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2016 World Series Game 1 Report

Photo by the Tugboat Captain; click to enlarge

That was the scene last night at Uni Watch HQ as we all settled in to watch the World Series. I thought I was gonna miss the beginning of the game, because I had to attend a friend’s wedding party (where I stumbled upon a lead for a new Uni Watch story — more on that later), but I was able to leave a bit early and scoot home on my bike just in time for the first pitch. Phew.

The game immediately yielded a uni-notable detail: Cleveland starter Corey Kluber must be superstitious about keeping the same cap, because the outline where the Postseason patch was removed and replaced by the World Series patch was clearly visible last night.

The outline of the Postseason patch was also visible on reliever Cody Allen’s cap (click to enlarge):

Kluber also got to pick last night’s jerseys, and as usual he chose navy. That was expected, but many fans, myself included, were still a little disappointed that the home team wasn’t wearing white for baseball’s biggest showcase.

That led several readers to ask me which team was the first to wear a colored alternate jersey in the World Series. That’s a trickier question than you might think. The way I see it, there are several possible answers:

1. The A’s wore their green and gold jerseys throughout the 1972 World Series — and again in ’73 and ’74, for that matter. These were definitely the first colored World Series jerseys in the modern era (I’ll have more to say about the pre-modern era in a minute), but they weren’t really alternate jerseys, because the A’s routinely mixed and matched their green, gold, and white jerseys. So even if they wore, say, green at home, you could say that was their regular home look (or at least one of their regular home looks).

2 and 3. In Game 1 of the 1979 World Series, the Pirates wore black and the Orioles wore orange. The Pirates fall into the same category as the A’s: They routinely mixed and matched their their assorted bumblebee jerseys. The Orioles, however, had basic home whites, road greys, and the orange alternate. So I think we could say that the O’s were the first team to wear a colored alternate jersey in the World Series.

4. It’s also worth noting that some teams had solid-colored road uniforms in the early 1900s. I haven’t gone back and checked to see if any of those teams made it to the Series (anyone wanna tackle that one?). If so, of course, those solid jerseys would have been their standard road designs, not alternates.

Update: Commenters Rob S. and Scott Johnston immediately pointed out something I should have remembered: The New York Giants came up with a solid-black alternate uniform specifically for the 1905 World Series. So that takes the prize. Thanks for the memory jog, Rob and Scott.

I’m going to miss a good chunk of tonight’s game, because I have a guest-speaking gig at a class at 7pm, so apologies in advance for not being on top of Game 2. Go Cubs!

(My thanks to Mark Lackinger and @Coots44 for their contributions to this section.)

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StripeRite update: In case you missed it earlier this week, I’m excited to share our latest batch of StripeRite socks with you.

The basic concept behind StripeRite remains the same: You want to show your stripes, literally and figuratively, but how can you do that when the stripes found on most stirrups and athletic socks are up around your calf, where nobody can see them unless you hike up your pants? Our own Scott M.X. Turner ”” the guy who designs all the Uni Watch membership cards ”” came up with a great solution to that problem: What if there were socks with the stripe patterns down by the ankle? That way the stripes would be visible as you walked, when you crossed your legs, when you put your feet up on your desk, and so on.

We were very happy with the response to the first batch of StripeRite designs. Now I’m happy to show you the second batch, which takes inspiration from each of the four major sports:

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Nice, right? They won’t be ready to ship until Nov. 21, but you can preorder them now. They’ll definitely arrive in time for the holidays. The socks are available individually or as a four-pack. As always with American Trench product, the socks are made in the USA and shipping is free.

As promised, all the profits from sales of the first batch are being donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation. A check for $4,451.25 is on its way to them now. Those first four designs are still available, and all profits from them will continue to be donated to the JRF.

Continued kudos to Scott Turner for coming up with the idea for these socks, and to American Trench honcho Jacob Hurwitz for executing Scott’s concept so well. Again, you can preorder the new designs here, and the first batch is still available here. Thanks.

• • • • •

Click to enlarge

Free footwear: Check out those chukka boots — nice, right? I found them on the sidewalk on my block two weekends ago. Not bad for something that normally costs a pretty penny.

It’s amazing how much free stuff I find out on the street, and especially on my own block. This year alone I’ve scored a sweater, a paella pan (the one I used to make paella on the grill a few months ago), a cast iron grill pan (pretty sure my downstairs neighbor is the one who put that one out there), a charcoal chimney starter (I already had two of them, but one was about to rust through, so it was good to get a replacement), a skillet, and these shoes. In recent years I’ve also come away with very cool beverage glasses, perfectly good jeans, shirts, and other clothing. About six or seven years ago I found a pair of sneakers that I thought would be good for my daily bike ride in Prospect Park. I continue to wear them for that purpose every single day.

To be clear, I’m not a Dumpster-diver or a freegan (although I have no problem with people who are). I’m just a guy who walks around and sees all the stuff that people leave out for the taking. I’m happy to have all this free stuff — sure beats spending money — but I’m somewhat mystified by it, especially considering that the neighborhood is crawling with vintage and thrift shops that would happily take these items. And if you don’t want to haul everything down to the shop, why not have a stoop sale?

I think NYC is a particularly good place for free stuff, because so many people here live in small apartments, lead super-busy lives, have too much money, and tend to be conspicuously consumptive. Add all of that up and you get a lifestyle that leads to getting rid of perfectly good stuff. I guess I should be happy that some of it ends up on the sidewalk. I don’t even wanna think about how much of it just goes straight into the trash.

Is there lots of free stuff where you live?

(And yes, I realize today’s entry includes two shots of my living room. Coincidence.)

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The Ticker
By Mike Chamernik

Baseball News: The New Era logo popped off of Michael Grace’s new Cubs cap. … Brice Wallace noticed that the 1970s Indians poster in yesterday’s Collector’s Corner looked familiar. The Phillies used similar artwork, with a nearly identical batter pose, on a 1971 program cover. “I think both are actually from a photo of Tony Perez, but I’d have to dig through my old Reds yearbooks to confirm that,” he says. I remember seeing these posters as part of a league-wide set, but I couldn’t find any other teams online. … With downtown Cleveland hosting both the World Series and Cavs home opener last night, a mother and daughter wore split Cavs and Indians jerseys (from Robert Hayes).

NFL News: With the Jaguars set to wear their mno-mustard Color Rush uniforms tomorrow night, Jags QB Blake Bortles said the uniform is “ugly as hell” and that he’d prefer a teal uniform. He also said that he enjoys the Titans’ baby blue unis, which is what he’ll be seeing on the other side of the line of scrimmage (from Phil).

College Football News: Virginia Tech WR Divine Deablo will wear No. 25 this week. The Hokies choose a different special teamer to wear the number for each game (from Andrew Cosentino).

Hockey News: The Penguins wore purple warm-ups last night for Hockey Fights Cancer. Here’s the reverse side (from Jerry Wolper). … Lebanon Valley College will host a Military Appreciation Night in December. In the past, the team wore flag-themed jerseys for the occasion (from Jason Hocker). … A jersey purported to be a 1980s Blues prototype has surfaced on Twitter. We’ve seen several other Blues prototype designs from over the years, including a home and away set from the mid-1960s, and a few from the 1990s (from Mark Richter). … The Ducks wore their orange alternates on the road yesterday.

NBA News: The Cavs wore black sleeves at home with a championship patch for their opener last night, and they raised their championship banner and handed out their championship rings. The rings commemorate their 3-1 comeback in the Finals last year. … The Warriors’ 70th-anniversary patch and Nate Thurmond memorial band are on their warm-up jackets as well as their jerseys (from Robert Hayes). … Also, the Warriors gave out Sager Strong t-shirts last night. TNT broadcaster Craig Sager is battling cancer. … Adidas unveiled new shoes for the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis. … NBA merch is inconsistent regarding when teams were established. Yesterday we noted that Nets gear has “Est. 2012,” when the team moved to Brooklyn, and not 1967, when the franchise was founded. We have another example: Some Lakers apparel has Est. 1948, which counts the Minneapolis years, and some Pistons merchandise has Est. 1957, which ignores seasons in Fort Wayne (from @FtWaynePistons). … New retro-themed outfits for the Sixers Dancers. The team is honoring the 50th anniversary of their 1967 championship (from Phil).

College Hoops News: New blue jerseys for Tulane. They have a “Big Easy” streetcar design sublimated onto the back (from @TulaneSportsGuy). … New gray unis for Fresno State (from Daniel Evans). … North Carolina coaches signed camo basketballs during a team trip to Fort Bragg (from James Gilbert).

Soccer News: The Kansas City Comets, a pro indoor team, has undergone a retro redesign with “Rainbow Stripe” uniforms and a 1980s-looking logo. … Carlos Alberto Torres, captain of the 1970 Brazil team that won the World Cup, died yesterday. Saurel Jean, Jr. says that he was the last captain to raise the Jules Rimet Trophy, which became a subject of an ESPN 30 for 30. And, here’s an animated short about the day he signed with the New York Cosmos during the 1977 NYC blackout.

Grab Bag: A man who worked on the production of the NBC Peacock told the story of how it was developed in the early 1960s (from Ilana Hardesty). … Donald Trump wore a camo hat during when speaking in Florida yesterday (from Aaron Rupar). … This discussion blew up on Reddit yesterday: People forget that the U.S. flag code stipulates that the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery, and that no part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform (from Allan Labanowski). … Check out what TWA flight attendants used to wear. The airline got creative with the letters “TWA” on the collar (from Jennifer Hayden). … Here’s an image that shows the evolution of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One racing suits (from David Firestone).

 
  
 
Comments (67)

    For the 1905 World Series, John McGraw had special black jerseys made for his New York Giants which were worn only in the Series. McGraw had black jerseys made again for the 1911 World Series. The 1905 jerseys are the first colored alternate jerseys in the World Series.

    My town there is a fair bit of stuff laid out every weekbut it’s not usually worth much. When people want to get rid of something worth at least $5 they put it on their porch/lawn to “sell” it. In a town of 40k in an area that hasn’t had a better-than-average economy (comparatively) since the early 90s, the multitude of pickers that run through town every evening (depending on what area has trash pickup the next day) usually swipe it.

    The St. Louis suburb I live in has quarterly bulk trash collection. There’s no defined date as to when the trucks will come by to haul it away, other than during a certain week. It’s pretty amusing to see people in their own trucks driving around and stopping at one pile then another, especially when the stuff they’ve already found in the truck’s bed is precariously piled as it is.

    Trash collection quarterly, or just large items? My city only allows “two items under 50 lbs can be picked up per week, no construction materials” and anything else is subject to a $100 processing fee (the city owned trash collection has a GID system built into the trucks GPS)

    My city has had an annual event called “Treasure Exchange Days” since 2014. On a specified weekend in the city household items, furniture, toys, etc. can be left at your curb and labelled free.

    link

    I know it happens in other cities under other names but not sure how common it is.

    Never used to see stuff set out for the taking in the Virginia suburbs of DC. But here in Madison, I see it a lot in my neighborhood. Though usually it’s big stuff. Goodwill and St. Vitty’s have widespread and highly visible presences here, so I assume that everyone takes their little things there. But furniture, tools, exercise equipment, construction scraps, I see stuff like that set out just about every day on various dog-walking routes. Aside from a bed frame I built myself, we furnished most of our guest bedroom with stuff set out for the taking. And when we first moved in, we didn’t own a lawn mower, so I picked up the first one set out with a “free” sign. Thing didn’t work, and it still didn’t work after I watched a ton of YouTube videos on mower repair and took the thing apart and reassembled it, so I would up paying the neighbor’s boy to mow the lawn that fall. Bought a mower over the winter. But in the meantime, I got to take apart and reassemble a small engine, which was kind of its own reward.

    Literally just occurred to me that maybe I’m hearing it wrong. The sort of local “Catholic Goodwill” here is actually the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and everyone here calls it by a nickname that I’ve been hearing as “St. Vitty’s.” But probably they’re saying “St. Vinny’s” and I’m mishearing it.

    On a similar note, we’re not far from the little town of Oregon, WI. I’ve noticed several friends distinctly pronounce the state “Or-eh-gun,” but the local town “Or-eh-gahn.”

    Is anyone calling this the “World Ceries”, as in Cleveland or Chicago “C” in place of the first S?

    Paul, I saw video cameras in the room when you were at Baruch College. Have you heard from Baruch about when the video will be available? I recall that you were the only person who got a round of applause during the contentious presentation.

    “Kluber also got to pick last night’s jerseys, and as usual he chose navy. That was expected, but many fans, myself included, were still a little disappointed that the home team wasn’t wearing white for baseball’s biggest showcase.”

    that’s such a old way of thinking.. i didn’t see anything in my twitter feed (which is full of tribe fans) about how they hate the white unis at home

    I didn’t say “many *Cleveland* fans”; I simply said many fans, by which I meant baseball fans. My own Twitter feed was full of people lamenting the navy alternates.

    As for it being an “old way of thinking,” that may be an objectively accurate statement. But “old” does not automatically mean “bad.” It also does not automatically mean “good.” It is simply one point of view.

    i guess by old way.. i mean not open to change.. the baseball landscape has changed and i don’t see it ever really going back. i expect to see a navy vs royal game soon. visually white vs grey made sense when people didn’t have color tvs but we have these high def resolution tvs makes sense for teams to have use their team colors more often.. but that’s just my way of thinking

    Change in and of itself is not a virtue, Tony. I’m all in favor of *good* change, as I think most people are. Of course, we all define “good change” differently, which is fine.

    4 of the 5 ALCS games were navy (Cleveland) vs royal (Toronto) – graphically displayed in Sat’s uni-watch: link

    Except the first wave of colored baseball jerseys arrived in the 1970s. (When, by the way, a lot of people did still have B&W TVs.) Colored jerseys were new, they were hip, they were modern, there was no going back, until, guess what, they went back. By 1990 or so there was a wave back the other way, with teams returning to white/gray, and also ditching the “modern” pullovers and beltless pants and going for a much more traditional look.

    Visually white vs grey made sense when people didn’t have color tvs

    No, it really didn’t. White in shade and gray in sunlight can certainly look quite similar. Granted, baseball doesn’t require very much contrast since it’s really obvious which team is batting and which is fielding… but in retrospect I find it a bit weird that they didn’t follow the NFL’s path of mandatory white vs dark color during the black & white TV era.

    I’m still waiting for an explanation about how a dark-colored jersey over white or gray pants looks good. I’ll take the dark-colored jersey, so long as it’s also matched with pants of the same color. Otherwise, the look is awful.

    My folks were disappointed the Indians didn’t wear white; I like the Tribe in navy+white. That’s their trademark.

    Pretty sure that band on the Warrior’s warm-up jacket is an “EST. XXXX” band, much like ones noted in the ticker for the Nets and Lakers. You can pretty clearly see the “EST. 19” part on Durant’s arm.

    Paul, is the stuff you get for free somehow marked as being free? Or is it merely “seemingly out of place and unattended”? :^)

    Just wondering.

    There’s an understanding in NYC that if you leave items unattended on your stoop, or on the sidewalk, they’re intended to be given away. Some times people put up little “FREE!” signs, sometimes not. But this isn’t like somebody sets their backpack down for a sec and you grab it.

    Wow, that’s quite the record collection you’ve got! Do you have any sort of database for it, whether kept offline, or through some site like Discogs?

    I hope you come across someone throwing away a TV big enough for your living room. Unless that cat weighs 80 pounds, that TV is too small!

    The TV size is fine. 26 or 28 inches (I forget). My apartment, like many NYC apts, is narrow, so the distance from the sofa to the screen is short. Also I watch very little television outside of sports, so I don’t want my space to be dominated by a huge screen.

    People tend to put out a lot of goodies in my neighborhood. I can empathize with not wanting to make a monetary transaction out of shedding possessions; what you really want is the space it consumed, and dawdling over an object’s worth has the potential to cancel the transaction. Leaving it on the curb is quick and painless.

    I pretty much give everything to Goodwill, or in the case of clothes, I stick them in those collection bins you always see in parking lots. My wife has this mental block about other people wearing her clothes, so she gives them to me to toss into the dumpster at work. I always dump them in the collection bin anyway. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.

    There’s not a lot of free stuff on the street where I live. However, my brother and sister in law, who until recently lived in Park Slope, were notorious for putting gifts that they didn’t like out on the street. None of the stuff you’ve described sounds like anything we bought for them. ;)

    I don’t get a lot of free stuff in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, but every year I have New Jersey relatives who work a gigantic rummage sale to benefit the Visiting Nurses of America and we have gone out to Jersey and picked up great stuff at steep discounts. This year we found for my son a high end Wilson A2000 baseball glove in really good shape for a tenth of what it would have cost new.

    The Chicago White Sox were wearing their all-navy uniform when they faced the Cubs in the 1906 World Series and again in 1917; the Cubs also had several all-navy uniforms in that era but as far as I can tell, those were worn in years when they didn’t make it (mostly the 1910s), though if you count the postseason exhibitions of the 1880s, the Cubs wore all-navy many times then also.

    I have always thought that the Cubs’ navy uniforms from that era are the best uniform in their history and that it should be the standard road uniform. Maybe, given how sun-absorbing it probably is, they could use it as a cold-weather alternate.

    I picked up a hitchhiker the other day–He was wearing one shoe…I said “oh you lost a shoe”, he said “no I found one”

    I found a like-new copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet while walking my dog in South Berkeley the other day. I already have one, and I love it, so I’m planning on giving this one as a gift…

    Not to get all “Seinfeldesque” on you but, not as a “wrapped gift” I hope.

    As a “Here, I found this book. Do you want it?” gift; I get it.

    My friend Wendy and I have had this tradition for the past 25 years. Whenever either of us goes on a trip, they have to bring the other back a gift. The trick is, the gifts have to be “found objects”. Some of the treasures I’ve accumulated over the years include a Zippo lighter, an AA coin, a magnifying glass, and a tennis ball with an intricate and colorful design drawn on it in Sharpie.

    I think the Phillies artwork you were referring to was done by Dick Perez not Tony Perez.

    Brice Wallace noticed that the link in yesterday’s Collector’s Corner looked familiar. The Phillies used link, with a nearly identical batter pose, on a 1971 program cover. “I think both are actually from a photo of Tony Perez, but I’d have to dig through my old Reds yearbooks to confirm that,” he says. I remember seeing these posters as part of a league-wide set, but I couldn’t find any other teams online.

    I have link of that poster, which is still one of my absolute favorites. As a kid, I loved link (link, actually), so I was drawn to the poster which included it.

    The Brewers also used their graphic link, which doesn’t seem to have been the case link.

    Is flag bunting around a ballpark, dressing up the park for a big occasion, no longer part of World Series tradition? There was one bunting (proper term?) past the camera well, from what I could see, and that’s about it. Maybe hanging bunting is not possible due to the narrow video displays in front of each seating level around the stadium. Perhaps Wrigley will get out the decorations.

    I hate it when teams routinely wear alternate jerseys. Take the Indians last night, for instance. They would look SO much better wearing their home whites, and when they’re on the road the road gray top looks better too.
    At what point are “alternates” not really alternates? The Indians have worn the navy tops for all but one game this postseason, I think. The Cubs routinely wear the blue tops over the home pinstripes or the road grays.
    What irks me about the overuse of alternates is that it presents a look like they just don’t care. It has a just-take-the-first-thing-off-the-rack look to them. The Yankees, much I don’t like them, have it right.

    At what point are “alternates” not really alternates?

    Indeed. At one point, around 2000, the MLB Style Guide actually listed the Mets’ black alternates as “club-preferred”!
    link

    That’s just it; they don’t care. That’s why they wear ill-fitting pajama pants, filthy caps and batting helmets, turn their pockets inside-out and have their jerseys unbuttoned down to mid-chest. They’re a bunch of millionaire frat boys. Now get off my lawn!

    “The Cubs routinely wear the blue tops over the home pinstripes”

    This was only true for a brief period during 2003-2006. Now they only ever wear white at home, and they wear either blue or gray on the road, both of which have been regular road colors for them for decades.

    I really love that Brunswick bowling pin with the red crown design. Always preferred that to the stripes. I have one somewhere.

    Tucker is looking well, is he feeling better?

    I’m with ya on the crown-wrapped Brunswick pin — my favorite pin design.

    And yes, Tucker is doing well. Thanks so much for asking.

    I live in a gated community in Orange County, CA. Putting something out on the street with a Free sign will earn you a curt letter from the homeowner’s association about all sorts of violations. It may be somewhat fascist, but it sure keeps the place clean.

    I live next to a lake and I find a lot of stuff underwater while swimming / canoeing.

    A full table service (plates and cutlery, blown away from a restaurant), a really nice silver flask, and a really good set of forceps are my best finds so far.

    I live in Key West and it’s a goldmine for free stuff, for similar reasons — very little storage space, plenty of people who like to spend money, and a lot of part-time residents whose spring cleaning involves throwing stuff out. There are some pickers here who’ve made an art out of balancing wildly improbable amounts of stuff on bikes, too.

    I don’t understand the need for World Series patches on caps. Are the players and fans really in danger of forgetting what they are playing?

    Quelling more naps? Smelling for gaps? Expelling poor chaps? Fortunetelling lore maps? Come on man, don’t keep us in suspense here!

    I have occasionally partaken in the sidewalk economy…

    For me, if I am getting rid of something, its not of a desire to make money off it, its to free up space.
    So to that end, I place it on the sidewalk. So far, everything has disappeared, not always positive someone took it, or the city (San Francisco) cleaned up my mess.

    Placing it on the sidewalk rather than taking it to the thrift store also frees up another precious commodity (for me): time. Plus, the times in the past I have taken things to a thrift store or Goodwill or wherever, they don’t always take everything.
    Simply easier, quicker and more efficient to place it on the sidewalk.

    Lee

    Paul — I too am impressed with your vinyl collection. Surely you must have “Aqualung” by Jethro Tull, Boston and ELO albums, if only for their cover art.

    I lived in Paul’s neighborhood for several years (right on Smith St.) and remember seeing far more finds on the street when I moved to Park Slope.
    Befire immigrating to Israel, I thought I’d make a haul selling my collection of vintage sports apparel and sneakers…my stoop sale ( link) netted a whopping $45 bucks, all derived from cabbies pulling over to cop kicks on the cheap off me.

    People put out great stuff on the street here in Jerusalem–furniture, tons of books, clothes, etc. It’s generally gone quickly and seems to be an efficient form of recycling.

    Note on colored jerseys in the WS. In the 90s, they really weren’t that popular, even during the regular season. The Mariners may have been first to wear them with any regularity. Anyway, I remember the Padres wore their navy blues in at least one game at Yankee Stadium in the 1998 Classic. That was the first time I remember seeing colored jerseys in the WS. IIRC, Tony Gwynn homered in the game, even though the Padres lost.

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