Hugh Atkins

Fifty years ago, Henry Aaron was in Spring Training with the Milwaukee Brewers, but I never got used to seeing him in a Brewers uniform. There have been several other players whom I didn’t like seeing in certain uniforms, and my reasons for feeling that way are various. It could have been that I did not like the trades that led to the switch in attire, the new uniforms symbolized for me that a player was hanging on past his prime, the uniforms were hideous, or I simply did not like the players anyway. In many cases, it was a combination of some of these reasons.

Here is an extensive, though not exhaustive, list of some of the players I believed looked out of place in certain uniforms:

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Ken Boyer in a New York Mets uniform; Roger Maris in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform; Ed Mathews in a Houston Astros uniform; Bob Bruce in an Atlanta Braves uniform; Elston Howard in a Boston Red Sox uniform; Ed Mathews in a Detroit Tigers uniform; Denis Menke in a Houston Astros uniform; Deron Johnson in an Atlanta Braves uniform; Mack Jones in a Cincinnati Reds uniform; Vada Pinson in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform; Woody Woodward in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

Tommy Davis in a Seattle Pilots uniform; Johnny Podres in a San Diego Padres uniform; Donn Clendenon in a Montreal Expos uniform; Joe Torre in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform; Denny McLain in a Washington Senators uniform; Tony Conigliaro in a California Angels uniform; Joe Pepitone in a Houston Astros uniform.

Orlando Cepeda in an Oakland Athletics uniform; Frank Howard in a Detroit Tigers uniform;  Rico Carty in a Chicago Cubs uniform; Frank Robinson in a California Angels uniform; Willie McCovey in a San Diego Padres uniform; Ron Santo in a Chicago White Sox uniform; Billy Williams in an Oakland Athletics uniform; Harmon Killebrew in a Kansas City Royals uniform; Jim Wynn in an Atlanta Braves uniform; Ralph Garr in a Chicago White Sox uniform; Tommy Davis in a Kansas City Royals uniform.

Manny Sanguillen in an Oakland Athletics uniform; Tony Pérez in a Montreal Expos uniform; Dick Allen in an Oakland Athletics uniform; Tom Seaver in a Cincinnati Reds uniform; Bobby Bonds in a Chicago Cubs uniform.

Don Sutton in a Houston Astros uniform; Gaylord Perry in a Seattle Mariners uniform; Brett Butler in a Cleveland Indians uniform; Len Barker in an Atlanta Braves uniform; Pete Rose in a Montreal Expos uniform; Steve Carlton in a Chicago White Sox uniform.

Felipe Alou in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform; Matty Alou in a San Diego Padres uniform; Jesus Alou in a New York Mets uniform; Phil Niekro in a Cleveland Indians uniform; Joe Niekro in a Minnesota Twins uniform; Tommie Aaron in a Richmond Braves uniform.

Wade Boggs in a Tampa Bay Devil Rays uniform; Fred McGriff, also in a Tampa Bay Devil Rays uniform.

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Dale Murphy a Philadelphia Phillies uniform; Dale Murphy in a Colorado Rockies uniform; Javy López in a Baltimore Orioles uniform; Tom Glavine in a New York Mets uniform; John Smoltz in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform; Greg Maddux in a San Diego Padres uniform;

Rickey Henderson in anything other than an Oakland Athletics uniform.

Barry Bonds, José Canseco, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and Álex Rodríguez in any uniform.

Willie Mays in a New York Mets uniform.

Finally, with the Atlanta Braves in the thick of Spring Training, I hate to see Charlie Morton in a Baltimore Orioles uniform, Max Fried in a New York Yankees uniform, and Forrest Wall in a San Diego Padres uniform.

 

 

 

6 responses to “What’s Wrong with This Picture?”

  1. Gary Trujillo Avatar

    Pretty funny stuff, Hugh. As for me personally, i’d have to add Dave Stewart in a BlueJays uni.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. cheaphill44 Avatar

      Players in different uniforms don’t seem to bother me now as much as they used to. Mathew, Aaron, and Mays were the big ones for me. I’ve seen pictures of Babe Ruth in a Boston Braves uniform. That had to be tough for Yankees fans.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Steve Myers Avatar

    I had never thought about this topic before. Interesting. Being from a town – Milwaukee that has a small payroll, I’ve grown to accept players coming and going and my all-time favorite player Harold Baines played for five teams I think and I liked seeing him in different uniforms. These are weird days for uniforms with each team having so many varieties. I mean they’re attractive but what a waste of money.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. cheaphill44 Avatar

      Yeah, cities like Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh see a lot of players come through. Aaron in that Brewers uniform was a tough one for me. As a young fan, I was really bothered that the Braves traded Ed Mathews when he was sitting on 493 homers. It was made worse by them getting dead-armed Bob Bruce in return. Uniform changes don’t bother me now as much as they used to. And like you said, with all the variety the teams have in uniforms, it’s hard to find one from each team that you like.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Steve Myers Avatar

        I can see how Aaron’s return to Milwaukee would be disappointing for you Hugh, being such an avid Braves fan and yeh, trading Ed Mathews musta been a bummer, to see him hit his 500th in a different uniform.

        One memorable moment for me was an Aaron walk off homer he hit with the Brewers. I don’t remember the game. I was too young, but thanks to you tube, I can enjoy it forever…Uecker calling Aaron’s blast, the two of them such local legends. If you listen to the entire clip, it gives you a sense of how much Milwaukee loved Henry Aaron.

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  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Seaver as a White Sox player. Losing his the first time was bad enough, but the second time….because the GM forgot to protect him…..THAT was just too much to bear.

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Hugh Atkins – Amateur Blogger
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