appears to be wearing vanity-branded batting gloves. … Blevins also notes that the jersey-as-Kleenex phenomenon has been taken to new, uh, heights by T.J. Beam, who struck this pose after striking out in his first MLB at-bat on Saturday. … A-Rod isn’t the only one with personalized gloves: Check out World Cup goalkeepers Kasey Keller of the U.S. and Jens Lehmann of Germany (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Good to see Mark Prior wearing his usual stirrups during his return to MLB action yesterday. … Most of the College World Series teams are wearing the CWS logo patch on the right sleeve, but Georgia Tech has it on the left chest area. Either way, it’s way too big. … Auburn’s new football unis, produced by UnderArmour, will look like this (with thanks to Shane Maddox). … More Japanese baseball observations from Jeremy Brahm, who notes that Bobby Valentine’s Chiba Lotte Marines are wearing a “2005 Asia Champions” patch on their caps, sleeves, and pretty much anyplace else they can think of. … Kris Rose reports that the University of Cincinnati is ditching Nike and switching to Adidas. … Here’s something you probably haven’t seen before: Winky Wright entered the ring on Saturday night wearing a suit, instead of a robe, for his fight against Jermain Taylor. … Interesting note from sportswriter Jon Rathbun, who checks in with the following report: “I was covering a New York Collegiate Baseball League (summer wood bat league) game on Saturday and saw something I’d never seen before. Nate Carter, the third baseman for the Bolivar A’s from the College of the Ozarks, had strange black marks on the back of his cap. I got a closer look while his team was batting and it almost looks like he’s been using the back of his hat to wipe off eye black after games.” … Uni Watch has an old iBook laptop for sale. Utterly obsolete by modern computing standards, but perfectly functional for basic word-processing, e-mailing, and such. Interested? Get in touch.
#1 by Brandon T. on 06.19.06 8:40 am |
Auburn’s unis move out of the logo-creep category and into the uni-creep category (the category where the company’s logo is covered by material, rather than the other way around). Seriously, on player #54 (not counting the tongues of his shoes, assuming they have Under Armour logos like #23), I count 9 Under Armour logos (socks, pants, towel, gloves, wristbands, & jersey) and 1 Auburn logo (a small “Auburn” print on the jersey). This is seriously out of control.
#2 by Micah on 06.19.06 8:44 am |
Too bad the stirrups didn’t prevent Prior from giving up 7 runs and 4 HR’s yesterday; this from an extremely frustrated Cubs fan. On another note, the bizzare-ball-popping-into-the-jersey was hilarious, A-Rod’s had that particular design on his gloves since last year (pretty sweet too), and I hate that adidas is taking over Cincinnati. Those Jordan Brand unis were sweet-looking and not to have exclusive Air Jordans on those players is gonna look funny.
#3 by Terry on 06.19.06 8:48 am |
Since it was the start of the Canadian Football League regular season this previous weekend, I was wondering if anyone had any pictorial evidence of soemthing peculiar in the game on Saturday between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats? I thought I saw Corey Holmes, the Ticat running back have a clear mouthguard with a green logo on the front of the mouthguard. I suspect that it was a Saskatchewan Roughriders logo (since he played with the Green Riders last season) but I have not been able to find any pictures online or in the papers that clearly show what the green spot on that mouthguard. Or is my imagination?
#4 by Don on 06.19.06 8:49 am |
Has anyone seen the new Anahiem (no longer Mighty) Ducks logo yet? http://www.sportslog...
Its laughably bad. The D shaped as a webbed ducks foot looks completely ridiculous, not to mention nothing like a ducks foot, and that blob on the bottom part of the K makes me want to vomit. At least the colors look like an improvement. (No more 1980s athletic equipment teal and purple.)
#5 by Barry on 06.19.06 8:49 am |
Disagree with you about the Phillies blue bill. Most often, the fewer colors the better (take note, Mets!)
#6 by Mike W. on 06.19.06 8:50 am |
I know David Wright worn the Blue “Eye-black” yesterday. This is the best pic I could find.
http://newyork.mets....
#7 by Texas_Islander on 06.19.06 9:36 am |
I count 11 underarmour logos on #54 if you include his helmet visor. And there are at least 2 more logos on his cleat which would bring the count to 13. BOOOO
#8 by Matt on 06.19.06 9:41 am |
The logo-creep on Auburns uniforms is bad. really bad. But the thing that grabs you most in that picture is Tuberville’s pants. I can figure out if they are too long, too high, or both. I hope these aren’t underarmour’s new coaching gear. I can’t handle seeing Maryland’s coach in these things too.
#9 by JTH on 06.19.06 9:57 am |
Micah said:
Actually, it was 8 runs, but one of them was unearned.
Barry said:
I concur. And he Reds should take note as well.
Pinstripes should only be paired with solid-colored caps — unless the cap is white with pinstripes. The Cubs will occasionally wear their red-brimmed road caps with their home pinstripes (thankfully, I haven’t seen them do it in a few years) and it looks really bushleague.
#10 by JayRaider on 06.19.06 10:03 am |
At least we didn’t see the annual use of blue balls for the father’s day games…
#11 by Rico Suave on 06.19.06 10:14 am |
OMG, like the kids say!
You say how much you like the Phillies’ two-tone caps:
Phils
But you hate the Twins’ two-tone caps:
Twins
It’s the same thing!
Plus, with your dislike of purple, I get the feeling you just don’t like Minnesota.
Seriously, though, keep up the good work!
#12 by Jill on 06.19.06 10:17 am |
Tuberville’s pants are both too high and too long, made worse by being paired with those sneakers, and by the akward linked am pose.
#13 by Jill on 06.19.06 10:17 am |
oops, make that “linked arm pose”
#14 by JTH on 06.19.06 10:25 am |
Rico Suave said:
I believe the issue was that the Twins wore blue sleeves with those (mostly) red caps.
#15 by AMS on 06.19.06 10:47 am |
Jim Thome also wore the blue eye black yesterday, but i don’t have a picture, unfortunately.
#16 by Chris In Carlsbad on 06.19.06 11:28 am |
Here’s the logo creep count on Auburn that I come up with….19!!!!
Shoes – 5 per shoe…10 total (1 toungue, 1 on top of toe area, 1 on each side of shoe, and one on back of shoe).
Gloves – 2
Wristbands – 2
Socks – 2
Jersey and Pant – 2
Optional Towel – 1
And does anyone else think the “Click Clack” commercial for Under Armour is the most annoying out there?
#17 by Texas_Islander on 06.19.06 11:32 am |
add 2 more to that for the visors that alot of players are wearing.
#18 by Micah on 06.19.06 11:39 am |
JTH, thanks for the correction; my bad! Jill, linked arm pose, good comment, totally awkward and just not very manly! JayRaider, haha on the blue balls comment, I was wondering when someone was gonna put that out there. Chris, that UA “Click Clack” commerical is almost as annoying as the damn “We Must Protect This House” crap. Protect with what?? Some thin polyester shirts??? Plus, that recent one with the little kids in the bus screaming is just a bit exploitative to me.
#19 by Greg on 06.19.06 11:39 am |
Micah made a good point. I wasn’t really Nike directly that outfitted Cincy. It was Brand Jordan so the Cincy stuff never had a Swoosh, just a Jumpman.
http://a712.g.akamai...
It is disappointing, I agree.
Brandon brought up the Under Armour logos on the socks. This is completely ridiculous. Wasn’t it Auburn that ditched Nike because Nike wouldn’t let the players cover the Swooshes with spatted cleats?! (LenDale White did it a few times, actually)
http://insider.espn....
http://images.usatod...
Are the Ducks kidding?! They better have good alternate logos to make up for that. I thought they were trying to improve the team’s image. Weird…
#20 by Corny Thompson on 06.19.06 12:23 pm |
Did anyone else notice players with blue-ribbon tatoos on their forearms? I think I saw Marcus Giles with one, and perhaps the home-plate ump of the Sox-Braves game as well
#21 by Bill on 06.19.06 12:47 pm |
Those Auburn unis look really different from what they have been using since Bo Jackson played. Is it just me or did UnderArmour just add those creepy logos to the old uniforms?
#22 by Brian on 06.19.06 12:54 pm |
WIth these college deals, it says that the players must wear that brand’s shoe. Is that the case with soccer too? Soccer players are very picky, and Nike boots suck.
#23 by Luke on 06.19.06 1:06 pm |
Bill, I believe that’s exactly what they did. But most of your top tier college football programs seem reluctant to make any drastic changes, especially in the SEC. In 2002, Tennessee added orange piping and stripes outlined in black on their road uniforms, and a plain orange stripe on the home pants.
Road: http://utsports.cstv...
Home:http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090702aaa.html?pic=4
After a bad year, it was all gone in 2003. Other than that, I can’t think of any significant changes in the last 7 or 8 years from the “powers” of the SEC.
#24 by jimmywags on 06.19.06 1:07 pm |
As a side note, the Bolivar (Mo) high school nickname is the Liberators. The logo isn’t anything special, but the story is pretty cool.
#25 by Luke on 06.19.06 1:13 pm |
I just thought of one…Florida’s one orange sleeve they wore a few times last year, but that doesn’t really count because they didn’t ditch their regular uniforms or anything. Can anybody come up with anything?
#26 by Bill on 06.19.06 1:18 pm |
Thanks Luke. I remember USC changing the Trojan decal on the helmets but that only lasted one maybe two seasons. I think they had a bad year and went right back to the old decal. You have to forgive me, i live by Penn State and you know how often they change football uniform styles.
#27 by Bill on 06.19.06 1:21 pm |
I think Arkansas change uniforms a few years ago.
#28 by Greg on 06.19.06 1:35 pm |
Nice catch, Jimmy. I love team nicknames with meaning or roots somewhere. Good examples are Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Brewers, Dodgers, most Houston teams with the space theme (I think 1836 woulda been fine for the MLS team, after all it is AMERICAN soccer), Ohio State Buckeyes, stuff like that.
It bugs me when a team gives them self an intimidating name (Panthers, Titans) simply for the sake of sounding intimidating. That’s why baseball names are usually so cool. Twins, Padres, Mariners, colored Sox? How original are those?!
Brian, I totally disagree with you about the quality of Nike boots. Granted, when Nike started getting into soccer, they weren’t anything special. Don’t get me wrong, adidas is still great, but they’ve come a long way to where they are now, having a good chunk of the world’s best players believe in their products. Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney, Thiery Henry, Christiano Ronaldo, Zlatan, Ruud Van Nistelrooy,…
#29 by tiger fan on 06.19.06 1:37 pm |
Anyone notice that the platinum chinstraps on #23 and #86 are Under armour too.(that doesnt include the pad #54 and some in the back are wearing either)
#30 by Brandon T. on 06.19.06 1:46 pm |
Other changes in the SEC that I can think of (from the top 6) include Tennessee’s slimming of their helmet stripe.
Before…
http://web.knoxnews....
After…
http://media.scout.c...
#31 by Pedro on 06.19.06 1:58 pm |
The USC Trojan helmet logo was only changed for the 1992 season to honor some sort of university anniversary
#32 by Adam on 06.19.06 2:19 pm |
Corny Thompson said:
I saw that too…One of the Phils had one too…I think Chase Utley…
#33 by JTH on 06.19.06 2:35 pm |
Greg said:
And the thing I like best about that nickname is that when they moved from Fort Wayne to Detroit, the name was still appropriate — unlike the Jazz, Lakers, Dodgers, etc.
#34 by Don on 06.19.06 2:44 pm |
How cool is the Padres’ sleeve patch?!?!
http://espn-i.starwa...
#35 by PudgeVol on 06.19.06 3:20 pm |
Reminds me of when I was a young tyke playing Little League and my teammate at the time Eli Iorg, currently in the Astros organization, backhanded a groundball that went up his shirt sleeve and popped out the front of his shirt. All in one motion, he stabbed the ball in midair and then promptly made the play at first.
#36 by todd krevanchi (krvanch) on 06.19.06 3:33 pm |
i would have to agree with Barry
Barry said:
there is something about that blue star that annoys me. its the fact that it looks like it fell out of nowhere on a field of white, almost as though there is no upper “loop” on the capital p.
in any event, at least they dont use the 1994 opening day monstrosity that failed.
#37 by jimmywags on 06.19.06 4:00 pm |
Greg said:
Actually, Nashville is the “Athens of the South,” so Titans isn’t too far of a stretch. It’s Greek-ish. But otherwise, Greg, I’m right with you.
#38 by Brian on 06.19.06 4:20 pm |
@Greg
People like Nike boots. I’ve tried to wear both vapors and total 90’s. They hurt my feet, and I’ve gone back to my trusty adidas on both occasions. In that event, it doesn’t matter that lots of people like Nike. I don’t, and it hinders my play (bad blisters, the vapors even caused some plantar fascitis). Talking to people around my league, I saw that lots of people had trouble with those Total 90 III’s. Would they have to wear Nike and its generally unorthodox designs, or could a member of a “Nike” school team be allowed to wear his trusty adidas Copa Mundials?
P.S. The Air Zoom Legend is a step in the right direction, but the air-sole still puts me too high off the ground for my taste.
#39 by Chaz on 06.19.06 4:28 pm |
Jim Thome was sporting the blue eye-black yesterday, though I can’t find a pic.
#40 by Jill on 06.19.06 4:42 pm |
Those Phillies hats could be worse…
http://shop.mlb.com/...
#41 by ryan on 06.19.06 5:40 pm |
I saw CC Sebathia sitting on the bench yesterday, and he was sporting the eye-blue although he didn’t pitch in the game.
#42 by Mark on 06.19.06 6:20 pm |
A-Rod has been wearing a silly little logo of his for a while, now. He was even wearing it when he played in Texas, but just not on the strap:
http://elite-sports-...
Also, the picture included in the blog is a bit outdated, as he has been wearing Nike’s 2007 model batting glove designed specifically for him and Pujols (the Nike Sphere Elite MVP Batting Glove), which is all white with navy accents. Pujols (pre-injury) was wearing a similar model with red accents.
#43 by Ryan on 06.19.06 6:32 pm |
#44 by Adam on 06.19.06 6:52 pm |
todd krevanchi (krvanch) said:
Found my hat like that last year after burying it in some boxes for years…wear it all the time now…
#45 by Micah on 06.19.06 6:57 pm |
Brian, just asking, are you a big or little guy? The Vapors are made for light, quick players, while the Total 90’s are more stable (although, trying them both, they didn’t work for you). Maybe the Vapors just don’t work with your foot and that is unfortunate. As far as the required to wear a certain brand of shoe, that only goes with college because the U.S. is sponsored by Nike and I see some of the players wearing the adidas Predators. I agree with Greg and say that Nike has come a far way in the world of soccer; they now overtake adidas in worldwide market share, something never thought possible 10 years ago.
Mark, thanks for the pic of A-Rod’s gloves in Texas, ’cause I like ‘em! On another note, where did you get that title for the newer gloves? To my knowledge, A-Rod and Pujols are still wearing the Nike Diamond Elite V and that picture is recent because the wristband he is wearing is blue to match all the others the players were wearing for Father’s Day Sunday.
#46 by Pedro on 06.19.06 7:15 pm |
Adam said:
Yeah man that blue Phillie hat was my favorite hat back in high school. I still have it but it shrunk too much and I can no longer wear it. Does anyone know where I can get one? Anyway, I do agree that it’s a monstrosity in the sense that it never really matched or went with the uniforms. Maybe a blue alternate would have helped.
#47 by Matt Dub on 06.19.06 8:13 pm |
i think the phils need new uniforms or at least a new font.. i hate the loopiness of it.. i realize that its modernized version of what the whiz kids wore but i just dont like it
#48 by Jared on 06.19.06 8:13 pm |
Chris In Carlsbad said:
“5 on each Shoe”…… Actually there ar 6 ….. there is one on the sole unit.
#49 by Jared on 06.19.06 8:59 pm |
Micah said:
Arod and Albert have switched to the Sphere Elite MVP….
http://i39.photobuck...
#50 by todd krevanchi (krvanch) on 06.19.06 9:00 pm |
Pedro said:
i think a red phillies sunday alternate would look really sharp. base it off of the reds sunday alternate. Here is a rudimentary mock up.
#51 by Jared on 06.19.06 9:01 pm |
Andruw Jones:
http://i39.photobuck...
http://espn-i.starwa...
Andruw WAS wearing Diamond Elite V customized with the Jumpman logo, now he has switched to the new Jordan Brand Glove
#52 by Jared on 06.19.06 9:04 pm |
Jeter:
http://espn-i.starwa...
http://espn-i.starwa...
Customized Diamond Elite Vs (And Jumpman wristbands)
#53 by Jared on 06.19.06 9:06 pm |
Kenji Johjima
http://espn-i.starwa...
DEVs w/”Joh” on the wristband and customized Joh-Man (think Jumpman and Griffey’s Swingman) wristbands
#54 by Jared on 06.19.06 9:11 pm |
Micah said:
Micah, I got the pics of the 2007 Batting Glove lineup from NikeTeam.com
As I said above it looks like Andruw (and the UNC Tarheel Baseball Team) has started wearing the ‘07 Jordan Glove.
#55 by Brian on 06.19.06 10:21 pm |
Lew Ford of the Minnesota Twins wore blue eye-black yesterday
#56 by Brian on 06.19.06 11:49 pm |
Ryan said:
That reminds me of BIlly Smith’s continued refusal to participate in another cool sports tradition, the handshake at the end of NHL playoff series.
#57 by Matt on 06.20.06 1:45 am |
http://www.insidebay...
Apparently, Mark Kotsay had the blue eye glare look going and he took it a step further. But no picture.
By the way, with regards to the subject of this article, who retires when his team is on a 10 game winning streak?
#58 by Mark on 06.20.06 1:50 am |
Jared and Micah, and anyone else interested in baseball equipment… the College World Series has started showcasing a lot of the new equipment, particularly Nike’s. For instance, the non-MVP model of the new batting gloves:
http://www.personal....
…the new Clipper cleats…
http://www.personal....
…and an upgrade in Mizuno’s cleats…
http://www.personal....
Some players, however, have opted not to wear the new equipment available to them, most notably Josh Orton of UNC:
http://www.personal....
Nike Air Zoom Diamond Fury II’s from 1994/95… hideous, but classic.
#59 by Mark on 06.20.06 1:51 am |
My mistake… Josh Horton is his name.
#60 by Micah on 06.20.06 9:59 am |
Jared,
Many thanks for the clarification on the gloves and sweet pics; ahhh that makes me sad that I was that behind in the batting glove category!
#61 by Tim on 06.20.06 3:32 pm |
The Phillies font for names on the back is the worst font in sports right now. The curved edges are terrible, it’s about as bad as having Comic Sans on the back of your jersey.
http://philadelphia....
#62 by foley on 06.20.06 4:00 pm |
Isnt the NBA switching from Reebok to Adidas
the Under armour Jerseys that auburn have arent that bad looking the Under armour cleats are nasty
i am getting them for high school football
#63 by Tom on 06.20.06 5:28 pm |
Even better than Keller and Lehmann, England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has different gloves for each match, featuring the flags of England and the team England is playing.
#64 by Mark on 06.20.06 11:57 pm |
Nick Punto was wearing blue “black-eye” in the Twins-Pirates game.
#65 by Tommy R. on 06.21.06 1:08 am |
okay, what’s new about the Auburn unis? I’m glad they didn’t really tinker with them, those are great uniforms.
#66 by Micah on 06.21.06 2:41 pm |
Mark, thanks for the links!
#67 by Matt on 06.22.06 9:47 am |
The black spots on the hat are from eye black. After you put it on, you need somewhere to wipe it off your finger. The back of the hat is a new one to me….
Eye black never comes out of clothing similar to pine tar.
#68 by Alessandro Brandoni on 06.22.06 2:45 pm |
It’s normal to see soccer goalies with gloves from a company that’s not their uniform manifacturer. That happens because in soccer players are free to choose their shoes and gloves manifacturer and this means big endorsement contracts. It happens to see players with adidas shoes and nike uniforms and vice versa.
#69 by Nicole on 06.22.06 8:09 pm |
Nike boots tend to be much narrower than Adidas. I cannot wear any Nike shoes because they’re so narrow and I’ve found a lot of soccer players say that. Especially with socks, shinguard straps, etc… Nike’s tend to be problematic.
#70 by Tyler on 09.02.06 11:10 pm |
All of you morons busting Auburn’s jerseys must be disgruntled nike reps who cant make anything of the junk that you sell. get a life