The holidays are quickly approaching and whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or Festivus, gift giving and receiving is on the mind. One essential item every baseball fan must have is the jersey from his/her favorite team. When selecting a jersey to buy there is an important set of guidelines to follow to ensure you sport a jersey that will let you fellows fans know - this is a real fan of (Insert your favorite team name here).
1. Avoid any player who has just signed/been traded to your team. Example - you are a die hard Brewers fan - don't buy the Sabbathia jersey. It looks like you are on the band wagon and chances are you jersey will be obsolete in a few short seasons.
2. Don't buy a jersey of the most popular player on the team. Everyone has a Jeter, Ortiz, Howard, Ichiro, etc jersey. You want to stand out as a true fan, not as someone who picked up their jersey at Target.
3. Select a player that is integral of your team's success, but does not necessarily get all the national spotlight. As my wife would put it, you want the "sneaky trendy" player. Fans of your team will see you as the die hard fan, who really knows the team. Some examples would include Carlos Guillen for the Tigers, Brian McCann for the Braves, or Kevin Youklis for the Red Sox. Be careful here, you don't want to pick someone too obscure - for instance if you start wearing the Tim Brydak jersey in Detroit - people will assume you are strange or related to Tim Brydak.
4. Avoid the Man-Crush/Flash in the pan jersey. Everyone has had this moment. An up an coming player catches fire for your team and everyone is comparing him to the next (insert cliche player here Ruth, Mantle, etc.). You get caught up in the moment and buy a jersey. Great move? Not so much. Remember these players often fizzle out, imagine how silly I would look going to games in my Chris Shelton jersey. Make sure your player has some staying power.
5. Home vs Away jersey. Now I am not going to even talk about alternative jerseys or alternative colors - they are simply a no. As for Home and Away jerseys, I believe it really comes down to preference. Take a careful look at your team's options and make the best call.
6. Jerseys of players no longer with the team. This is a tough one. There are two categories here 1. Retired players - these jerseys are fair game, enjoy your status as a long standing fan of that team. 2. Players who leave the team for another team. Sadly, your jersey will have to go into the closet for 5 years. Wearing this jersey anytime before then will advertise yourself as someone who really isn't that into the team, but still likes wearing the jersey. Don't be at a Toronto game this year in your AJ Burnett jersey - allow that wound to heal. After 5 years your jersey will be a tribute to time this player was with your organization. Example - it would totally be acceptable to wear the Mariners Griffey Jr jersey these days -its retro and shows you have been a fan for quite some time.
Best of luck with your holiday shopping and remember only 6 more shopping days until Christmas.
- In the interest of full disclosure I should add - I own a Jeremy Bonderman Tigers home jersey.
2 comments:
Your wife pointed me in the direction of this blog this morning. I'm hurt you wouldn't tell me. I have a few questions.
Point 1 and the example don't appear to line up correctly. Is this what you meant or did you mean to say "Avoid any player who has just signed/been traded AWAY FROM your team. Otherwise, I think your telling Yankees fan to not buy a CC or Tex jersey. If I was a BoSox fan I know I'd have sprung for a Dice-K jersey a few years back when they got him from Japan.
Point 3 is an interesting point. National spotlight, I am guessing is media attention and for someone awesome like McCann who does not get it even though he has been selected several time for the All-Star game and is such a great power hitter. Would wearing Escobar or Infante jerseys fall into the Brydak category?
Point 5 is focused on the like "pink" or "baby blue" jerseys right? Because I'd hate to think I am making the wrong choice if I bought the Braves road jersey, which I prefer over their home.
Finally, I have a question on Point 6. As a fan of the Atlanta Braves, is it wrong or just hilarious if I bought a Boston Braves Babe Ruth jersey?
Point 1. - The example of buying the Sabbathia jersey was meant to apply to Brewers fans circa July and August this year. In the same mindset - Yankees fans should refrain from buying the Tex or CC jersey, at least for a few years, until they are "real Yankees" (which still hasn't happened for A-rod). As for the Dice-K jersey, if you had bought the jersey, it would have been a bit of a gamble. Dice-K looks solid now, but what was to say he wasn't going to be Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa?
Point 3. As for your question about Escobar and Infante. Escobar right where you want to be in jersy selection. Infante is valuable to the team, so not as weird as Brydak, but he is still a utility guy, and has only been a Brave for 1 year.
Point 5 - you have this absolutely right - no pink, no baby blue, no camo. Road jersey is totally acceptable, as would the Sunday red jersey.
Point 6 - The Boston Brave Ruth Jersey - totally acceptable. There has been plenty of time since the Babe left the Braves.
Thanks for reading!
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