A LOOK AT UNIFORMS PAST AND PRESENT

Team uniforms are their calling cards. They present a united front against any team you face. They are your identifier on the team. When you put on a team uniform, it shows that you have accepted to play, win or loss, as a unit. You are no longer an individual when you have on that uniform.

I’m not really into fashion, but a good team uniform goes a long way to boosting morale and building reputation. I mean, when you think of Yankees pinstripes, you think of all the amazing ball players that have worn it and all the accomplishments they have made. Some uniforms are iconic. While other miss the mark completely.

There are some uniforms that take a dip into the seriously ugly. It makes you wonder what the organization was thinking when they gave the okay for them. I’ve come up with a list of five such uniforms. In no particular order, I present to you what I believe to be some of the ugliest and most bizarre baseball uniforms. I want to pick just one jersey that was the biggest eyesore from this promotion but it’s just too difficult.

1. Houston Astros - Last season, when he Astros unveiled their Colt .45’s throwback, complete with a revolver across the chest, I overlooked it. Surely, they could only get better, right? Wrong! Their 1979 uniforms were far worse. 

The top half was white and the bottom was orange and yellow stripes. It reminded me of “Rainbow Brite.” To make matters worse, they wore their current batting helmets with these jerseys.

2. New York Mets - In 1999 the MLB wanted to take a look into the future. They called it “Turn Ahead The Clocks.” It was a short-lived promotion and rightfully so. I remember seeing the “Mercury Mets” jersey’s in New York City often and praying the fad would end quickly. 

3. Tampa Bay Rays - Some teams were not old enough to have throwback uniforms in 2012, but that was not about to stop the Rays. They came up with a fake 1970’s uniform with powder blue pants. I enjoy their enthusiasm but they missed the mark completely on this. The uniform reminded me of something you would buy for a newborn baby boy.

4. Miami Marlins - When the Marlins unveiled their new fountain, I hoped it was a big joke. And then I took note of their new uniform and my heart broke a little for them. The rainbow letters and Marlin fish across the top of the M is pretty bad. But the four different color options (white, silver, black and red) put it over the top. It makes it feel like they were trying to connect to the Hispanic community of Miami by having their uniforms remind them of a fiesta! The white one isn’t entirely bad, I suppose.

5. Atlanta Braves - I will round out my list by talking about the Braves. I already find their uniform historically inaccurate. The tomahawk with the feathers they wear coupled with the Tomahawk chop that their fans do in the stadium is pretty much as bad as it gets in my opinion. It’s a serious misrepresentation of the story about Native Americans. But now they have changed their batting practice hats to those they wore in between 1967 and 1989, the one with a native american wearing feathers in his hair, and in mid battle cry.

I feel lucky that I am a Yankees fan. Our uniform is one of those iconic ones I mentioned earlier. Very few major league teams can say the same. 

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804




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