With MLB’s regular season now over, I think we can say with some degree of certainty that this has been the best year in baseball history — at least from a Uni Watch perspective. A lot of that is due to all of you who’ve provided tips and sharp-eyed observations throughout the year, so thanks-a-plenty to everyone who’s helped document this season’s foibles and follies, a selective rundown of which shapes up as follows:
April 6th: In the first of what will be several similar incidents, Brandon Claussen is told by the umpiring crew that he can’t wear Nike’s accursed dot-patterned undersleeves while pitching. So the Reds’ dugout staff comes up with a pair of scissors and cuts off the offending sleeve portion.
April 8th: Umpire Joe West points at Ervin Santana’s dotted sleeves and tells him they’ll have to go. Sanatana skips the scissor routine and just switches to a dot-free garment.
April 11th: For reasons that have never been satisfactorily explained, Manny Ramirez wears a cherubic stick-pin on his jersey.
April 25th: With gametime conditions at Wrigley a bit on the brisk side (39 degrees, 18-mph winds), Hanley Ramirez wears one of those football hand-warmer thingies strapped to his waist, and Aramis Ramirez wears a ski mask.
May 5th: Jason Smith’s surname proves to be too challenging for the Rockies’ equipment staff.
May 12th: Scott Williamson, who apparently didn’t get the memo (or read Uni Watch), becomes the latest pitcher ordered to cut off his dotted sleeves.
May 28th: It’s not unprecedented for catchers to have their fingernails painted white, for greater visibility when giving signs. But Toby Hall breaks new ground by having his nails painted during a mound conference, with teammate Aubrey Huff doing the honors. After the game, the Devil Rays announce that they’re changing the team name to the Metrosexuals.
May 29th: With most players wearing an American flag cap patch for Memorial Day, Ambiorix Burgos wears his patch in the wrong spot and upside-down, leading to a minor controversy in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Steve Trachsel’s flag patch ends up crooked, but there’s no controversy because everyone knows New Yorkers are too jaded to give a shit.
June 3rd: Career minor leaguer Eliezer Alfonzo, who’s been waiting to be called up to the bigs for a decade, finally makes his MLB debut — with his name misspelled on his jersey.
June 18th: Ed Rogers short-hops a fly ball, which somehow bounces up inside his sleeve and into his jersey, where he paws at it until it pops out.
June 21st: While approaching the plate for a pinch-hitting appearance, allergy sufferer Rich Aurilia reaches into his belt loop, produces a small canister of nasal decongestant, and takes a hit.
June 28th: Determined to mess up every conceivable aspect of the game, the Devil Rays send Jae Seo out to the mound with a concave nameplate, instead of the usual convex.
July 4th: John Patterson, not content to celebrate Independence Day by wearing his American flag cap patch upside-down or crooked, raises the bar by getting his flag patch ensnared in his sideburn, and remains impressively oblivious to the whole thing.
July 5th: Esteban Yan, apparently upset to be left out of the fun, wears an upside-down flag patch a day after the holiday.
July 16th: Kyle Snyder pitches the entire 1st inning with his undershirt tag flapping in the breeze, which looks extra-dorky when he pumps his fist after a good defensive play. (Six weeks later he’ll be wayward-tagged again, although the problem that time will be his little MLB logo tag.)
July 19th: Esteban German dives for a ball and finds that his belt has broken, causing a slight delay while someone from the clubhouse brings him a new one.
July 20th: Kenny Rogers, having learned nothing from the previous day’s incident involving German’s belt, dives for a ball and breaks a button on his jersey, leaving him with an embarrassing case of jersey gap.
July 21st: Ryan Freel is hit by a pitch — sort of. The ball sails into his vest’s arm opening and lodges in his jersey, whereupon Freel trots to first base, unbuttons his jersey, and produces the ball, which he then flips to an umpire.
July 22nd: Mike MacDougal throws nine pitches and has his cap fall off during six of them (including one in which catches the cap in midair during his follow-through). The small-market Royals, unable to risk having to purchase a new cap for MacDougal if his current one gets dirty from falling onto ground, promptly trade him a few days later.
July 28th: Todd Walker changes jerseys in the middle of the game and mistakenly puts on the wrong one, trotting out onto the field wearing No. 13 instead of his usual No. 7. The game is delayed for several minutes while he goes to the clubhouse to change again. Cubs radio man Ron Santo provides incisive and articulate commentary, the full genius of which somehow goes unmentioned in Uniwatchblog.com’s coverage of the incident, prompting countless well-mannered, thoughtful Cubs fans to politely offer their respectful thoughts on the matter.
September 4th: Jason Giambi finds time to shave in between the 3rd and 5th innings.
September 29th: Pedro Feliciano becomes the latest player to join the tag team, as he pitches a full inning with his undershirt tag sticking out (despite Paul LoDuca’s attempt to tuck it in).
October 1st: Cliff Floyd, injured for much of the season and thus shut out of all the Uni Watch fun, uses the last day of the season to make a big push for uni blooper of the year: He slides while chasing a ball and comes away with his jersey slightly out of order. Okay, really out of order. He then calmly proceeds to button up and tuck in, leading Uni Watch hedge fund analyst Jenny Strasburg to remark, “He’s so casual — like, ‘Nothin’ to see here, folks, just fixing my pants.’”
Pretty good season, right? It could still be undone by a Padres/Twins World Series (imagine the Pads wearing their camouflage unis and the Twins countering with their military tribute caps), but I’m trying not to think about that.
#1 by DJ on 10.03.06 9:10 am |
Cool, first comment:
since it was so long ago, i had forgotten about the pitchers not being allowed to wear the dotted Nike shirts - i only recently saw one of those in person, and please Nike, for next year, please stay simple - the worst part about those shirts were when a team like the pirates would wear them, they looked incredily awful - simple is good, lets stay simple Nike
#2 by Ryan B. on 10.03.06 9:11 am |
Wait…October 1? What was Cliff Floyd doing playing on October 1? Why were the Mets letting their injured players take part in Sunday’s game?
What? Cliff Floyd didn’t get hurt this season? How is that possible? :)
Sorry…I’m just another Mets fan being an ass. :) LET’S GO METS! :)
#3 by Kevin on 10.03.06 9:13 am |
Hockey season starts tomorrow boys and girls. I can’t wait to get my daily dose of uni-related fun from my favorite sport.
Go Cards!
#4 by mg12 on 10.03.06 9:35 am |
You mention the worst World Series uniform combination could be the Twins and Padres wearing military camouflage. No doubt that would be an eye-sore. You would have to think that the best possible uniform series would be the Yankees against the Cardinals. You can’t find a classier combination between two great franchises.
#5 by Gregg on 10.03.06 9:38 am |
Fellow Mets fans, I’m on the fence for game one. On one hand, the Mets have a better record with their black jerseys than their white or pinstriped unis (.666 vs. .600 and .563, respectively). Also, they have not lost a day game in which they’ve worn black (okay, it’s only 1-0). On the other hand, the Mets lost the 2 home games in which El Duque started and they wore black.
They have not lost a game in which El Duque pitched in pinstripes (2-0, 1 win each with blue caps and black/blue). Incidentally, they are 2-2 (1-1 with blue hats and 1-1 in black/blue) when he pitches in white.
I’m guessing that since they haven’t worn black for a day game since April, they’ll go with either white or pinstripes. Mets fans–PRAY FOR PINSTRIPES.
#6 by Chad Edwards on 10.03.06 9:41 am |
ABC’s promo for Saturday Nights Oregon/Cal game is running on TV now, and one of the things it says is “Style lives here” and it shows a shot of Oregon’s uniforms.
#7 by Dan on 10.03.06 9:47 am |
Aramis Ramirez in a ski mask reminds me of a Pirates-Cubs game played one cold April afternoon in Pittsburgh, I believe in 1983.
A snow squall hit Three Rivers Stadium in the late innings. The winds swirled inside the enclosed, round structure and tended to create mini-tornados in the outfield corners. Cubs’ RF Keith Moreland was shivering out below our vantage point in the cheap seats. He wore a turtleneck, two batting gloves, and a headband that made his blue cap ride high on his red-haired noggin. At one point a funnel of snow and hot dog wrappers enveloped him like he was the Snow Miser. All the while Moreland is freezing half to death out there, shifting on his feet, trying to stay warm. It must have been 25 degrees at game’s end (an 8-0 Buc win). I’ve never been so cold at a baseball game.
#8 by The Ol Goaler on 10.03.06 9:49 am |
As a Cardinal fan, I’d love to see this matchup… on the other hand, if it’s Yankees vs. Dodgers, the matchup would feature two teams who don’t use nameplates on the backs of their unis! Anybody know the last time that happened?
#9 by Matt E. on 10.03.06 9:50 am |
I beg to differ. A just as classy, if not classier, American League team would be The Detroit Tigers. (Yes I’m a Tigers fan and yes I believe they can be the Yankees.)
#10 by Banker Bill on 10.03.06 9:56 am |
As a Mets fan, which carries an automatic lifetime entry in the “Yank-me” haters club, and whose little league team was the Tigers, I can only hope that after this opening round of the playoffs, the “interlocking N-Y” is only worn on the golf course. Go Tigers! GO METS! Personally, for athletics aesthetics, Cards-Tigers would be a nice uniform series to see, but it isn’t going to happen - I say Mets/Twins.
#11 by Banker Bill on 10.03.06 9:57 am |
Yes, hockey season - anjoy the unis before that new slim fit style comes aboard, and all the players look like they’re wearing wet suits for the World Surfing championships. Let’s Go Rangers!
#12 by Banker Bill on 10.03.06 9:58 am |
That should read “enjoy” - I guess my fingers have a speech impediment.
#13 by John Ekdahl on 10.03.06 10:00 am |
I’ll try to get screenshots for next week, but does anyone watch SEC football on CBS? They do a CBS/SEC video montage during some of the commercial breaks and part of it is flashing every SEC helmet for about a half a second each. Something didn’t look right to me, so I backed it up and slow-mo’ed it on tivo and saw they used those youth plastic helmets you used to wear as a kid. The same ones with the hollow plastic bars for the facemask. I thought it was pretty ridiculous for an operation like CBS to do that. How hard could it be to borrow real hemlets for a day?
#14 by Scott on 10.03.06 10:03 am |
repost from yesterday’s failed attempt….
figured the uniwatch crowd would appreciate some hand-dyed and knit OSU striped socks. (or from the front).
thanks to those who tried my bad links…..
#15 by Tony Edwards on 10.03.06 10:05 am |
Football hand warmer thingy??? Come on Man It’s called a muff. At least thats what my coaches called them.
#16 by Mark in Shiga on 10.03.06 10:07 am |
It would have to be in the 1970s or earlier — since about 1979, all the NL teams have had names on the road. IIRC, there was some kind of rule passed requiring it, so not only did traditional number-only teams like Chicago have to put names on for the road (the Cubs went with their spiffy light-blue-with-white-pinstripe outfits), but teams like the Pirates which had many different uniforms just put names on all of them.
This is a hard question. Let’s look back — not ‘75; Cincinnati had those immense names. In ‘74, ‘73, and ‘72 the A’s had names (no curve on those). In ‘69-’71 the Orioles had names (vertically arched ones). In ‘67 and 68 the Cards had names. What about the Orioles and Dodgers in ‘66? The Dodgers and Twins in ‘65?
(I had to look those last two up, they were so long ago…)
#17 by Minna H on 10.03.06 10:29 am |
Paul, Paul, dissing my Twins? Well, if the only fault you can find with them is their caps….
GO TWINS!
#18 by Riley on 10.03.06 10:33 am |
What a season it has been. Now that my Angels are gone I will certainly be cheering for the Mets. As for hockey: Go Flames!
#19 by mg12 on 10.03.06 10:47 am |
True enough. When it comes to the Detroit Tigers you can’t argue that there is a more classic uniform in use today.
As a Cardinals fan, I have always wanted to see the Cardinals play the Yankees in the World Series. The yanks have the most championships, followed by the cardinals. Both teams are filled with so much history and tradition. Baseball purists cannot argue with a matchup of that caliber.
#20 by Andy Head on 10.03.06 10:50 am |
It doesn’t get any better than this, in quality of play and appeal on the eye.
#21 by Matt on 10.03.06 10:51 am |
#22 by Chris S. on 10.03.06 10:53 am |
I would have to say that anything inexplicable about Manny can usually be explained by the fact that he’s an idiot. I know that’s not much by way of explanation for the pin, but it’s what I come up with.
#23 by Andy on 10.03.06 10:53 am |
It makes sense that Ryan Freel would be one of the two players who had balls in their jerseys this year. The man plays with a wreckless abandon.
#24 by Chris Hilf on 10.03.06 10:54 am |
But… it’s a wheel. With… a wing?
I’ll take my penguin skating anyday!
#25 by Dan from PC on 10.03.06 11:03 am |
I may be biased, but I feel the best Hockey jersey out there is from my Providence College Friars
The “Skating Friar” as it is referred to, is one of the most original and well-known logos in all of College Hockey.
GO PC!
#26 by Paul on 10.03.06 11:05 am |
I was watching a video of the Boston Celtic’s media day. It appears that they have added a green shamrock logo above the nameplate on the home uniform.
Watch it here
#27 by Steven on 10.03.06 11:13 am |
MLB Awards Predictions:
AL MVP: Mauer (Love the Unis)
AL CY: Santana (See Above)
NL MVP: Puljous (Great Uni)
NL CY : Harang (Ditch the Black Cincy)
Overall Great uniforms 3 decent 1
#28 by DenverGregg on 10.03.06 11:14 am |
Quite the Uniwatch-esque ad on the ESPN NFL page: here, asking the public to vote on whether they prefer old or new NFL ref unis.
#29 by Scott Turner on 10.03.06 11:21 am |
Cherup pin aside — or in the middle, as Manny positioned it — is that his number 24 on his sleeve? I’m trying to see it as an armband or somesuch, but for the life of me, it looks like his number sewn onto his sleeve.
#30 by awesomejeff on 10.03.06 11:36 am |
Can we please go one day without referring to a uniform as being “classy?”
#31 by Talon Lardner on 10.03.06 11:37 am |
Speaking of quality of jerseys, I was curious as to which is better for casual wear, a Football Jersey, or a Hockey Jersey? I’d probally snag a local (read: Michigan/Great Lakes) team’s jersey, but I’m not sure which would be more practical to have, nor what to exactly look for and what to avoid.
#32 by Edju Martin on 10.03.06 11:47 am |
Definitely a white armband.
No one’s touched on the fact, that I can remember, that Manny and Papi often trade armbands, so you see Ortiz up there with a #24 armband, and vice-versa.
#33 by a arauz on 10.03.06 12:01 pm |
RE: Manny
Idiot savant, maybe. Not just any idiot, thou.
#34 by Riff on 10.03.06 12:04 pm |
I love wearing football jerseys, but it bothers me that replicas look so bad and so different from those worn on the field in terms of cut and fit. The only problem with wearing an on-field jersey it that it looks like you might be trying to show off.
Can’t go wrong with a simple catchy hockey jersey, those always look really good.
#35 by a arauz on 10.03.06 12:04 pm |
No disrespect meant to those 2 activities, but go w/ the rugby jersey Brother. (and it’ll get you into most bars and not get ignored by the ladies).
#36 by Riff on 10.03.06 12:06 pm |
It bugs me to see the names so low on the jerseys. I know we’ve mentioned it here before, but I know it’s possible to put the name on the shoulders, even if it’s a narrow tank top. it just looks so bad to see Szczerbiak’s name under his armpits. And his number is so low he has to make sure it’s not tucked into his shorts.
#37 by Andy on 10.03.06 12:20 pm |
Here’s what bugs me…
I’ve seen college football players wearing eye black stickers with their school’s logo printed on them with white ink.
If the purpose of eye black is to keep glare out of the player’s eyes, they’re defeating the purpose by putting the white logo on them. Actually, according to this Wikipedia entry, the stickers are ineffective even if they don’t have the logo.
So…since they don’t reduce glare, are they wearing them for a war-paint effect?
#38 by Kenny on 10.03.06 12:27 pm |
My prediction for the playoffs strictly uni based:
Cardinals over Padres
Dodgers over Mets (sorry but you just know they are going to wear these)
A’s over Twins
Yankees over Tigers
Then
Cardinals over Dodgers
A’s over Yankees (I love the white shoes with the white jerseys)
World Series
Cards over A’s
#39 by Chris S on 10.03.06 12:28 pm |
Somebody mentioned the other day that a football player was wearing Reebok Pump shoes, in Sports Illustrated (October 2, 2006 Page 81)Chris Pronge is wearing a pair of Pump Skates. Here is a picture of them from a catalogue
#40 by Alex on 10.03.06 12:30 pm |
MLB Awards Predictions:
AL MVP: Mauer (Love the Unis)
AL CY: Santana (See Above)
NL MVP: Puljous (Great Uni)
NL CY : Harang (Ditch the Black Cincy)
Overall Great uniforms 3 decent 1
Those weren’t serious predictions were they? Agree with the uni comments though
#41 by Brian from Short Island on 10.03.06 12:36 pm |
Newsday encroaches on Uni Watch today.
#42 by Kenny on 10.03.06 12:38 pm |
This drives me nuts. I wore eye black, but only when we played out doors and when it was sunny. I never wore it indoors or when it was overcast/a night game
Overcast
Sunny…kinda(it was coming in and out)
Sunnier
#43 by Paul Lukas on 10.03.06 12:40 pm |
This is actually a trend I’m trying to document — school logos and other designs on eye-black stickers. If anyone has contributions to make (other than really obvious ones, like Reggie Bush and his area code), please get in touch.
#44 by Richard on 10.03.06 12:44 pm |
Louisville players wear ‘em that say THE ‘VILLE
in the game vs. Miami they have ‘em on.
#45 by John Ekdahl on 10.03.06 12:47 pm |
As a Yankee fan, I’d love A-Rod to sport this look in the postseason.
Unfortunately, he’ll be grounding into DP’s in pajama pants (from the 6 hole).
#46 by Chris S on 10.03.06 12:48 pm |
Somebody should tell John Velenti that Ruth never wore the current Yankee uniform, the NY wasn’t on the jersey from 1917-1936 when it was put back on.
See the 3rd paragraph.
#47 by Paul Lukas on 10.03.06 12:58 pm |
Here’s another view.
#48 by andrew on 10.03.06 1:01 pm |
PREACH IT!
#49 by mike on 10.03.06 1:02 pm |
OK this is def. off topic, but I have been thinking about it and then finally found a picture to show it. Here in Morris County, NJ there is a high school team; Mountain Lakes, whos football mascot is called the THundering Herd….however for the rest of the schools athletics they are the lakers, how then do you explain this?
#50 by MetsFanAZ on 10.03.06 1:08 pm |
Aren’t the Mets a “pitcher picks the uni” team? I’m sure El Duque knows his record so I’m sure we’ll see pinstripes tomorrow.
#51 by Jason on 10.03.06 1:11 pm |
The source for all of the eye black stickers
www.eyeblack.com
A local high school quarterback pulls a Reggie Bush with Sunbury, Ohio’s 740 area code
http://www.dispatch....
#52 by Patrick on 10.03.06 1:20 pm |
As far as possible World Series matchups, I agree that Detroit’s home uniforms are absolutely perfect (I like them even better than the Yankee pinstripes). However, those Tiger road uni’s are completely lame.
#53 by matt in the nati on 10.03.06 1:23 pm |
watching the twins and a’s and i just saw what i think was bullpen cather wearing a helment with this coloring… is that normal?
#54 by ACC on 10.03.06 1:28 pm |
No the best combos would be Tigers - Dodgers, A’s - Mets, or Twins - Cardinals. Yankees unis are overdone and quite lame - they aren’t even the best pinstripes. Those would be the Twins.
#55 by Lake on 10.03.06 1:42 pm |
Paul mentioned this a few months ago. The Twins catchers had those made up and wear them at home. They wear the all-blue helmets on the road.
#56 by Chris S. on 10.03.06 1:45 pm |
True, there is one thing he does well. Very well.
#57 by Andrew on 10.03.06 1:49 pm |
I’m not a huge fan of the Yankees’ pinstripes, but I love their road grays, which are the only road uniforms in baseball that look better than the home versions.
#58 by Andy Head on 10.03.06 1:56 pm |
Another thing to consider is that if you, like some of us, sport the body of a seasoned semi-professional beer drinker, you may find that a nice, big hockey jersey provides more room to maneuver in the midsection area. Not as “clingy”.
#59 by nastykjn on 10.03.06 1:57 pm |
Are you kidding Ek!? After his “I can’t help that I’m good looking” comment you’re more likely to see his in this! Go Cubs! 98 years…and counting!
#60 by John Ekdahl on 10.03.06 2:01 pm |
Haha. Good point.
In his defense, no one has ever looked better striking out with the bases loaded.
#61 by Paul Lukas on 10.03.06 2:01 pm |
Correct answer is Dodgers/Twins in ‘65. The O’s had names in ‘66.
#62 by nastykjn on 10.03.06 2:15 pm |
Ah, you Yankee fans and your bile toward “The Rod”…
Where does all this bile for A-Rod come from while Jeter gets a pass? Check item #3 on this little diddy. I’ll stipulate to any arguments that Jeter has had more opportunities and/or more rings. I just know right now somewhere in Yankee heaven The Babe is pi$$ed that anyone in pinstripes seriously uttered the phrase “I can’t help it that I’m so good looking.
#63 by Barney on 10.03.06 2:19 pm |
I think the Twins have the best hats in baseball with the interlocking ‘T&C’. However, I wish they would match the font on the jersey with the hat. (Especially the ‘T’.) The other item that I find that makes the Twins uniforms nice is the alternate logo (handshake Twins) on the sleeve. (Or in the case of the A’s, the white elephant.) This concept of a secondary logo on the sleeve is one that I think makes hockey uniforms very cool.
#64 by John Ekdahl on 10.03.06 2:25 pm |
It’s actually pretty simple. I could fill a book listing Jeter’s big hits. I’d need a postcard for A-Rod.
#65 by JJ on 10.03.06 2:28 pm |
Not a uniform related comment, but……
Checked out the post-season ticket sales by the A’s and they are NOT offering tickets for the upper ring… Wouldn’t the lower levels be guaranteed to sell out so you try to maximize dollars by opening up the rest of the stadium?
#66 by Joe on 10.03.06 2:30 pm |
Ok, as a fellow jerseyan, and former HS athlete, here is a pick of their football team with Lakers displayed on thier chest
http://www.mtlakes.o...
The Herd is just a nickname, but they are offically the Lakers
#67 by redemske on 10.03.06 2:38 pm |
You know what’s funny? Put Jeter’s and ARod’s postseason stats side-by-side. You’ll find them awfully similar in terms of average, OBP and SLG.
Big hits are basically luck. Right place at the right time.
#68 by Robert on 10.03.06 2:47 pm |
The Tigers home uniforms are excellent, but their road look has long been subpar.
#69 by Frank Mercogliano on 10.03.06 2:51 pm |
Two uniwatch items clash with disasterous results…
Augusta State volleyball has the school name on the back of their volleyball jerseys (lots of schools do), but for a school whose colors are blue and red, what is the deal with those tops?
http://www.aug.edu/a...
I do kind of like these though..
http://www.aug.edu/a...
http://www.aug.edu/a...
Note Lander also has their school name on their backs…
Frank
#70 by Dennis O'Neil on 10.03.06 3:04 pm |
On the VB topic…hen I went to the Junior Olympics Volleyball Championships (my team got 9th…yay) I noticed one team had the entire front of their jersyes covered with a logo and school name and numbers. This doesn’t work out too well though because if you have too much screen printing then it’s very hard to slide on your stomach, a neccesity in volleyball.
#71 by nastykjn on 10.03.06 3:19 pm |
The funny thing is the Yankees fans’ perception of A-Rod’s hits. If it’s 2-outs and bases empty when they’re down by 4 in the 8th and A-Rod gets a hit then it’s another meaningless hit but if it’s Jeter then it’s Capt. Clutch starting the 2-out rally.
Anyhow, I’m actually going to post a uni-related item for once. Paul’s worst nightmare come true: Padres vs. Twins or this if you prefer.
Ah the heck with it, Let’s….. all…..go…..camouflage…..!!!!!
#72 by nastykjn on 10.03.06 3:22 pm |
Or better yet! Next Season’s Rockies Uni Redesign? Just kidding on that one.
#73 by matt in the nati on 10.03.06 3:29 pm |
how much of this post was about the uniforms as opposed to the inviduals inside the uniforms…jk
#74 by fezzik on 10.03.06 3:31 pm |
New Seminole Tribe tribute uniforms from F$U:
#75 by fezzik on 10.03.06 3:31 pm |
#76 by Matthew on 10.03.06 3:33 pm |
Couldn’t agree more. How can you be pissed at someone who has averaged 39 HRs, averaged 119 RBIs, batted .286, .321, and .290, with OPS’s ranging from .880 to 1.030 (roughly) in the 3 years he’s joined the Yankees. Derek Jeter has, in the same 3 years averaged 18 HRs, 81 RBIs, batted admittedly a very nice low of .292 and even better high this year of .343, but has only OPSed over that same 3 years a fantastic but not Rodriguezesque .820, .839, and .900 this year (again very good, but Rodriguez has been better).
The only week point for Rodriguez is in the field (3rd base not his natural position by the way) and Jeter is actually not that much better there. Rodriguez has 49 errors since coming to the Yankees in 2004 while Jeter has 43 in the same period of time.
All of this by the way is accessible here:
http://www.baseballp...
and here:
http://www.baseballp...
My point Ek is this: would you rather have someone who gets you ‘clutch hits’ and pushes you over the proverbial hill, or would you rather have someone carries the load and gets your team to that hilltop in the first place (this is kind of an opaque metaphor I realize). I would take Rodriguez any day of Jeter.
That being said, Rodriguez does strike me as fairly self absorbed, but how can you give someone $252 million dollars of 10 years and not see his head swell a little, to say nothing of the fact that he is on track to obliterate dozens of baseball’s most sacred records. (And yes I realize it is the Rangers who pay most of his salary still, so no one needs to point that out).
Oh, and the pink Yankees uni sucks.
#77 by Matthew on 10.03.06 3:34 pm |
I said ‘of’ instead of ‘over’ twice….so much for my well-reasoned, perfectly stated argument….
#78 by Jonathon on 10.03.06 3:47 pm |
White Shoes 1
Kent Hrbek’s fat ass 0
#79 by Timmy B on 10.03.06 3:47 pm |
I always thought the Toronto Toros jerseys were pretty cool. As a matter of fact, most of the jerseys that came out of the WHA were sweet. Except for maybe this.
#80 by Aaron on 10.03.06 3:51 pm |
Thanks but no thanks. I’ll take my Rangers classic diagonal lettering any day of the week. Get rid of the 3rd Jersey!
#81 by Gregg on 10.03.06 3:52 pm |
I think Paul once said that the Mets’ equipment manager chooses the uniforms.
#82 by John Ekdahl on 10.03.06 3:53 pm |
I don’t have a bronze statue of Jeter on my front lawn or anything, but I’m telling you it’s not even close. There’s a reason why Joe dropped A-Rod to 6th in the order for the playoffs.
If you watch Alex and Derek play every day (which I do), you’d understand where Yankee fans are coming from.
#83 by Gregg on 10.03.06 3:53 pm |
Actually, might be moot:
NEW YORK — There’s seemingly a strong chance that Orlando Hernandez won’t be able to start Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Division Series. The Mets veteran right-hander was forced to leave Tuesday afternoon’s workout at Shea Stadium because of discomfort in his right calf. (From Mets.com)
#84 by Tom on 10.03.06 4:01 pm |
Which would cover more space on the postcard, ARod’s big hits or the stamp?
#85 by Matt on 10.03.06 4:05 pm |
I wish I had a pic or something (I’ll have to look). The University at Buffalo wore them a few years ago (The still might, I haven’t been to a game since I graduated). They also used to pass out the eye black stickers (or in this case blue) to all the students in the student section too. For a week after the game you could tell what students were at the game cause they were so hard to clean off.
#86 by Matthew on 10.03.06 4:05 pm |
I can’t say I do watch them play everyday since I’m not a Yankees fan, but the numbers don’t lie; Jeter is inferior to Rodriguez in virtually every offensive category (this year aside of course, Jeter did have a great year). I’m not saying you’re a Jeter worshipper, all I’m saying is that I can’t understand why Rodriguez, who contributes so much, is so maligned. It’s as incomprehensible to a non-Yankee fan as it is that Joe Girardi even though he led a squad with 22 rookies and the lowest (or one of the lowest) payrolls in baseball almost to the NL Wild Card. It just defies common sense and logic to the rest of us. That’s all I’m saying.
#87 by Chris Sk on 10.03.06 4:06 pm |
I’m going to have to keep changing my name to keep up with the other Chris and Chris S on this site.
I hate to keep a non-uni related item going but simply looking at the stats for ARod and Jeter isn’t really fair, Jeter has played in many more games (115 vs 31) so Jeter’s played about 3/4 of a season in the postseason and ARod about a month which completely scews (sp?) the numbers. By the way I pretty sure all Yankee fans hopes he plays well, I will only help.
Paul any leaks on what the press pins will be looking like this year?
GO YANKS!
#88 by Matthew on 10.03.06 4:07 pm |
That didn’t make much sense…I meant to write that Joe Girardi was fired today even though he accomplished what he did and is an NL Manager of the Year candidate.
I think faster than I type, so my apologies.
#89 by a arauz on 10.03.06 4:32 pm |
#12 is a BABE ! She can block me anyday !
#90 by a arauz on 10.03.06 4:38 pm |
Amen, Brother! Original diagonal lettering sans the silly (and off-colored) third jersey. Wake up Sather, we’re not winning anything until you rid us of the ‘old bag’ in the toga off our jerseys.
#91 by Smail on 10.03.06 4:39 pm |
There are a couple Ohio State players with eye black stickers that feature the scarlet “Block O” with a thin white border around it. I haven’t had much luck with pictures, but I’ll keep digging.
Also, on another note, recently there was some talk about NFL ballboys with the X’s on their neon pullover vests. Does anyone know if college ballboys wear something similar? While looking for eye black pics, I came across this image. The two guys in the background are obviously OSU fans, but they’re wearing PSU pullover smock things. Anybody know who/what they’re supposed to be? Ballboys? Fake media? Any ideas?
#92 by C.J. Andringa on 10.03.06 5:14 pm |
The two guys in the background are obviously OSU fans, but they’re wearing PSU pullover smock things. Anybody know who/what they’re supposed to be? Ballboys? Fake media? Any ideas?
Several large schools now use those papery-looking smocks to distinguish media on the sideline or otherwise-credentialed folks. For example, Texas A&M distributes those to the photogs prior to the game. Each one is color-coded for a specific game, and it allows security personnel up top to easily identify them, and whether they are where they are supposed to be.
As for Ohio State, the “Penn State” on the smock likely represents the game. Just like the Northern Illinois game would have read “Northern Illinois” across the smock.
#93 by Smail on 10.03.06 5:17 pm |
Per post #91, here are a few examples of the “Block O” eyeblack:
#4
#7
#7 aGinn
Sorry, couldn’t resist the bad pun.
Also note the occasional shot of the “Block O” mouthguard.
#94 by C.J. Andringa on 10.03.06 5:18 pm | &