Mandi and Dan have been dating officially since February of 2010; their first date was in December of 2009. Together, they share a love of baseball. Dan has a job that moves him all over the country, so wherever they go they try to catch a baseball game at some level. This blog is dedicated to reviewing baseball stadiums, experiences and the associated travels with them as well as keeping up with some notable baseball news.
Just as the title says... MLB has caved to pressure from fans who opposed the "political correctness" of featuring an inaccurate throwback without the firearm on the jersey.
I'm a fan. MLB shouldn't hide from it's rich history - it should embrace it.
And I know this is like the 3rd Astros' article we've written in recent times... they just keep making notable news! I swear, it's not any special affinity I have for this team!
Recently, ESPN ranked the best and worst jerseys in MLB. Somehow the Padres came dead last for their military jerseys, but they quickly came to their defense. Keep in mind, San Diego has the 2nd largest Naval base in the world there, not to mention Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is there (where TOPGUN was filmed, formerly belonging to the Navy) and in the vicinity is Camp Pendleton, another Marine Corps base. To say that San Diego is saturated with the military is an understatement. As such, the Padres refer to themselves as the Military's Team on occasion and their alternates are these Marine digi-camo uniforms. The Padres were the first team to do the "camo" theme and it's been reproduced with limited success and much failure by a few other teams.
Fortunately, many of the Padres agree they wear a pretty cool jersey, regardless of what ESPN thinks as you can see below:
My other beef with the ESPN article is HOW IN THE HELL DID THE YANKEES NOT GET FIRST PLACE?!!! (They got 3rd, behind the Dodgers, which ok, I'll give you, have great uniforms too, but also the Cardinals, whose uniforms while nice, always struck me as a little bland). Seriously, it's all about the Pinstripes! Not to mention, the Yankees road jerseys aren't all that shabby either. The interlocked NY is the most recognizable and beautiful logo in all of sports - and it's history is just as beautiful - it was originally created by Tiffany and Co. as a medal for the first NYPD officer shot in the line of duty, John McDowell. The Yankees were also the first team to permanently wear numbers, and to this day are the only team in the Major Leagues who don't wear names on the backs of their away jerseys (a violation of MLB rules, actually) in the name of tradition. That's the thing, the Yankees don't need names on the backs of their jerseys, precisely because they are the Yankees. I'll get off my soapbox, but end with this clip from Catch Me if You Can:
"You know why the Yankees always win Frank?"
" 'Cause they have Mickey Mantle?"
"No, it's 'cause the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes."
