Baseball Uniforms

Video Transcript

"BEN GRAHAM: Uniforms are important to the game of baseball. Some of our most famous teams, the Red Sox for example, are named after pieces of their uniform. The Red Sox take their name from the fact that they originally wore red socks. The White Sox got their name by wearing white socks in the beginning. Socks were very important in the early days of baseball. Normally, your sock would be a standard white sock with a particular team-colored stripe going up to the side. That would lead into your baseball pants. These are usually made out of a thin material today, a synthetic material. Originally, they were made out of cloth, cotton, sometimes linen in the early days of baseball. These, generally, go all the way down to the ankles. Sometimes, they are worn up just above the calf muscle. Another part of the uniform, the part that most teams take the most pride in today is the jersey. Right now, I'm wearing a standard batting practice jersey. You'll see this before the game a lot of the times. The actual jersey itself will be a buttoned-down jersey in Major League Baseball. In the collegiate level, they normally do wear it tucked into the uniform. You'll usually have your team logo right above the heart, symbolizing that you are keeping your team close to your heart. Sometimes that will be for a home jersey, you'll see the logo. On the road, sometimes, you'll just see the city name worn across the chest. The hat is also a very important piece of the baseball uniform. It doesn't just hide the hair. It's not just a fashion accessory. This does serve a purpose on the field as it blocks the sunlight and creates a little bit of shade if you're in the outfield, especially. You can look up into the sky and tuck your hat, and that will help you to find the ball. The baseball uniform is basically unchanged since the inception of the game. Sometimes, they've been looser. Sometimes, they've been tighter. But the basics--the jersey, the pant, the sock--those things have all remained, basically, the same throughout the history of baseball. And that's the uniform."