by Adam Feuerberg
When we last talked baseball, I was busy ranting on new rules and instant replay that my World War II friends were going to be so pissed off about. Now onto something I really care about: new uniforms! That’s right, cue the generic dance music: nnttss nnttss nnttss.
The launch of a new baseball season means the introduction of sweet new threads for all sorts of teams. I’m a geek for this stuff so just stay with me.
The first big change is from the Atlanta Braves, who changed their red alternate uniform to fit a more patriotic look with stars stitched into the word, “Braves.” I think it’s a cool way to honor our country rather than just wearing a patch on holidays.
The Boston Red Sox have made the most confusing change to their road uniforms because they seem to get in the habit of changing things back to the way they used to be right after winning a title. The letters on the road jerseys are now red? Didn’t they ditch the red “Boston” script after their last championship? I suppose there’s no reason to argue with a champion, unless of course you cite history.
The Cubs will be wearing ten different jerseys this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field, hopefully inciting an emotional connection to going after the first championship in the history of the landmark stadium. Not sure if that will happen, but as my old tennis coach once said, “If you can’t win, at least look good.” I wasn’t very good, but I looked great.
The Kansas City Royals will attempt to stay relevant with a new blue “KC” alternate uniform. The baby blue outlining will no doubt convince fans that they could finish another season over .500, which would be just their third time since 1994.
The Dodgers did what most thought they would do after 15 years, and that’s return the word “Dodgers” to the grey road uniforms. They did so with an alternate uni, meaning the “Los Angeles” grey jersey will still be their primary go-to, but no doubt we’ll see a lot of Dodger days to come.
The Oakland A’s decided to retire their old green “Athletics” jersey for a new one that parallels their Yellow “A’s” jersey. Parallel alternates are the way to go, no doubt.
And finally, my favorite addition to the new looks come from across the bay with the new Giants orange alternates. The last couple of years have been the years of orange across all of baseball, and the retro 70’s & 80’s “Giants” script just adds to the glitz of my favorite color on any uniform. And I think that wraps up my new jersey section, which is also my most extensive portion. Sad? Probably.
All right so we’ve covered the schedule, personnel switches, rules changes, and new uniforms, now it’s time for those bold predictions! I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s going to be the Dodgers against the Rangers in the World Series and it goes seven games, and I don’t know who will win. Lame of me to choose my two favorite teams? Of course it is, but I’m a fan first and foremost. Also if that does happen, then I can just kiss my savings goodbye because I’m going to do what I can to go to every single game.
I’m super excited! Are you?! Yes? No? Let me know if the comments below. For now, we’ll have to settle for exhibition baseball and mock rotisserie selections. Why do they refer to fantasy baseball as “Rotisserie?” Well, according to an interview with Vanity Fair (great place for sports news), Pulitzer Prize nominee and former New York Times and Life editor Daniel Okrent created fantasy baseball in 1980 over lunch at New York’s now defunct La Rotisserie Française restaurant. So, in spite of my directionless rambling, at least you can say that you learned something.
Oh and I forgot to mention how much I hate that the All-Star game determines World Series home-field advantage. I’ll take instant replay and even catcher protection over that garbage any day. Whether any of us like it or not, the All-Star game is now more of an exhibition than ever, as everyone involved is more concerned about maintaining health than winning. The irony of that reality is that the Pete Rose/Ray Fosse collision occurred during the All-Star Game, but regardless of whether or not that ever happens again, the point is that records, not arbitrary exhibitions that take place months beforehand, should determine all home-field advantages.
Okay, I’m off my soapbox. I’m definitely looking forward to baseball in 2014, and I hope you are too…