In 37-ish years of watching baseball, I’ve never seen a big leaguer do what Adrian Beltre did during last night’s Mariners/Mets game. When Brian Schneider hit a soft liner over his head (sorry about the crummy image quality for all these shots), Beltre threw his glove up in the air, which is the sort of stunt usually reserved batting practice.
“You’re not supposed to do that,” mused Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen, a philosophical lilt in his voice. “You know, technically, if you throw your glove at the ball, it’s three bases. … I mean, it’s in the rulebook, if you throw your glove at the ball. Now, I’m sure the umpires will say, ‘Look, he wasn’t throwing his glove at the ball, he was just frustratedly throwing his glove in the air after the ball had already passed.’ And that’s true, but technically…”
And then his voice trailed off. But Gary Cohen, technically, didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. As the umpires correctly ruled, there’s no penalty for throwing your glove at the ball (or anywhere else) as long as there’s no contact. The relevant section of the rulebook, which I highly recommend to Mr. Cohen, can be found here.
Note that a related section of the rulebook calls for one base to be awarded if a player touches pitched ball with his mask. I remember reading an article in the late 1980s about a catcher who’d blocked a ball in the dirt and then retrieved it by nonchalantly scooping it up with his mask. The opposing manager was Gene Mauch, who scurried out to argue that this was a one-base infraction. The umpire eventually agreed, so Mauch won the argument. The only problem is that his team was losing 11-1 or something like that, and this “Win the battle, lose the war” scenario was presented in the article as a microcosm of Mauch’s entire career.
As for Beltre last night, here’s the kicker: When his glove came back down, he booted it. Rather incredibly, this guy is the A.L.’s reigning Gold Glover at third base. When I mentioned this to my ESPN colleague Jim Caple, who lives in Seattle and therefore sees Beltre play way more than I do, he responded, “He can be a little playful from time to time. If he knows he won’t confuse another fielder, he’ll occasionally try to deke the cameraman just for the fun of it.” Interesting, but it still seems pretty bush to me.
Research Project: I’m trying to compile a timeline of interesting uni-related moments in MLB All-Star Games. I’ve previously listed a bunch of such episodes here, I devoted an entire ESPN column to the 1934 uniforms, and I’ve got plenty of additional examples (Johnny Callison winning the ’64 ASG while wearing a Mets helmet, Reggie Jackson wearing a Mariners uni for the A.L. team photo in ’79 [see left], Larry Walker wearing his helmet backwards while facing Randy Johnson in ’97, etc.), but I want more. If you know of additional instances of notable uni-related moments in all-star history — or notable all-star moments in uni-related history, as the case might be — please get in touch.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Forgot to mention yesterday that the media kit from Monday’s MLB press conference included this lapel pin. Nice of them to slap the trademark symbol on a flag-based design, no? … When you’re as tall as Richie Sexson, shouldn’t they try to center your uni number a bit better? That’s a lot of acreage between the number and his waistline (with thanks to Eric Distenfeld for the pics). … That Big Brown photo with the loose horseshoe is pretty fascinating. … Interesting Japanese baseball tidbit from Jeremy Brahm: “In 1979, the Central and Pacific Leagues had their 30th anniversaries and came out with pillbox hats for each team. From what I can find, these were only used in the 1979 and 1980 Central and Pacific East-West All Star games after the season.” … Did you know Spain has an “unlucky” yellow jersey? Details here (with thanks to Patrick O’Donnell). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Check out this Indians vs. Indians shot, presumably taken during a spring training intersquad game. … Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo-patterned top has real buttons and pleats — not just printed graphics, which was what I’d been expecting. Details here, here, and here, plus more Wimbledon coverage here. … The USA hoops team’s uniforms will look like this and this. … Ryan McGhee reports that the Tacoma Rainiers and Oklahoma RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League will wear special jerseys next week and auction them to benefit the Limbs for Life Foundation, which buys new prosthetic limbs for amputees who can’t afford them in the United States and takes donated limbs to foreign countries like the Dominican Republic. … “The State Farm ad on the Wrigley Field dugout railing was apparently taped over or something on Sunday night,” notes Matt Bennum. … Paul Wiederecht sent along one of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the Golden Seals’ white skates. … Also from Paul: Great page here devoted to ballpark organists, “but nothing about Fernand Lapierre from Montreal, seen playing ‘Les Expos Sont Là’ here.” … My mention of the unusual basketball jersey crotch extension yesterday prompted this response from sporting goods impresario Terry Proctor: “While I was at Ruby’s in Rochester, we sold a set of basketball uniforms with supporter bottoms to Geneseo High School, which is about 35 miles southwest of Rochester. We got the uniforms from Powers Mfg. Co. in Waterloo, Iowa. The players HATED the supporter bottom. Needless to say, the next uniforms Geneseo bought a couple of years later were from SandKnit, sans the supporter bottom. … While searching for something else, I came across this shot of Carlton Fisk wearing some killer striped hose. I’d forgotten about that design. … Also discovered two shots of Chet Lemon wearing some interesting windbreakers under his jersey: First, check out the collar here. And then dig this shot — looks like he’s got two windbreakers on, plus the big-collared jersey. … Nice to see that my question at Monday’s MLB press conference became the basis for the last graf of this AP item. … Doug Mooney found still more photos from the 1968 World Series showing Tigers with their uni number on the left sleeve instead of the right. First there’s this shot — that’s Bill Freehan in the background but we already knew he had the left-sleeve number. Who’s that in the foreground, though — is it Jim Northrup? That’s definitely Northrup in this shot, which appears to show a left-sleeve number as well. … Tyler Kulasza just took his annual trip to Cooperstown and sent along pics of Honus Wagner’s brim-mounted flip-down shades, a pair of gorgeous Cardinals jackets (here’s a close-up), and A.J. Burnett’s no-hitter cap (what did he have written here and here?). … The Pirates and Rays will be wearing Negro Leagues throwbacks this Saturday, honoring the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Jacksonville Redcaps, respectively (with thanks to Jerry Wolper).
#1 by Kevin on 06.25.08 8:17 am |
A.J. Burnett’s no-hitter cap (what did he have written here and here?).
This looks like it says ‘Bishop’
#2 by Jim on 06.25.08 8:17 am |
Agreed, definitly Bishop.
#3 by Kevin on 06.25.08 8:18 am |
link: BISHOP
#4 by Philly William on 06.25.08 8:27 am |
Going back to the talk about TM and R marks on unis, every team has them one place that is sometimes visible - the Philly Tag.
http://www.jimyackel...
#5 by MPowers1634 on 06.25.08 8:29 am |
Hey Walaitis,
It worked out…neither of us received credit for the USA Hoops unis!
#6 by mmwatkin on 06.25.08 8:35 am |
I must have stumbled upon metswatchblog.com, cause I don’t see anything about uniforms in today’s topic….
:(
#7 by James Craven on 06.25.08 8:38 am |
That article about ballpark organists is a tad outdated. When Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, there was no room for an organ booth, so Paul Richardson was forced to play on the lower level of the park. He retired in 2006 and passed away a year later. Also, from what i understand, Nancy Faust is semi-retired and only works midweek afternoon and weekend games.
#8 by Patrick O'Donnell on 06.25.08 8:41 am |
Those USA basketball jerseys are an abomination. I thought we were going to go back to classier times in USA basketball. I guess it doesn’t apply to the unis…
#9 by DJ on 06.25.08 8:43 am |
Also, from what i understand, Nancy Faust is semi-retired and only works midweek afternoon and weekend games.
Her decision — she lives in Wisconsin, and the commute (the previous two years with construction on the Dan Ryan; this year on the Edens) is a nightmare. So, she only plays on day games.
#10 by Paul Lukas on 06.25.08 8:47 am |
Oh, please — equipment totally counts.
#11 by frackoon on 06.25.08 8:49 am |
Have you seen the new Cal jerseys yet? Possibly the next stage of Nike football ‘innovation?’ What’s next for custom collars– dog collar graphics on Georgia jerseys, or officer’s pins for Army and Navy?
www.eastbay.com/images/products/zoom/15300813_z.jpg
(No, that’s not MICHIGAN– perhaps Nike is bitter about losing their deal and taking it out on the Golden Bears)
#12 by Robert on 06.25.08 8:49 am |
Does anyone else think that SI is extremely lazy with some of its photo exhibits? One of yesterday’s “Back in Time” entries related to home runs hit by Johnny Bench and Lee May in the last game played at Crosley Field in 1970.
http://sportsillustr...
So what photo do we get? Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk in the 1975 World Series. And to make it even worse, the photo was taken in Boston, not Cincinnati. Geez.
#13 by frackoon on 06.25.08 8:51 am |
Have you seen the new Cal jerseys? No, that’s not Michigan (perhaps Nike is bitter about losing their deal and taking it out on the Golden Bears).
www.eastbay.com/images/products/zoom/15300813_z.jpg
So is this the next step in Nike football ‘innovation?’ What’s next, dog collar graphics for Georgia, or perhaps officer lapel pins for Army and Navy?
#14 by LI Phil on 06.25.08 8:52 am |
well of course…powers sucks
#15 by frackoon on 06.25.08 8:53 am |
Have you seen the new Cal jerseys? No, that\’s not Michigan (perhaps Nike is bitter about losing their deal and taking it out on the Golden Bears).
www.eastbay.com/images/products/zoom/15300813_z.jpg
So is this the next step in Nike football \’innovation?\’ What\’s next, dog collar graphics for Georgia, or perhaps officer lapel pins for Army and Navy?
#16 by werthj on 06.25.08 8:56 am |
Paul-
I believe that you have two different rule infractions confused. If a players touches a fair ball with detached equipment, 3 bases. The example you use is refering to a pitched ball, which would be a 1 base infraction. Rule 7.05(j)
http://mlb.mlb.com/m...
This was specifically discussed when I was at Professional Umpire School last January. 3 bases for a fair hit ball, 1 base for a pitched ball.
#17 by Stuby on 06.25.08 8:57 am |
The normally stylish Ana Ivanovic is wearing what appears to be a burlap-sack inspired getup toady at Wimbledon.
#18 by Joshua Exline on 06.25.08 8:59 am |
Uni Watch, I need your help.
I am trying to find a Charleston Wheelers fitted hat. The Wheelers was the name of the minor league team here in Charleston, WV for years before later becoming the Alley Cats (and then evolving into the current incarnation; The West Virginia Power)
I have dug around the internet looking at any site I could think to look at (like; Mickey’s Place)…I have asked around with the higher ups of the WV Power (I’m the executive producer of the WV Power Radio Network) and I’ve pretty much exhausted every option I can think of in my effort to find this hat.
I need at 7 3/4 or 7 5/8 (lets say 5/8 just to be safe) and would greatly appreciate any help any of my fellow Uni Watch fans can throw my way.
If you can help me out email me or leave a comment here with any info you may have.
Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to throw my way.
#19 by Randy Miller on 06.25.08 9:03 am |
The first Tiger shot is definitely Northrup and is definitely from Game 6 of the Series as he, Willie Horton, Al Kaline and Norm Cash return to the dugout after Northrup’s grand slam off of Larry Jaster.
Freehan would then walk in a 10-run inning that sent the Series to Game 7.
#20 by RS Rogers on 06.25.08 9:04 am |
Red card to the Redhawks for that camo jersey. It’s bad enough to dress a bunch of supremely fit young men of military age who are playing a game instead of serving their country in soldier shirts and calling it “honoring the troops.” But it’s unforgivable to do so and get the camo pattern wrong. The U.S. armed forces now wear really attractive camo in several patterns that incidentally would look better as jersey fabric. It just hurts the brain to see teams continually use outdated camo patterns. Do the Redhawks think we’re still fighting in Vietnam or something?
#21 by Paul Lukas on 06.25.08 9:04 am |
Good call, ump — my bad. I’ll adjust the text now.
#22 by LI Phil on 06.25.08 9:08 am |
apparently it’s not wind resistant either
…ana drops the first set in a breaker :(
#23 by Tim F. on 06.25.08 9:32 am |
I’m headed to Manhattan for the next three days and was wondering if there are any good shops for throwback/vintage jerseys and caps, a la Distant Replays. Anyone know?
#24 by drewdez on 06.25.08 9:36 am |
FYI - A similar glove-throwing incident happened in the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game on May 28, 2005 at (then) Bank One Ballpark. Dodgers pitcher Duaner Sanchez threw his glove at a soft line drive in the seventh inning. Contact was made, and Luis Tererro was awarded a triple.
http://www.mlb.com/n...
#25 by John T on 06.25.08 9:38 am |
Manchester united has new away shirt available, not too bad, very simple and a nice change from last years black…
New Away Kit
Last years black shirt
#26 by Pat on 06.25.08 9:47 am |
Anyone know what’s on Hal Greer’s left thigh in this picture?
I’ve seen those new fangled leg pads that some NBA players wear. But they are usually embedded in the leg of their compression shorts. Before a few years ago (by that I mean probably like 10-12 years ago) I don’t even remember seeing thigh pads all that often. Can anyone confirm what that is?
Plus, check out that funky looking 5 on his jersey. I’ve seen plenty of 5’s that dip at that point but not like that. Not sure how much I like that.
Lastly, what’s on his right ankle? I’m assuming some sort of ankle supporter but it looks like it has some sort of cushioning.
#27 by James Craven on 06.25.08 9:49 am |
Another correction on the organists story paul posted.
Ernie Hays retired following the 2006 season, and went out a winner with the Cardinals winning the World Series. His seat at the Busch Stadium III organ is now occupied by Jeremy Boyer (no relation to former Redbird skipper and great Clete,) who has some organ music on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.c...
#28 by James Craven on 06.25.08 9:50 am |
Oops! I meant to say Ken Boyer.
My bad!
#29 by Peter Kotas on 06.25.08 9:56 am |
Paul, thank you for alerting more people to the current cause of my psychosis, the 1968 Tigers numbered sleeves. I attempted to get to the bottom of it yesterday at the Tigers-Cardinals game where they were celebrating the 68 Series. The free giveaway last night was a replica jersey of that 68 road design, and they had members of that squad signing autographs at various tables around the park before the game. Bill Freehan was one of them. Unfortunately, even though I got to the park an hour and a half before game time, the jerseys were long gone and the autograph tables were closing up, so I never got to ask him my question.
On a side note, the opening pitch was Mickey Lolich throwing to Freehan and the ball sailed between Freehans legs to the backstop. It was then that I realized the Cardinals had more players in stirrups than us and we were gonna lose.
#30 by Ricko on 06.25.08 9:59 am |
Hey, I’m sure they researched it carefully. Probably looked at frame grabs from THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW.
Besides, they probably figured if the camo was too good nobody would see the players.
Although, all that aside, it ain’t a bad looking jersey. Actually, they’re both not too bad.
Everybody, raise your hand if you like the Rainiers jersey at least better than MLB’s stars n’stripes hats.
(looks out into cyberspace) That’s one, two, three…four…you in the back? Yes? Okay, five…um, six…
#31 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:02 am |
This would be this guy, brother of Clete and Cloyd. One of my fav SI covers, cuz such a great look at the uni.
http://vault.sportsi...
#32 by JJD on 06.25.08 10:06 am |
When you’re as tall as Richie Sexson, shouldn’t they try to center your uni number a bit better? That’s a lot of acreage between the number and his waistline
Wouldn’t look equally odd if there was an inordinate amount of space between his nameplate and his jersey numbers? I think this looks fine.
The other day our morning radio show hosts were complaining that Brandon Morrow has a big space between the two Rs in his nameplate, but he hasn’t pitched since.
#33 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:07 am |
A question: Do Clete Boyer and Spike Owen basically have the same first name?
(ba dum bum)
Or how ’bout this? The Cowboys once had teammates (clue: kicker and running back) with essentially the same last name in different languages.
Ponder THAT one for a while.
#34 by JJD on 06.25.08 10:09 am |
The FRONTS look good. Did we not learn anything from the All-Star game?
#35 by Mark in Shiga on 06.25.08 10:09 am |
Regarding Richie Sexson’s jersey, I think that the numbers (and name, if there is one) come a fixed number of inches below the collar.
And I think that when they brought in the little MLB logo on the collar, they moved the names and numbers down a bit.
They seemed to use today’s relatively-large player as the standard, as the massive Carlos Zambrano is centered perfectly.
Contrast this with number 99 here. Even Greg Maddux, who’s about 5′ 10″ has his number just a shade too low. It was centered much better back in 1988, and Greg certainly hasn’t become shorter since then!
I personally own a Mike Fontenot jersey, and am several inches taller than he is, and the number is still positioned too low. I’d much rather see the Sexson-like guys have numbers positioned too high than see all the non-behemoth players blousing out their shirts so that the bottoms of the numbers aren’t buried in their pants!
#36 by Jim on 06.25.08 10:10 am |
Wow, a STL Blues Uni I actually like!
http://vault.sportsi...
How did they make him fly? Got to love special effects :)
That’s Red Berenson, coach of UofM hockey…
#37 by chance on 06.25.08 10:11 am |
Well, if the shoe fits….
As for the camo, I seem to recall reading that the armed forces trademarked their new camo designs, and control it pretty carefully. So it might be a case of the teams (or the Padres) just not being able to replicate it exactly.
Then again, which one would they choose? The Army? Marines? Different camos. Maybe a team with blue in its color scheme could wear the Air Force’s digital camo. But by choosing one, are they disrespecting the others?
Better just to avoid the silly dress-up after all. Good on them for raising money, they don’t need to wear Halloween costumes to do it.
#38 by John T on 06.25.08 10:12 am |
Oops…
“target=”_blank”> shirt
Last years black shirt
#39 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:14 am |
Another excuse of the color purple and ripping off a drink product mascot both being used the wrong way…if you can believe this!
#40 by John T on 06.25.08 10:17 am |
Gosh darn, can’t get anything to work today, apologies to all
http://store.manutd....
http://www.soccerbox...
#41 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:18 am |
The NBA All-Star Game was adidias IIRC. This is Phil Knight’s School of Designs That B-squared S-squared we speak of.
#42 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:19 am |
The Grape Sox? Actually that’s so dorky it’s kinda cool…and it IS relevant to Lodi’s economy.
They could TBTC to the 70s for “Grapeful Dead” Night…or the 20s for “The Grape Gatsby”…maybe Ali would come for “I Am The Grapest” Night…
The mind boggles.
#43 by Duckstyle on 06.25.08 10:20 am |
I’m dying to see this jersey now, just copy and paste the url.
#44 by Erkki Corpuz on 06.25.08 10:21 am |
UCLA’s 5 looks similar to that
http://www.americanm...
#45 by Duckstyle on 06.25.08 10:22 am |
It’s an improvement only in that they now have American style home and away jerseys, of course I’m very biased. I think that every team should have a colored or striped jersey and a white one. I can’t say I’m in love with the blue though.
#46 by Jeff P on 06.25.08 10:26 am |
Not an improvement at all- Where’s the red? Isn’t that their traditional color?
#47 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:26 am |
Those numbers are too low because manufacturers place them in position to allow for NOB, whether there will be one or not.
And without NOB, is really odd.
And wrong. Looks like the one picture in the room hung 15″ above the floor.
#48 by chance on 06.25.08 10:28 am |
In soccer, change kits don’t include the traditional team colors. Those colors themselves can become traditional, like yellow and blue for Arsenal (famous for its red and white shirts) and blue for Manchester United (famous for its red).
#49 by Jim on 06.25.08 10:36 am |
What in the living hell is a ‘Grape Sox’. Stupid.
#50 by Tony In Erie (at home) on 06.25.08 10:37 am |
Looks like Maria Sharapova was doing a tribute to John McCain…
http://d.yimg.com/a/...
*chuckle*
#51 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:38 am |
DAMN IT RICKO!
To quote that noted steroid user of the 1970’s, Terry Bradshaw…NOT FUNNY!
#52 by coogrfan on 06.25.08 10:38 am |
Cal has a gallery up that shows the various jerseys/pants, along with the new helmet.
http://calbears.cstv...
I’m not wild about any of this, but I must admit that in this case the worst part of Cal’s new look isn’t Nike’s fault. Why in the world did they add that ridiculous stripe to the helmet?
#53 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:42 am |
Maybe goes back to people playing ball during stomping season…legs looked like purple socks.
Yeah, that’s probably it (major eye roll).
Still have NO idea what “Sky Sox” are, though.
#54 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:43 am |
Bear claw comes from the Joe Kapp days (see “The Play” vs. Stanford.)
#55 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:45 am |
Anyone got pics of Lindsay Davenprot’s sofa
kingretro outfit from Tuesday?#56 by Kerry P on 06.25.08 10:46 am |
OK, I liked the Team USA basketball jerseys until I saw the backs. What the FUCK were they thinking when they designed that crap. It’s a disgrace to the country!
And, as Paul mentioned in his post a few days ago, when did we go away from the more traditions Royal blue color to Navy?
#57 by James Craven on 06.25.08 10:49 am |
It’s fricking Nike for heaven’s sake. they design some of the worst craptastic, craptacular and crapalicious uniforms known to man. Hey, at least they didn’t screw around with Penn State’s football unis.
#58 by Kerry P on 06.25.08 10:51 am |
OK, I know this was the subject of a post 2 days ago, but I actually like the special hats the MLB teams will be wearing for the July 4 weekend.
But THESE look horrible. VERY cheap looking to me to add the waving flag embroidery to the front of the hat.
#59 by Kerry P on 06.25.08 10:52 am |
I’ll second that with an “At least they didn’t screw around with Texas, LSU & USC’s football unis.”
#60 by LI Phil on 06.25.08 10:52 am |
yeah…i must be dense, cuz im not quite getting what you’re going for here…
pls explain…k? thx
#61 by Bryan Barich on 06.25.08 10:54 am |
I wonder if Enos Slaughter
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/2609755054_7bb717d183_b.jpg)
is related to Pedro Martinez at all because they both seem to have that second button undone.
#62 by Ricko on 06.25.08 10:56 am |
And I still wanna know why Nike “designers” (and I use the term loosely) apparently think the earth would spin off its axis and tumble into the sun if a team wore stipes of some sort.
I know, I know, they sip their lattes, eat vegan and create “organic” uniforms, free-form expressions of the flow and movement, the joy of physical activity without the regimentation symbolized by the militaristic image such as stripes or dehumanizing legible numbers.
(Damn, I just made that it up, but it sounds like something right out of their mission statement).
Either that or they’re staring a oriental pen-and-watercolor paintings all day and they can’t help themselves.
Jesus, that’s scary either way.
#63 by Joey Guns on 06.25.08 10:59 am |
Tennis player Novak Djokovic pulled a Todd Helton when he wore Nikes for his Wimbledon match this week, but whited them out, because he’s under contract from Adidas:
http://www.cnbc.com/...
#64 by Sean on 06.25.08 11:05 am |
Joshua,
Although they currently don’t have a “Charleston Wheelers” cap ready for sale, you may want to try The Coopstertown Ball Cap Co. They can make a custom design (for a fee) of just about any team using wool flannel and (if you wanted to) a real leather sweatband, and any size from 6 1/8- 8 3/8. Just two points of caution though, the caps are usually twice the price of regular cap ($48 wow!), and the fact that they are a mom and pop business it can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks from your order being placed to actually getting your cap. Even though the caps are pricey and took awhile for my cap to get in, I absolutely love the NY Mets 1976 pillbox cap I ordered from them last year.
Paul, apologies for this plug and testimonial.
#65 by Hank on 06.25.08 11:05 am |
Look at Maria’s left pant’s pocket. Now look at McCain’s left jowl
http://upload.wikime...) Now you see it?
#66 by James Craven on 06.25.08 11:06 am |
Whenever Nike makes a horrid uniform in any other sport, someone somewhere on some internet board or blog is bound to say this. I must say though in their defense (or “defence” for those of you in Canada and the UK) that they do make very good good soccer unis, though. Better than adidias or the so-called pumashit with the lowercase lettering nobs.
#67 by Ricko on 06.25.08 11:07 am |
Duh. I think I can answer my own question.
Stripes are adidas. Nike doesn’t DO stripes. No stripes.
THAT’s their real mission statement, I’ll wager.
#68 by Teebz on 06.25.08 11:10 am |
I’m not sure if anyone saw it the other day when I posted the comment, but the numbers face the pitcher on the sleeves of the Tigers.
I assume this was for television purposes so that people, most notably the broadcasters, could identify which Tiger was at the plate during the times of low-def, black-and-white televisions and poor colour television sets.
Bill Freehan had the numbers on the right-hand side at one point in his career.
http://i43.photobuck...
Norm Cash was pictured in a batting stance with the numbers facing the pitcher in this photo:
http://www.finalshot...
#69 by Hank on 06.25.08 11:10 am |
Oops. Link malfuntion in #64. Sorry about that Chief.
#70 by Paul on 06.25.08 11:14 am |
Last night Kevin Youkilis made a defensive appearance in the 9th inning for the Sox game against the D’backs @ Fenway. Read an article that says he was wearing protective goggles since he had been hit in the eye with a ball during field practice the nite before… can’t find a photo though… help??
#71 by Tony In Erie (at home) on 06.25.08 11:17 am |
You got it, Hank! :) Thanks for the assist.
#72 by Smail on 06.25.08 11:18 am |
I noticed the dugout State Farm discrepancy during last night’s game as well. I kind of did a double take at the tv. Wait… Tate Arm?
#73 by Rick White in Cedar Park, TX on 06.25.08 11:21 am |
Ahh … now I see what you are saying. I just thought Maria was ahppy to see me. Wait … that doesn’t work either.
#74 by James Craven on 06.25.08 11:23 am |
Philip, should we even bother to ask RWICPT why that didn’t work?
#75 by LI Phil on 06.25.08 11:24 am |
ah…thanks hank
i thought she was wearing depends or something
#76 by Chad on 06.25.08 11:25 am |
Nancy is great! She’s the longest tenured employee of the White Sox and has a world series ring that she promised to let me wear the next time I’m in Chicago. Maybe I can talk her into letting me play some chopsticks on the organ.
#77 by Ricko on 06.25.08 11:26 am |
“Never put Viagra and a wet towel in the same pocket”?
Nah, that doesn’t work, either.
#78 by James Craven on 06.25.08 11:30 am |
#79 by John T on 06.25.08 11:32 am |
Blue was usually used for their ‘change’ kit, so that you would not have 2 teams in Red (see Liverpool, Arsenal). See here the shirt used for the 1968 European Cup final
http://www.kitbag.co...
They still use the blue kit as their alt, and the new white is offically known as the away kit.
Although, having just checked the man u shop , there is no alt kit listed, but then found this on message boards, new alt kit, looks about right and it is a good source.
http://i185.photobuc...
#80 by Hank on 06.25.08 11:41 am |
Checkin’ Maria’s pockets wasn’t the first thing I looked at either. Took another, more in depth look to take in the whole picture. (Ahhh, another productive morning at the office.)
#81 by Ricko on 06.25.08 11:43 am |
Well, since no ones rushing to offer answers to this one (which I first saw when these two guys were on camera together showing NOB and realized they practically could be switched)…
Or how ’bout this? The Cowboys once had teammates (clue: kicker and running back) with essentially the same last name in different languages.
Ponder THAT one for a while.
Danny Villanueva and Robert Newhouse.
#82 by Rick White in Cedar Park, TX on 06.25.08 11:46 am |
It wasn’t the first thing I looked at either.
On a semi-related note, I didn’t realize until today that dear sweet Maria is 6 feet 2 inches tall.
#83 by Runoff on 06.25.08 11:52 am |
Those white skates on the Golden Seals are trippy. It looks like the entire team had to put down rental deposits on their skates in order to play. -Runoff
#84 by James Craven on 06.25.08 12:00 pm |
Lemme go back to yesterday’s comments made by MPowers about trying to match Oak Tree Copper (or Burnt Umber) or even purple and gold as far as using black or white as a replacement.
The line that I used in a reply - the one that went “if you only think for a nanosecond” - may seem wrong, but there is a truth behind that statement.
Colors like Oak Tree Copper or Burnt Sienna are really hard to match according to the Pantone Matching System (or PMS, and I hope that I may be wrong on the official title of that Pantone stuff). Take the New Orleans Saints uniforms for example. How many different shades of metallic gold are there, you might ask? the helmet is one shade, the numbers on the jersey (especially with a black jersey) is another, and the pants are yet another shade of old gold. There’s a minimum of three different shaes of metallic gold on that uniform.
And don’t get me started on the Dallas Cowboys for crying out loud on their uniform mess, that has already been talked out of the order of mind numbing nonsense, but I hope they change it when they move to their new home next season to see some consistancy, and otherwise, Jerry Jones is still colorblind, but I shall digress on that point.
Also, have you ever seen the football teams at Penn State, Michigan or Southern California in white shoes? Well, not in our lifetimes, thank you. While teams flip-flop between wearing white shoes, black shoes or those retina-inducing Oregon Neon Yellow migrane making shoes, they all have stuck to tradition by wearing black shoes. the most likely time you would see that (heaven forbid) would be in a poorly written, poorly directed Hollywood movie. Hell, I’ve even seen gray gloves and accessories with those uniforms, trust me.
Bottom line: Some colors (like those at Texas) are tough to match up with, and wearing black or white shoes eases the problem. Okay, I think I better get off Philip’s lawn now before he chases me. Please feel free to carry on whatever discussions you’re speaking about.
#85 by Austin on 06.25.08 12:02 pm |
Those GREEDY bastards…
first they do this
http://shop.mlb.com/...
And they do this… read the discription print below the picture
http://www.neweracap...
#86 by James Craven on 06.25.08 12:06 pm |
There’s Charles Oscar Finley for you. Another good idea gone bad.
#87 by Jet on 06.25.08 12:10 pm |
Paul,
Nice California Golden Seals pic! As you know, my membership card is based on their road uni.
Actually, there were THREE different versions of colored skates they used!
The first was a yellow skate with green trim. From there they switched to a white skate with green trim. The last incarnation was the one pictured, all white with green laces. They switched back to standard skates near the end of the 73-74 season, their last one with the green/gold color scheme.
There’s a book out about the Seals called “Shorthanded,” and it mentions how the white skates had to be painted over several times during the season to cover puck marks, etc., and how the layers of paint made the skates heavier!! As if the Seals didn’t have enough problems to contend with!!
-Jet
#88 by Jet on 06.25.08 12:14 pm |
…oh, and at least three other teams during that era experimented BRIEFLY with colored skates - good luck if you can find the pictures!!
I have a hockey magazine cover with Garry Unger of the St.Louis Blues wearing blue skates with yellow trim!
I also remember seeing a pic in a hockey book of the Penguins with light blue skates with dark blue trim! (Their color combo before black and gold).
And I also am pretty sure the Redwings had a brief flirtation with red/white skates.
If I can find the magazine cover, I’ll email you the pic of Unger.
-Jet
#89 by tedkerwin on 06.25.08 12:15 pm |
Another shot of Sexson’s Jersey
#90 by David on 06.25.08 12:17 pm |
I’ve been meaning to say something about this for some time now, but I finally found a picture of it. I absolutely love how the Orioles treat their closer.
When closer George Sherrill comes in and finishes out the game for a save, all the players on the Orioles team flip their caps up because Sherrill keeps the brim of his cap extremely flat. I think that’s brilliant.
#91 by Jean on 06.25.08 12:18 pm |
I don’t have anything to prove it, and I can’t seem to find such information on Google, but I remember Pedro Martinez throwing his glove at a batted ball when playing for the Expos. I’m not as sure about this, but I think it actually touched the ball, giving the batter a triple.
#92 by tedkerwin on 06.25.08 12:20 pm |
Could Tatis have pants any longer?
#93 by Hank on 06.25.08 12:21 pm |
The photos are great, but SI does take liberties with them. For example, they will have a photo gallery devoted to great rivalry games, show the two teams involved, but the photo is not from the specific game being described.