Already somewhat of a hot-button topic after being moved from Atlanta to Denver following Georgia’s passage of discriminatory voting laws, the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is once again stirring up controversy, albeit for a far more trivial reason.
Leading to much mockery, MLB unveiled the caps and jerseys players will be wearing for the annual Midsummer Classic next month at Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies.
As a nod to the state hosting the game, MLB — which has had a number of uniform failures during the tenure of commissioner Rob Manfred — outfitted the jerseys with the letters “COL” for Colorado and put a purple star with a mountain design behind the team logos on the All-Star hats.
Outfitted with an oversized, club-inspired graphic on the front, the two-button jerseys feature a tally with the number of All-Star Game selections for the player wearing the uniform on the back. As the Rockies are hosting the game, the National League will wear white as the home team while the American League will be in dark blue.
Breaking with tradition, the players will wear the new uniforms during the game itself as opposed to wearing their standard uniforms during the nine-inning exhibition, according to Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.Net.
“Unlike the past 90 or so All-Star Games, these jerseys will actually be worn during the game itself, (and not during the Workout Monday and the Home Run Derby – players will wear their usual caps for those events),” Creamer writes. “This will sadly end the tradition of seeing all those different clean, crisp, colourful uniforms all lined up together down the baseline during player introductions or meetings on the mounds and in the annual All-Star team photos. Personally I also enjoyed seeing my favourite players wearing my favourite team’s uniform on the worldwide stage, so a bit of a bummer seeing this change happen.”
In another change, the American flag will no longer be red, white and blue.
Given all the hate, it’s probably fair to say MLB took a radical swing — and it was a solid miss.
More Like This
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
