By: Austin Alexander-February 13, 2008
Ok, so your coach didn’t issue you or your teammates a baseball uniform for tonight’s scrimmage. Well, that’s understandable and acceptable because he is probably trying to preserve the few uniforms he was able to stockpile due to an inferior budget. So, now you have to select what you’ll dress out in, where should you go from here?
Now that I’ve attended my share of pre-season scrimmages, allow me to advise you on some things to consider before you cross the white lines, whether you think a scout will be present or not:
-If you own baseball pants, wear them. Sweat pants and wind suits should be a distant second and third option.
-If you own spikes, wear them. Airwalks won’t get you from home to first nearly as fast.
-Tuck your shirt in, period.
-Do not wear a tight Under Armour shirt…without a shirt over it. The skin-tight fit is not always endearing on a 16-year old body. Don’t think that your frame resembles those in the commercials.
-Wear a belt.
-Teenager’s wearing a Big Johnson, a Corona or a Boar’s Head Tavern t-shirt do not impress adults.
-Don’t sport a watch on the field, chances are the clock is ticking on the career of a kid keeping track of how long he is out there.
-Don’t wear cut-off sleeves.
-Camouflage hats with fish hooks on the bill have no place on a diamond. You are hunting a baseball scholarship, not deer or big-mouth bass.
-Don’t hit in jackets or pitch in hooded sweatshirts.
-Wear socks or stirrups, not footies with your pants pulled up. Shins and calves are never meant to be seen on a baseball field. Plus it’s probably cold!
-Locate a baseball shirt in your wardrobe and wear it. Preferably in your team’s colors. If your mascot is red and blue, it just looks awkward to see the shortstop wearing an orange shirt next to the third baseman who is decked out in Kelly green.
Maybe your response is this: Albert Pujols wears cut-off sleeves, Ken Griffey, Jr. turns his hat around backwards and Manny Ramirez carries a water bottle in his back pocket, so why should I be any different?
Here’s your answer: You are not Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey, Jr. or Manny Ramirez. Pujols has pipes, Griffey has 500+ homers and Ramirez drives in 125 runs against Major League pitching year after year after year. They have accomplished something in baseball, which gives them a little more leeway in regards to their attire.
While evaluator’s jobs are made much easier with numbered uni’s, it becomes appalling to view how over half of high school baseball players treat a night at the yard. It should make no difference whether the contest counts in the standings at all. Have respect for the game, your teammates, your coach, your family and yourself.
To put it simply, those who dress like a ballplayer, walk like a ballplayer and act like a ballplayer are normally the ones you read about on this website and will for year’s to come.