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With a little help from my (UW) friends

little help hed

By Phil Hecken

With our esteemed leader beginning his well-deserved vacation from these boards, I have the pleasure of bringing you the next four weeks of assorted content. Unlike last summer, however, I am relying more than ever on the wonderful Uni Watch community to help me in this endeavor — I have some great guest entries lined up already, and I’m hoping for several more, and I’ll be ably assisted with the Ticker content by our webmaster, John Ekdahl.

Without going into a lot of detail, my full-time job is requiring more of my actual time (the nerve), I’m taking three grad school classes this summer, and my father is quite ill, actually entering hospice last week. So, I will do all that I can to ensure that you all get the best content that the Uni Watch community so richly deserves.

There is no way I can do you the justice that Paul does on a day-in, day-out basis, but I give it my best. So not only will there be a few guest entries, occasionally you’ll be treated to some tweaks, uni-tracking, colorizations, videos, and a daily Benchies.

Today, we go straight to the reader mail for our topic. Reader Sivan Silver-Swartz posed this question/request:

I’m sure you’re very busy uniform watching, but I have one quick thought: recently I was watching some highlights of Mike Leake, and I realized that I had never realized before that he wore stirrups, despite being semi-familiar with him (as more of an AL-person, apparently I’m more familiar with his hair and his statistics than actually watching him pitching). I occurred to me that I have yet to see one comprehensive list of current major leaguers who regularly/semi-regularly wear stirrups. Those in-the-know can count quite a few off their head and every once and a while you see some sort of quick list in an article, but I have yet to see a definite list that can confidently say, “these are all the major leaguers that wear stirrups.” This was something that I kind of expected Uni-Watch to have, a page on your website with this list, sort of like your “White at Home in the NFL” page, and with those trademark links to see images of those stirrups in action. You could even go all out and include some info, mention the frequency of the stirrup-wearing, the height, any special traits or stories about those particularly stirrups, etc. Anyway, just a thought – it would be a terrific resource, and I’m sure the community would be more than glad to help you out. Thanks for letting me waste your time.

Sivan
Columbus, OH

Paul actually forwarded that to me and we both agree that’s a pretty good suggestion — and one with which the Uni Watch faithful can help — a comprehensive listing, which we’ll then (hopefully) add to the Uni Watch reference section, of stirrup-wearing big-leaguers. I believe it was either a year or two ago when we had attempted to field an “all-stirrup” team (at least one player wearing stirrups at least part-time for each position). Perhaps now is the time to formalize that project.

So, for today, and before we get into the meat of the Paul-on-hiatus articles (and there are some good ones to come, I promise), lets see if we can’t come up with a list of stirrup-wearing players, hopefully with pics to go along with names. I’ll start with the two easiest: DJ Carrasco of the Mets, and Paul’s poster child for hosiery, Josh Outman of the Oakland A’s. We’ll consider this our first Summertime Uni Watch “Group Project.” Don’t let me down.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a nice (I hope) preview of the 2011 All Star Game, but tonight we have everyone’s favorite, the MLB Home Run Derby. This is usually a three-hour long display of how many different ways Chris Berman say “BACK BACK BACK” athletic prowess, featuring members of both teams sitting uncomfortably “Indian-style” and playing with their kids and cell phone cameras, all while tweeting away, as the eight “participants” slug away to determine who is the HR champ for 2011.

There’s actually a new “twist” in the Derby this year — past champions David Ortiz and Prince Fielder were made “captains” of the American League and National League, respectively, and each chose three teammates to represent the league. Ortiz has picked Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, and Robinson Cano, while Prince selected Rickie Weeks, Matt Kemp, and Matt Holiday. Yup. Used to be the guys who were leading their leagues in dingers at the break played. Not so this year. But hey, we’ll get to see those awesome ASG batting practice jerseys and PE cleats for all.

But to whet your appetites, dig this very cool retrospective of (almost) all of the past All Star Game logos, from the first up until last year (if you’re at work and/or have speakers, you may want to hit the ‘mute’ button):

And here’s a pretty cool time-lapse video of the 2011 ASG logo being painted on the field in Arizona.

My thanks to the Uni Watch community in advance for being such a great bunch and for understanding my situation. But, with a little help from my (Uni Watch) friends, these next four weeks will be great. If anyone is interested in working with me on a column while Paul is away, contact me here. You can also follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken and send me uni-notable news, pics, etc. OK? OK!

~~~~~~~~~~

reminder.jpg

Friendly reminder: Paul is on his summer break from the site from now until Aug. 8 (although he’ll still be doing ESPN work, which we’ll link to as it comes up). That means there are a few changes regarding where you should be sending e-mails:

• Phil is writing the lead entries while Paul’s away. You can contact him at his usual address.

• The Ticker is now being compiled by webmaster John Ekdahl. You can still send submissions to the uniwatching at gmail address, but they will go to John, not to Paul.

• If you absolutely need to contact Paul during his summer break, the best way is to send a note to his plukas64 at gmail address. But he may take a little while to get back to you, especially during the period from July 16-21.

• Finally, if you hear about any new college football uniforms during Paul’s break, please send that info to this address. Thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~

Benchies Beginning logo

Benchies from the Beginning
By Rick Pearson

For nearly three years, “Benchies” has been appearing most weekends at Uni Watch. While Bench Coach Phil fills in for Paul Monday through Friday during August, we present a retrospective. New strips will continue to appear on weekends. For further background, here’s the “Benchies” backstory and bios on the regular Boys of “Benchies.” Enjoy.

And here’s today’s strip:

7-11-11 d-Benchies 1 - Resize

And for those of you with bad eyesight, or for whom that’s just a bit too small, here’s the full size version.

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ticker 2

Uni Watch News Ticker: New court design for Purdue (with thanks to Tom Hamann). ”¦ Joel Willy reports that the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will be wearing Wisconsin Rapids Twins throwbacks tonight. ”¦ As you may know, most WNBA teams put their NOBs below the uni number, which makes Taj McWilliams-Franklin’s double-decker NOB all the more unusual-looking. You can see her going up for the jump ball in this shot (good spot by Jeremy Brahm). ”¦ What is this scary looking thing? That’s a Buster Posey bobblehead, of course, captured by Brinke at last night’s Mets/Giants game. More photos can be seen here. … What happens when you let Ryco, Kek, Movi & TK loose in Pittsburgh? Well, you get this moment at PNC. That’s Jim Vilk in his Bucco cap & Mauler tee, and Terence Kearns sporting the Ryberto cap. Fortunately, Doug Keklak had to take the pic, so we’re spared a shot of his outfit. I’m not sure where Ryan Connelly was though.

~~~

“The USA had BLACK jerseys today vs. Brazil. BLACK!?! Last I checked we were red, white and blue! This has to be the worst uniform in the history of uniforms.” — “Taylor”

 
  
 
Comments (81)

    Phil, kind thoughts and prayers your way re your father. Good luck keeping all those balls in the air this summer, and I think we can all understand if this one needs to drop now and then.

    I know I owe you some info and am still working on it so will reach out to you once I have what I need.

    The USA women’s team has a bit of a history of wearing unusual jerseys. For example, they wore a gold-colored shirt a couple of years back. Personally, I think that the uniform design itself is fine, but the color scheme should be a red shirt/blue shorts/red socks combo, similar to the scheme used by the men’s team, or to the deep red shirts they commonly wore in the past.

    Were those jerseys black or a very dark navy blue?

    I think the latter. They kept saying black on the telecast, but I kept seeing super dark navy. Anyone close enough to confirm?

    PS – Best sporting event this year so far. Just a terrific, gutty comeback.

    Overcoming the constant … and I mean CONSTANT whining from Marta & Co. If anyone deserved a red card, it was that whiner and her band of drama queens (who not only bawled out a ref, but touched her in disgust, too). They should all get spots on the men’s team for that performance!

    Scotty, I agree with you. I think they were a very dark navy. The official US soccer shop doesn’t say anything about the color, so I checked link (which has a HUGE selection of soccer stuff and great service, by the way). The description on their site says, “Feel like you’re a part of the team when you pull on this navy jersey with official US team badge.” But if you order the jersey, it’s listed as black. So that clears absolutely nothing up. Let’s keep a few things in mind:
    a) When dark navy gets wet, it tends to look black.
    b) The men’s team had a near-black charcoal away kit recently.
    c) As mentioned in the quote above, the US women have an interested uniform history, including a gold away kit.
    Who knows? Most people seem to think it’s black, but I still think it’s navy.

    Whoops. According to the official US Soccer link, the women’s away jersey is black (check the comment from US Soccer April 4 at 2:47).

    It’s black! The Nike press release talked about how it was influenced by the black widow spider.

    The Wisconsin Rapids Twins throwbacks look more like wrinkled t-shirts than baseball uniforms. Holy cow those things are ugly. Are those logos ironed on?

    I don’t think those summer collegiate teams have a whole lot of money to spend on uniforms.

    Paul, Phil and John, let me just tell you what a tremendous job you all do. The care and detail you put into something like transitioning of power so Paul and take a vacation is awesome. Some (most?) of us get on here first thing in the morning and look forward to the latest tidbit and morsel of Uni goodness. And you never disappoint. I dont know how many e-mails you get a day, but it’s clear that they all get read. Every comment, every contribution. This is as fine an example of how a web community should be.

    I’m a proud two-time member and owner of four pairs of stirrups. I’m a sports geek and an art nerd. I’ve said this before, but this place is right in my wheel house, and it is amazing to see how many others there are like me. It’s a lot of fun. A laurel, and hearty handshake for all your hard work fellas.

    Paul, enjoy the break. Rest up and recharge.

    Phil, count my thoughts among the many going out to your dad. If you want an article about sports themed cornhole boards, Ive made a few dozen…with pictures. Not sure what the interest level would be in that.

    John, your work makes you like a referee…no one notices you until you blow a call…and so far you haven’t blown a one. Keep up the good work.

    Thanks again fellas.

    Josh Outman is currently in the minors, so would you still include him on your list?

    good point — i don’t think we’re talking about an incredibly long list and he certainly has enough service time (plus he’s Paul’s favorite) to qualify; carrasco is an interesting case too since although he’s back to wearing rups, he has occasionally just worn socks (and done a stint in the minors) — he has also worn pajamas

    but since our list (if others help out) is, or will be small, anyone who’s gone stirrup’ed in any game that’s not a “throwback” or “one time only” game can probably be considered

    Phil,

    Clearly your father takes precedence over any blog, so I wish you the best on that front.

    I don’t do a “uniform tracking”, but I do a “home run track” for my favorite ball club (Milwaukee BRewers). Nothing to do with uni’s, but I thought the community might be interested in the breakdown anyways. Happy All-Star break!

    Solo – 62

    Double – 30

    Triple – 10

    Grand Slam – 1

    Total – 103

    Rickie Weeks – 11 solo, 5 2-run, 1 3-run

    Carlos Gomez – 4 solo, 1 2-run, 1 3-run

    Ryan Braun – 6 solo, 8 2-run, 2 3-run

    Erik Almonte – 1 solo

    Prince Fielder – 12 solo, 8 2-run, 2 3-run

    Casey McGehee – 2 solo, 1 2-run, 2 3-run

    Yovani Gallardo – 1 solo

    Johnny Lucroy – 6 solo, 1 2-run

    Brandon Boggs – 2 solo

    Yuniesky Bentancourt – 5 solo

    Corey Hart – 5 solo, 2 3-run, 3 2-run

    Zack Greinke – 1 solo

    Josh Wilson – 2 solo

    Nyjer Morgan – 1 solo, 2 2-run

    George Kottaras – 1 solo, 1 2-run

    Mark Kotsay – 2 solo

    Shaun Marcum – 1 grand slam

    * Rickie Weeks, Carlos Gomez, and Yuniesky Bentancourt have hit inside-the-park home runs.

    * Pitcher Shaun Marcum has hit the Brewers only GRand Slam this year. It was his first (and only) career home run

    The US jerseys were, in fact, black (Nike went with a black widow spider inspiration, pet their press release).

    link. I guess sometimes we see what we want to see, or in this case, what we think we SHOULD be seeing.

    Kinda like how there are still people that refuse to believe that link aren’t blue.

    Whatever, Nike. Everyone always comes up with some excuse to wear black. What was SMU’s last year for the bowl game?

    Are we going to change the color of the flag now too because black is stylish? Or stick to our national colors for God’s sake?

    Are we a nation or a corporation?

    SMU wore black in honor of their opponent, Army

    Which was the most obvious example of BS in recent memory. SMU wore black because SMU wanted to wear black. SMU thought black was a pretty color, and it wanted to dress in a pretty color. That’s all. In the entire history and present of American sporting culture, there is zero basis for “honoring” one’s opponent by wearing his colors as your own. None. Zip. Zilch. It would make as much sense for me to declare that I plan to “honor” the American flag by putting one in the bathroom and using it to wipe my behind. If I said that, you’d declare BS, and assume that I actually harbored some motive other than “honor” for the gesture. Thus with SMU and the black unis against Army.

    As to the US women, is black even “stylish” in the way it was thought to be when the Mets added it as a team color in 1998? I could sort of understand BFBS 14 years ago, when black was actually a trendy fashion item. But today? Isn’t it a response to a fad that played itself out the better part of a generation ago?

    It’s Vilk, why question it? We’re probably lucky he wasn’t wearing Zubaz pants too. Then again, since the pic cuts off above the waist, maybe he was.

    It’s a camera, homies. A really big bulky film camera. But it takes great zoom photos.

    The Jeff, there should be another picture posted by someone eventually. I had Doug take a full shot so Phil would have proof that I sometimes wear short socks and knee-length shorts. Was tempted to wear my high yellow-gold socks, though. If it was cooler, I would have worn them with my Stargell jersey.

    By the way, The, did you design my t-shirt? The Maulers had gray facemasks,
    link
    not white. No, wait, you don’t like white facemasks either.

    Wait, what? When did I start not liking white masks? White actually works as a neutral color. I’ve got no problem with white facemasks.

    Besides, the gray mask worked for them since they had gray pants.

    Oops, confused you with Marshall (probably the first and last time that happens). *He* doesn’t like white facemasks.

    And you’re right. The gray worked for the Maulers.

    Homies, too bad there wasn’t a spring/summer football league this year, the timing was perfect with the current NFL lockout.

    I was surprised to see Fat Head’s retweeting link. I don’t see any interesting beers there, though.

    All-stirrup team entry: Brendan Ryan for the Mariners. link Although I have to admit that the stirrups that he wore when with the Cardinals were classic.

    The United States has worn, over the last 16 years under the Nike name:

    Light blue (1995)
    Navy (present)
    Royal (Copa America 2007)
    Red (1998-2001, 2011 Gold Cup)
    Gold (2007)
    Pink (2007)
    Anthracite (2008-2009)
    Black (2011)

    Oh, and of course, white.

    All Stirrup Team: Since being recalled from AAA, Reds pitcher Mike Leake has been wearing stirrups.

    Phil- My best to you and your family during this time. We will all understand if you need to close the shop for a day or so.

    RAJI DAVIS of the Blue Jays often has on the rups.

    Good luck with your dad Phil! Here is something I mentioned before..the NFL has a uniform code..why does MLB try to adopt something similar? No pajama pants allowed and mandatory stirrups or socks? Baseball unis are ICONIC in style and appearance. It also sells the game!

    It’s not like the NFL’s uniform code really means anything. A $5k fine for a guy making a couple mil per year… not exactly much of a deterrent.

    Plus, the money goes to NFL Charities, so the player can take the fines as a tax deduction. Believe me, at that income level they can use all they can get.

    Mentioned this before.
    There IS an MLB rule that the pants cannot tuck under the heel.

    And that-there is a fersure acceptance of long pants, and essentially an abandonment of the notion of stirrups as a part of the uniform.

    At this point would be kinda like requiring men to wear bowties to work.
    Interesting.
    Almost quaint.

    And not gonna happen.

    When the next CBA rolls around, the league should include a provision that “uniforms are to be worn in a professional manner,” and then hold the teams accountable.

    Imagine how much sweeter yesterday’s comeback would have been if the WNT had been wearing, you know, red, white and blue…

    link

    I think my favorite all-star logo was the 1948 one:
    link
    Simple, beautiful and a nice use of the ballcap in a way I hadn’t seen before.

    “…the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will be wearing Wisconsin Rapids Twins throwbacks tonight.”
    Aaaaahhh…I know Ricko doesn’t agree, but I have fond memories of those jerseys.
    link
    Next weekend is the 25th anniversary of my first trip to Memorial Stadium, when the Twins wore those against the Orioles.

    It’s okay to have fond memories of any uniform.
    Have many of them myself. Rod Carew, Ken Landreaux and others in that particular power blue, for example.

    Doesn’t mean the uni should worn again with any regularity whatsoever, though.

    Or revered as a really darn fine design.

    Where’s Paul?! This sux!!¡! GrumbleGrumbleGrumble…

    But seriously, Phil if you need anything, shoot me an email, text, call (my phone# should be in my email sig) and I’ll do my damnedest to help you out.

    Good luck.

    It occured to me over the weekend that the Bills went with the white helmet/grey facemask combo so they won’t need to switch anything other than decals when they go with the throwbacks.

    Keep trimming costs til Ralph kicks the bucket.

    Has anyone else noticed how often the Sentinels uni’s from The Replacements get used in ads and commercials? Ninety percent of the time that football players are depicted, they’re wearing that set. Sans logo.

    While I’m thrilled the U.S. advanced, I’m just happy we don’t have to look at those hideous number fonts of Brazil anymore! Almost as bad as the whining. FYI, the definition of poetic justice is scoring in the extra time added due to faking an injury (I’m looking at you Erica #13).

    USA!USA!USA!

    Frank

    Since there isn’t a lot of hockey news to be had over these months, I’d be happy to help with something else like a CFL article again. The look at the American CFL teams was fun!

    I’m still trying to confirm a date on the Jets logo/jersey release. The team is very tight-lipped about everything right now.

    Man – I can’t wait for the unveiling of the new Jets jerseys. I am hoping for nothing too radical but understand the need for a re-branding. Teebz – what’s your gut feeling on this?

    Opportunity is a great playing field. I just don’t want to see any gimmicky logos. Rumours of a red jersey are still predominant, but there is increasing chatter of bringing back the old colours with a new logo.

    Personally, if they recycled the old name, I don’t see why they wouldn’t just recycle the old colours that are so popular with the fans. But that’s just my opinion.

    I’m not sure. I know they really wanted to go in a new direction with the name but caved due to the huge fan push for “Jets”. So I’m wondering if they say “OK we gave in on the name but we’re going with our own logo and colours”.

    I’m hoping that they at least go with a retro third just to keep the old guys like me happy!

    If nothing else, you can rip the Stampeders for coming out with that black helmet!

    Plus, is the league doing 80s throwbacks this year? Those Blue Bombers Bob Cameron-era throwbacks were great.
    link

    The black Stamps helmet was ridiculously bad. BFBS – yuck. So Teebz – rip away!

    Agreed that the Blue Bombers looked outstanding.

    Fully agreed, gents. The black Stamps are ridiculously bad on the field. And the Bombers get them next.

    As for the throwbacks, I’d prefer the Bombers to take to the field in those “glory days” uniforms all season long!

    Nyjer Morgan wears stirrups. He’s not a full-time wearer and I read something recently that said he only wears them on Sundays, but I haven’t been able to verify that yet (he didn’t start yesterday and when he doesn’t start he goes with long pants).

    Must the team wear stirrups or are socks OK? If so the Pirate shortstop Ronnie Cedeno qualifies. Personally I don’t differentiate. I just want to see color and high cuffs.

    For the purposes of this list, they have to be stirrups, because anyone can pull their pants up and show plain-Jane tube socks. We’re focusing on those who go the extra mile and wear ‘rups.

    Is it possible that there will never be another player inducted into the hall of fame that wears/has worn stirrups consistently?

    Prince Fielder is sporting some sweet light blue spikes at the Home Run Derby tonight.

    Yeah, I don’t get the complaining about spikes in combinations of team colors (see: Andrew McCutcheon regularly). With long pants here stirrups gone, it adds color to the lower part of the uni.

    So now that nobody’s juicing, are they using Titleists for this Home Run Contest or something?

    Inspired by a spider? Who cares? We’re red, white and blue, PERIOD! You could make an argument for gold (I wouldn’t agree with it, but you could), since often times we have gold tassles hanging off the flag, but still. At some point enough is enough.

    OK, got the photos developed from yesterday. Wish I had more, but I accidentally opened the camera thinking it was rewound. Nope. Did manage to save part of Kek meeting a new friend, though:
    link

    And I got one decent game photo:
    link
    The zoom lens works pretty good, considering what the view is really like from there:
    link

    Wish the group photo hadn’t been washed out, but I did get a good shot of the Roberto Clemente Bridge:
    link
    I don’t think you’ll be seeing any “I’m Still Calling It The 6th Street Bridge” shirts, huh?

    NFL jerseys,NBA jerseys,NHL jerseys and MLB Jerseys from link with discount price,free shipping,you can order the jerseys online and pay by your credit card,its easy and fast

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