The Fashion of Baseball

In hockey, a goalie’s equipment is what distinguishes himself from all the other goalies in the league. Not just colors—all their designs are different and usually have some meaning to them. Some college goaltenders have pads that, when put together, they form their team symbols. A hockey goalie is one of the only positions in sports where a regular player can look different from the rest of the team. But there is one other: baseball catchers. And yet, they adorn themselves like their off to some dinner party: plain, conservative designs, one or two colors (max), and several catchers have the exact same equipment! How lame is that? It’s not like Easton or TPX can’t customize their pads for professional catchers. For the past few years, Jason Varitek has worn festive equipment on certain holidays: camouflage on Memorial Day, and today, he was decked out in some red white and blue pads with several stars around the neck. He even raffles off his equipment and donates the money once he’s used it on that single occasion. I don’t see why he doesn’t wear unique equipment more often. It would add a little something to the sometimes tedious event of watching baseball. He could even change it up depending on the occasion…

“Yankee Hater” when we face NY
A big picture of a clenched fist (knuckles) for Wakefield
“Wally the Green Monster”
A pipe (“right down the pipe!”)
The Earth for Earth Day (April 15)
Georgia Tech logo (his alma mater)

Plus, I know Varitek has been a big help to the Jimmy Fund, raising tons of money through countless fundraisers. What better way to make an everyday statement than to have its slogan “Because it takes more than courage to beat cancer” imprinted right where millions of viewers can see it on an every day basis?