Useless Offday Thoughts: Why Do Managers Wear Uniforms?
For some reason, I feel like bringing up something useless and petty*. This is what happens when the season starts and I go without watching a baseball game for over 24 hours. Watch out people.
* Seriously, what do you expect from me? If you want the news, listen to FunBobby. Something about Humber sucking happened recently, I think.
Managers wearing uniforms. Why do they do it? It’s difficult for anyone to look good in a baseball uniform (I think baseball started before the word “style” was invented), but it’s virtually impossible for a middle-aged former athlete with a beer gut and a sunburn to pull off the look. And it’s not like these guys need to be wearing the uniform, it’s not like they’re going to go pinch run for one of the players.
Rule 1.11(a) says that all members of a team must wear a uniform. The manager is not a member of the team. Just like anyone else at the stadium who isn’t a player, he may where a uniform, but he is not required to.
According to an informal look by researchers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it’s believed that the last manager to wear a suit was Burt Shotton of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who last managed a game in 1950.So no suits in the last 60 years. But that doesn’t say anything about non-uniformed managers, wearing jeans and a polo shirt, or whatever they might find fashionable or comfortable that day.
You might be wondering, as I was, about Gardy’s take on this. It is utterly unsurprising that he’s a fan of the uniform*, but his response to why he wears it during games: “I hate sport coats.”
* We’re talking about a former slap-hitting middle infielder who could “play” multiple positions who values nothing more than slap-hitting middle/utility infielders. Is it obvious to anyone else that he’s clinging to the past a little bit?
Fair enough, Gardy. But nobody said that was the only other option.
Frankly, I think it’s past time managers give up their traditional clinging-to-their-younger-days-by-wearing-the-garb-of-a-20-year-old, just like other people their age, and dress more appropriately. If I may make one stipulation, though, I am not interested in seeing any of these guys wearing shorts.
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The only reason I see for managers to wear uniforms is that they actually walk onto the field at various times. Whereas in basketball and football (and maybe soccer I don’t know or care) the players return to the bench to receive coaching. Although, the trainers don’t wear uniforms, and they wander onto the field a fair amount and they usually wear slacks and a windbreaker. Either way, I don’t really care. It should be an all or nothing thing. I don’t want half the managers wearing uniforms and the other half not. That would look stupid. Like showing up to a costume party without a costume, or even worse: showing up to a party you THOUGHT was a costume party but really wasn’t.
I think they should be able to wear anything they want.
If one manager is wearing a tuxedo and the other is wearing a Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans, I just don’t care.
And if they WANT to wear a uniform, then more power to them. (Even though I think it’s almost as unwise as either the Hawaiian shirt or the tuxedo would be.)
But I just don’t think they should feel like they HAVE to wear a uniform, and I think they DO feel that pressure currently.
Actually there is a historical reason for that… back in the early days (late 1800s, early 1900s) most of the managers started as player-managers so they had to wear uniforms. The non-player managers were dressed in suits. Later when some of them gave the playing thing, still kept their unis… that’s how that started.
Good point about player-managers, that did happen and in that case the manager would be required to wear a uniform. Because they’re also a player.
But given that they’re not players any more (can you imagine a player-manager in modern baseball?), they don’t need to be wearing uniforms.
can you imagine a player-manager in modern baseball?
the last one to do that was Pete Rose :)
Yeah, but he wasn’t that great as a manager. (Career record of .525, including his years as a player-manager and as a manager.)