I am going to use this blogspace occasionally to discuss my favorite sports uniforms. Feel free to respond to me with your own thoughts or nominations. I’m continuing out with baseball, my favorite sport, and now onto the American League franchises.
New York Yankees – I HATE the Yankees. I always have and I expect that I always will. I actually like the classic and unchanging uniforms and I like that they continue to leave the names off of them. The pinstripes make them look like they are all business.
For my collection – I would be proud to wear a flannel replica of the Yogi Berra home pinstripe. He’s the only Yankee who is so adored that he transcends my ban on all things Yankee. 
Baltimore Orioles – The Orioles have always been colorful but still tasteful. They’ve also had a lot of very good players. I prefer the cartoon Oriole face on the caps from the 70’s over the ornithologically correct bird from both earlier and later. They went overboard with color during the Disco Era as seen below.
For my collection – I’m going to get weird here. Since I can’t decide on an Oriole, I’m going to pick an Eddie Gaedel St. Louis Browns jersey with the number 1/8 on the back. If you don’t recall, Mr. Gaedel is the little person that owner Bill Veeck sent up to bat earning a walk in his only professional plate appearance.
Boston Red Sox – This is yet another franchise that I don’t much care for. They also have had some great and some interesting players. I prefer the classics to any of the colorful jerseys and the weird throwback shown here.
For my collection – You can’t go wrong with Ted Williams, but that one is kind of obvious. I’m tempted to pick the ill-fated Tony Conigliaro, but that may be too obscure. An old Baba Ruth would be snarky, but that was pre-number, so no one would get it. Sign me up for a Carl Yastrzemski. I’ll stand in the box with my bat held straight up just like he did. 
Tampa Bay Rays – This is a relatively new team with a lot of different jerseys, but none of them particularly special. For one of the league “Turn Back the Clock” promotions, they designed faux 1970’s era uniforms that were absolutely hideous. 
For my collection – I’ll take one of the yellow-sleeved fake throwbacks with Evan Longoria’s number. 
Toronto Blue Jays –The jerseys with the blue jay in the center is the nicest.
For my collection – I’m going for the Joe Carter World Series version. He looks so happy after hitting a series winning homer, one of two in history. 
Detroit Tigers – This script “D” is iconic and always looks great. Some of their road jerseys are nice as well.
For my collection –This is the first place where I just could not decide on one. As a matter of fact, I chose three Tiger tops, A current Miguel Cabrera road jersey, A road Al Kaline flannel, and of course, a Hank Greenberg home jersey to honor a fellow member of the tribe.
Minnesota Twins – I like the TC caps for Twin Citties. The script Twins is probably my favorite. This franchise also included the original Washington Senators. A Walter Johnson would be neat, but again, he predates uniform numbers so no one would know who’s jersey it was.
For my collection – I would opt for a Harmon Killebrew flannel.
Kansas City Royals – I never cared for the baby blue and dislike the more recent variations even more.
For my collection – While George Brett might seem the obvious choice, I just didn’t much care for him. I would take a Dan Quisenberry. He was a decent player, had a great name, and left us too early from brain cancer.
Cleveland Indians – The Indians have had some hideous uniforms to go along with their terrible teams. Below are two examples. Ick, right?
For my collection – I like the Luis Tiant vest with the red sleeves underneath in spite of the racist, preening, Chief Wahoo.
Chicago White Sox – This is the franchise that has taken the most risk with its uniforms, mostly to horrible results. Below are a couple of examples, including the short pants with lapels that died a quick death.
Here are some even worse ones that thankfully lost a uniform contest. 
For my collection – The Dick Allen version in red would be my choice. He was one of the biggest iconoclasts in baseball. 
Oakland Athletics – The A’s went insane with green and yellow in the late sixties and have been there ever since. They had every permutation of green, yellow, and white tops matched with white or yellow pants.was on the table. 
For my collection – I’d have to get the Reggie Jackson uniform from the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit. Reggie hit a home run off of Doc Ellis of the Pirates that was the hardest ball I’ve ever seen hit. It hit the light stanchion on the stadium roof and was still going up at the time. Look for it on Youtube. 
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – I’ve never been in love with their jerseys but the early ones are okay except for the weird hat with the halo on it. 
For my collection – Definitely a Nolan Ryan.
Houston Astros – This team has the most polarizing jersey in baseball history and of course, my personal favorite. But, before they became the Astros, they were called the Colt .45’s for a few years. Imagine today having a gun on your jersey. The “C” was made up of the smoke from the barrel!
I did like the shooting star version that the Astros adopted next. 
For my collection – I continue to be in love with the rainbow jerseys from the early eighties. I’m going with a Doug Rader, a total goofball who was immortalized in Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.
The only downside is that Yogi Berra had to wear one, which just isn’t right.
Texas Rangers – I just never connected with the Rangers or any of their jerseys. It could be a Texas thing. The Rangers were briefly a later version of the Washington Senators.
For my collection –Frank Howard was a favorite of mine. He was 6′ 8″ and wore glasses. He didn’t look much like a ballplayer, but when he hit the ball, it was like a rocket.
Seattle Mariners – This is another new team with mediocre uniforms.
For my collection – I’m going to get weird. Even though the Mariners had nothing to do with the Seattle Pilots other than playing in the same city, they used the Pilots design for throwbacks. I’m taking an Ichiro Suzuki model.
Here are some “Turn Ahead the Clock” jerseys from recent years. They are all ugly.
Please feel free to share your opinions with me,
My next visit to uniforms will stay with baseball and include some movie favorites, Negro Leagues, and a few other oddities.
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