I like most baseball unis these days, though some are still better than others...

1. Giants…classic off-white unis.

2. Cardinals…timeless, great stirrups.

3. Red Sox…whatever happened to the striped stirrups?

4. Tigers…love the huge names on the back.

5. Yankees…timeless.

6. Braves…could be better with a few traditional tweaks: striped stirrups, off-white uni, number on front, big red names, dark tomahawk.

7. Pirates…classic look, except for the red vests.

8. Athletics…simple & traditional, but the team looks sloppy.

9. Phillies…simple and sweet.

10. Dodgers…several tweaks have downgraded a classic look. “LA” patch, etc.

11. Cubs…good, but see the Dodgers. Bring back the cubbie bear.

12. Orioles…great look, but it could be better.  “Baltimore” for starters.

13. Royals…simple.  Great to get rid of the black trim.

14. Mets…need to ditch all the black.

15. Astros…nice shade of red.

16. Mariners…they’ve kept a consistent look over the years.

17. Rangers…simple and clean.  I like the flag patch on the sleeve.

18. Reds…hate the new number font.  They did get rid of most of the black trim.

19. Padres…I like those sand road unis, and the blue is sweet.

20. White Sox…time for a change!  Bring back a past classic: blue or red.

21. Angels…simple but bland.  Red numbers on red jersey doesn’t work.

22. Indians…doesn’t stand out.  Nice caps don’t match the navy jerseys.

23. Blue Jays…nice colors.  Unis keep changing, but none stand out.

24. Devil Rays…I like the colors and logos, but the dark sleeves are weird.

25. Brewers…simple but bland.  Great throwbacks should be worn all the time.

26. Marlins…Ok uni, but leave the pinstripes to the Yanks.

27. Twins…same ugly unis for 20 years!

28. Rockies…too much black, weird “vests.”

29. Diamondbacks…nice shade of red, but the team name in front doesn’t look good.

30. Nationals…nice caps, ugly logo and numbers.

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As a kid going to Falcon games, one of my favorites was QB Bob Berry, who played here from 69 – 73 or so.  I was 10 – 14 and was eating up Falcon football.  He led them to their first winning season.  He certainly wasn’t the greatest, but was usually among the league leaders in completion percentage.  Went to the Pro Bowl in 1969, when Van Brocklin coached and took several Falcons.  Uni-Watch had a link to photos of the 1971 starting QBs, which included Berry.  He always had this double bar face mask that was comically huge in relation to his helmet.  In the 1969 photo the mask is large, but in later years he got one even bigger.  I searched for more photos with no luck…but did find a link to him…now a real estate agent in Colorado.  I plan on writing him a short email, asking for info on his facemask.

Here’s the links from the Uni-Watch Blog…Football historian Mark Bolding, whose excellent web site was spotlighted here two weeks ago, has added a new section to his site, focusing on starting QBs at various points in NFL history. Among the visual highlights: a good look at the Packers’ 1950 jersey; the Rams in canary yellow; the Saints wearing heavily white-outlined uni numbers (and dig all those stripes!); the Eagles’ double sleeve stripes; Joe Namath wearing a knee pad outside his pants; and the Broncos in red pants. The full section is available here. … Well, this sure didn’t take long (you can order your own here). 

This last link is a takeoff t-shirt of the D’backs new red-trimmed unis.  I also spotted an error from 1971…the Saints photo link lists #14 as Billy Kilmer (who was 17).  Instead, Ed Hargett was 14.  Readers also deemed the red Bronco pants to be orange…though they did seem more red to me back in the days of Floyd Little.

Last night I researched 2007 schedules for SF and Oakland (and Boston).  The SF web site already has the all-star game logo up, which includes a ball splashing into the Cove.  The A’s site has info on their new stadium plans, which is similar to SD.  On the BoSox site I checked out photos of rookie outfielder David Murphy, who was called up in September and played 20 games for the big club …only 23 ABs…hit one HR, but didn’t hit .240.

What a good idea to comment on the MLB choices for each team’s most outstanding player.  I have been casting my votes…here they are, along with some comments.  I’ll rank all five for each team.  First my favorite, the senior circuit…

Arizona:  Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Series championship beats out Gonzalez’s steady career.  Williams also starred for the Giants, Bell for the Pirates.  Why not Greg Counsell or Curt Schilling?

Braves:  (1) Aaron, no question. (2) Spahn is the all-time winningest lefty. (3) Niekro won 300 pitching for horrible teams. (4) Tie!  Chipper’s run of 100+ RBI seasons and Smoltz’s 150 wins and saves put them at Cooperstown’s doorstep…but how do you pick them over Maddux or Glavine?  Dale Murphy’s back to back MVP seasons also take a back seat, because the selectors must’ve wanted young voters to bleed votes away from Aaron.

Cubs:  Five fine choices…Ernie, Billy, the underrated Jenkins, Ryno, and Santo.  And I wore Sandberg’s 23 at the fantasy camp.  Yes, Sammie got the shaft.

Reds:  I’ve been voting for Bench instead of the tainted hit king.  Robinson had a great career, but it was so split between the Reds and Orioles.  Bench, Rose, Robinson, Morgan, Perez.

Rockies: Not much to pick from here, though Larry Walker was a five tool players before being slowed by injuries.  Career Rockie Helton tops, Walker, Coor’s Field stud Vinny, El Cate Grande (loved by all Braves fans), and Bichette.

Marlins:  With the revolving door swinging after each title, nobody has taken a foothold.   Dontrell becomes the Marlins all-time wins leader this year.  Then Series hero Beckett, followed by Castillo, Conine, and Nen.

Astros:  Tough call…I’ll pick Nolan over Biggio and Bagwell, then the Toy Cannon, and Dierker, who has done everything in the organization.  How about Ceasar Cedeno?

Dodgers:  Even tougher.  Jackie is tops, for all he went through.  Koufax’s short, excellent career is second, then Campy, Pee Wee, and Duke.  Tough to leave off Drysdale, Orel, and Fernando.  A step below are Garvey, Dusty, and Kirk.

Brewers:  Yount was great at the plate, at short, and center…beating out Molitor and Fingers, both of whom also starred elsewhere.  Then the under-rated Cooper and Gantner.

Mets:  As a Braves fan, perhaps I should be voting for Strawberry.  Surely Tom Terrific is tops.  The other guys pale in comparison.  (2) Strawberry tore it up while he was a Met.  (3) Franco’s long career tops (4) Series hero Tug and (5) Piazza, whose best days were in Dodger blue.  What about Dwight Gooden?

Phillies:  I’m taking Lefty over Schmidt, then Roberts, Klein (who I don’t recall), and Ashburn.  They outrank Luzinski, Bowa, and that great centerfielder (Elliot Maddox?).

Pirates:  Being old school, Honus barely tops the excellent Clemente.  Feared power hitter Stargell then beats Series hero Maz and Kiner.  Didn’t Pittsburgh have a skinny outfielder win a few MVP’s in the 90’s?

Cardinals:  Again the old school Stan the Man beats out the tough as nails Gibson, whom I still dislike for his stint as the Bravos pitching coach…trying to make Rick Mahler a power pitcher!  The Wizard’s illustrious career tops Pujols, whom I love…he could be the player of this decade.  Brock is no slouch, but brings up the rear of these five.

Padres:  Gwynn spent his entire career in San Diego, and boy could he hit for average…most of the time in pain.  That beats the amazing Winfield, whom I’m telling my boys about.  Winfield spent many years with other teams.  Hoffman has been quietly piling up saves for a mostly average team.  Jones pitched a no-hitter, and maybe Giles is the current favorite…what about the shortstop Greene?  Or Garry Templeton…or Ozzie?

Giants:  Say Hey Willie tops this tough five.  Perhaps if Bonds wasn’t so tainted and self-absorbed I would pick him.  Third is Mel Ott, who hit his 500 homers in a tougher time than Stretch…who stuck around past his prime to pile up homers.  Marichal was quite the competitor.

Expos/Nationals:  Whether Tim Raines?  Wasn’t his number retired?  And Ellis Valentine, or even Warren Cromarte?  Carter was not my favorite, but he beats le Grande Orange.  Write in time!  Soriano’s performance for the Nats this year puts him third, then Raines and Valentine.  Don’t the Nats have an above average closer?