"It's time to bring the baseball uniform into the 21st century"

[schtee]

4 hours ago, dont care said:

You do realize undershirts are used in all sports right? 

Not in the outdoor sports. Tennis players generally don't wear undershirts. Soccer players generally don't. Golfers generally don't. Rugby players generally don't. Aussie Rules players generally don't. Cricket players generally don't.

I couldn't stand wearing "real" baseball jerseys when I played in an adult league a few years back. Wearing an undershirt underneath a heavy, scratchy jersey in the August sun was maddening. 

Aesthetically, I think that most baseball teams with a chest-wide wordmark looked better in the pullover era because there was no gap in said wordmark.

[SilverBullet1929]

Based on the title of this thread I thought it would be about something the Arizona Diamondbacks were gonna try and sell to us. 

[Thaumatrope]

Am I the only person who thought the "Turn Ahead the Clock" jerseys were a neat idea?

 

Don't get me wrong...some (okay most) of them were absolutely terrible in execution (I'm looking at *you* Mercury Mets)...but it was really refreshing to see a professional league have some fun with it's brands.

 

Meanwhile...on the topic of future uniform technology...I think this could be a game changer: color changing smart threads

 

Obviously this is bleeding edge stuff and will likely need a decade or more of development to be a viable technology for sports uniforms...but think of the possibilities:

• Teams would only ever need to bring one uniform with them on the road...whatever the opposing team decides to wear they can change their uniforms accordingly.
• Uniforms could change color during the game to signify key changes in play...offense/defense, powerplay/penalty kill, etc.
• Live player stats could be displayed *on* the uniform. Imagine uniforms that displayed goals scored, or home runs hit as they happen.

[WSU151]

5 minutes ago, Thaumatrope said:

Am I the only person who thought the "Turn Ahead the Clock" jerseys were a neat idea?

 

Don't get me wrong...some (okay most) of them were absolutely terrible in execution (I'm looking at *you* Mercury Mets)...but it was really refreshing to see a professional league have some fun with it's brands.

 

Meanwhile...on the topic of future uniform technology...I think this could be a game changer: color changing smart threads

 

Obviously this is bleeding edge stuff and will likely need a decade or more of development to be a viable technology for sports uniforms...but think of the possibilities:

• Teams would only ever need to bring one uniform with them on the road...whatever the opposing team decides to wear they can change their uniforms accordingly.
• Uniforms could change color during the game to signify key changes in play...offense/defense, powerplay/penalty kill, etc.
• Live player stats could be displayed *on* the uniform. Imagine uniforms that displayed goals scored, or home runs hit as they happen.

 

For the two bolded....No thanks, and no thanks.  

[bucknut42]

As a high school baseball player, I'm a little bit torn on what side of the argument to be on. I kind of like that the baseball jersey is a little bit different from the others. Our high school jerseys aren't bution up, but rather like a nike dri-fit shirt.

 

As far as wearing a belt goes, It just ties it all together kinda. 

[WavePunter]

Sliding hurts, even if done correctly, without proper clothing.. That's why baseball players typically have on a pair of tights, siding shorts, sometimes a knee pad or two of some kind, socks, and then pants to hide it all.. It's also why we see most of them covered from jersey sleeve to wrist with undershirts, elbow sleeves, compression sleeves, wrist bands, and wrist tape, all with a jersey on top.. These things perform multiple functions apart from just "looking like baseball uniforms" and keeping the players cool.. If the players were so concerned with being cool, they wouldn't have so much other stuff on..

[Sport]

One could argue that a shirt with a button down front is cooler than a pullover made of the same materials because of venting. That's one function for buttons that I can think of to the "button up jerseys serve no function" crowd. 

[BBTV]

Technically the tighter a jersey is, the more it would wick moisture and keep the player dry (assuming it's made out of the right material.)

 

With modern fabrics, a jersey can be simultaneously NTS (next to skin), stretchy enough to feel like they're wearing nothing, and durable enough to protect while sliding.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to see the fat ass out of shape ball players wearing anything like that, but performance wise it'd be the best.  

 

Now if they could design a bottom (even if it's the bottom of a big one-piece) that's equally tight while not looking goofy around their packages, we'd be set.  They could even sew in the sliding guards right onto the pants themselves.