Uniform Pride — Baseball Bench Coach

I’m sure you remember your first baseball or softball uniform. My team’s name was White Oak V.F.W. Post 9248. Of course at 6 years old I was too young to understand the significance of our sponsor honoring my Dad and uncles who served in World War II. I do have some images though of my first uniform – putting something called “stirrups” over my white athletic socks; getting my first number (it was 8); and thinking it was funny how my pants just went halfway down my legs. I took great pride in wearing that uniform. From the moment I awakened on Saturday game days until going to bed that night I wore it. Uniforms have a special place in our hearts and in baseball’s history.

This month we celebrate Gay Pride and the San Francisco Giants gave it special meaning. Baseball has often been behind the NBA and NFL on issues of social justice and inclusivity. Yet, on Saturday, June 5, San Francisco players wore hats with Pride colors in their logo and a Pride-colored patch “SF” on their jerseys. It was the first time an MLB team had provided support on the playing field for LGBTQ fans. The expression was a reflection of Giants manager Gabe Kapler who has consistently supported social issues – hiring the first woman to serve on a coaching staff; taking a stand on systemic racism; and starting a foundation called Pipeline for Change to help underrepresented groups find jobs in baseball. Due to the Giants success during the first half of the season and the symbolic nature of these new celebratory uniforms, Kapler gets my early vote as NL manager of the year.

There has been some other uniform pride shown recently in Chicago, “city pride”! On that same Saturday last week the White Sox donned their “City Connect Series” uniforms in a game against the Tigers. “Southside” was displayed across the chest of the jersey. It was a huge success from a marketing standpoint (the jerseys sold out at the official team store within three hours of their release) and with the players. On the North side, this past Tuesday the Cubs city connected as well by releasing their “Wrigleyville” uniforms that they wore at home in Saturday’s game against the Cardinals. The Cubs’ design celebrates 77 neighborhoods in the Chicago area with the jersey script in the shape of Wrigley Field’s Marquee sign. The White Sox and Cubs are two of seven MLB teams who teamed with Nike on rolling out uniforms celebrating the diversity of their communities.

Baseball uniforms have evolved through time, starting with the tradition of wearing white uniforms at home and gray on the road to some non-traditional looks. Probably the most traditional MLB uniform is that of the pinstripes of the New York Yankees. The Yanks proudly display their team logo, the interlocking “NY”, on their baseball caps and across the chest of their home whites. Some bemuse that the Yankees began to wear pinstripes to make Babe Ruth look slimmer, but the fact is that the pinstripes date all the way back to 1912. New York was the first team in baseball to have numbers on the back of their jerseys, and the initial numbering reflected the batting order (Ruth was #3; and Gehrig wore #4 as the cleanup hitter). The Yankees to this day remain the only team in MLB that does not include the last names of the individual players on the back of their jerseys. It is all about Yankee team tradition.

The most interesting “non-traditional” uniform in MLB history resides on the south side of Chicago with the 1976 softball-like uniforms of the White Sox. Then Sox owner Bill Veeck, Jr., was in many ways a revolutionary; he simply liked to test baseball’s status quo. His bright idea that summer was for his Sox players to wear on occasion “Hollywood shorts”, short pant uniforms that he had seen a minor league team called the Hollywood Stars play in during the 1950s. It turned into quite a marketing ploy, garnering much media attention and even was thought to have increased attendance at Comiskey Park. Veeck’s theory was that his Sox players needed to play in comfort during the hot summer months. When media attention and attendance dropped in mid-August, the softball unis were shelved, for good.

It’s always been fascinating to me that, unlike coaching staffs in football and basketball, baseball managers and coaches wear the uniforms of the players. Interestingly, in baseball’s early days the term “manager” referred to the team’s business manager. On the playing field teams only had a “captain” who made game decisions, played a position, and of course wore a uniform. That “captain” became the “manager” around 1900, with the tradition of his wearing a uniform continuing in place. The rebel of course was the winningest manager in MLB history, Connie Mack, who was famous for wearing a suit in the dugout during games. On the other side of the spectrum there’s Atlanta Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, who not only wore his Braves uniform during games but also sported baseball cleats (hey, you never know!).

Uniforms are often worn today to celebrate special players in baseball history. On April 15, 2004, baseball proclaimed April 15th to be “Jackie Robinson Day” going forward. You see, Robinson became the first black MLB player on that day in 1947. All players, managers, and coaches throughout the game simply wear Jackie’s uniform number, #42, in a show of unity. Baseball also celebrates Roberto Clemente Day each September 9th, as Pirates players, Puerto Rican players, and now others, don #21 to remember the “Great One”. This month, baseball honored Hall of Famer and Yankee great, Lou Gehrig, by proclaiming June 2 as the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day in MLB. June 2 is significant since it was the first day Gehrig was inserted into the lineup in route to his “Iron Horse” consecutive games played streak. It was also the day that Gehrig tragically passed away at the early age of 37 losing his battle with ALS.

Wearing commemorative patches is also a uniform expression. Whether the patch is a tribute to playing in the World Series or the All-Star Game, it holds special meaning to players. One of the good fortunes of playing major league baseball is that you step onto a playing field with the same dimensions as those who have played 50, 100, or 150 years ago. I’m sure that the Braves and Brewers players this year, no matter their age or tenure with Atlanta or Milwaukee, smile each day as they see No. 44 on the back of their caps or on the right sleeves of their uniforms. Both patches serve as a special remembrance to baseball legend Hank Aaron who passed earlier this year. Again, tradition!

While you might have a fond memory of the first uniform you wore, maybe the last one you donned leaves you with a little sadness. My last high school summer league uniform had the script “Pirates” across the chest. Just like home whites and gray roads, my team had two sets of uniforms due to the number of games we played. Unfortunately both uniforms featured the team color of black, not the coolest approach to humid Cincinnati summers (and crazily, one of the two uniforms was mostly wool). I wore that Pirates uniform though with pride, as I did every uniform along the way.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach