I saw this video scrolling through Twitter one day and there are a couple things that I just had to address. I wasn’t really sure who Albert Belle was, seeing as how this occurred back in 1999 and he played for the Orioles, not really a team I would follow. Belle was a big slugger during his playing days and in 1995 he became the only player to ever hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in a season. Yeah go ahead and read that stat again real quick. The dude was obviously a stud, but I can’t think of a more intimidating sight then him just refusing to go to first base after being hit by a pitch. I can’t fathom being the umpire in this situation and having to tell him to go to first base. Belle just wasn’t taking any of it, he wanted to hit and didn’t accept being hit by the pitch. I can’t think of another player doing so in MLB history, but it really makes you think that if a guy doesn’t want to take first base on a HBP, could you just let him take the ball and hit. We see this scenario playing out in college baseball a lot recently where a player who was hit by a pitch was sent back in the box because they didn’t make the proper attempt to get out of the way of the pitch. The pitch in turn, would then be counted as a ball. It seems this was the argument Belle was making, that he was over the plate. I think my favorite line, “I’m not going to first. I’m going to hit.” Good luck telling that guy to go to first blue.
The other part I wanted to highlight in the video were the jerseys that the players were wearing during the game. In 1999 MLB had the idea to create futuristic uniforms, or better known as TATC, “turn ahead the clock” jerseys. The players wore these jerseys in fourteen games, with a total of 22 teams participating. This whole initiative was in response to the popularity of the Seattle Mariners jerseys that they had worn in their own TATC promotional game during the 1998 season. This was to highlight what they would believe would be the Mariners jerseys in the year 2027. During the 1999 season MLB decided to take it nationally, but used the year 2021 as reference for their jersey creations.
The Mets went even further that year and dubbed themselves the “Mercury Mets,” who were making their one night only on Earth game against the Pirates. Mets pitcher Jason Isringhausen’s name wouldn’t fit on his Mets uniform, so he wore his nickname, “Izzy.” This would make him amongst a handful of players would be the first to have a nickname on their jersey. Some uniforms had stacked numbers on the back of their jersey with their name vertically next to the numbers. Unfortunately most of the players hated having to wear these oversized logo uniforms, thinking it more of Halloween than an actual baseball game. Eight teams didn’t participate in the promotion, including the Cubs, Dodgers, Reds, Rangers, Astros, Blue Jays, Expos and of course the Yankees. When George Steinbrenner was asked what fans would think the Yankees jerseys would look like in 2021. George responded only the way he could and said, “We’re already wearing it.”
I for one am a big fan of these jerseys and with MLB getting more involved with different types of events like Player’s Weekend, where every team wore different inspired jerseys, a futuristic jersey doesn’t seem like a far off idea. Now with that said, not every jersey they wore in 1999 looked good, but it was a new step forward that tried to make the game more fun. Even those traditional Yankees are not donning their usual pinstripes for certain games, so this idea becomes very feasible. if done right, I think MLB could create another future uniform as to what they would look like in the next 20 years. I’m not sure if we will even get baseball this year, but with everyone at home, I would love to see someone come up with some concepts that could be eventually be used in the 2021 season. LET THE KIDS PLAY!
The Washed Up Athlete 