Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

Dice-K warmed up in a ski cap – is it legal? Does it matter?

dice-k in winter cap

Because I get UniNerdy we had a long discussion about this on twitter last night about whether or not it is “legal.”

The MLB rulebook talks about people participating in the game all wearing the same thing…but Dice-K wasn’t “in” the game.  However, to me, the spirit of the rule (1.11) suggests a violation.

All players on a team shall wear uniforms identical in color, trim and style, and all players uniforms shall include minimal six-inch numbers on their backs.

The basic agreement between the players union and MLB is a little more specific about people in the bullpen and suggests to me that it is a violation.

all Players, including those who are not playing (e.g., on the bench or in the bullpen), are required to wear uniforms, including the uniform top, during games

That same agreement reads to me that the first violation results in a warning from the enforcer (who is Joe Garagiola Jr.).
To my eyes, Dice-K was in violation of a rule and “should” be warned by Joe.

So…who cares….well, I kind of do.

 

Now, contrary to what some think, I don’t walk around all day muttering to myself about undershirts or ski caps.  However, I find the whole thing interesting.

 

David Wright often wears a non-matching undershirt.  To my knowledge he has never been warned.  What interests me is that an opposing manager could partake in gamesmanship and make him change.  (I could totally see Whitey Herzog pulling that kind of move.)
Now, what about the first responder caps?  Could the Mets wear them?

 

Well the basic agreement has an interesting line…

 

With respect to any category of equipment or apparel not covered by the Uniform Regulations, the Players Association and Major League Baseball will explore in good faith the possibility of jointly selling an exclusive or non-exclusive license for that cat- egory of equipment or apparel. If the sale of such a joint license is not feasible and Major League Baseball objects to the display of a logo or marks on a particular product, the Player cannot dis- play the logo or marks until the parties resolve the issue…<

 

So to my eyes they could ask to license FDNY caps.   If no deal were made they could wear them anyway…which is a violation….to which the response is a warning.
Interesting stuff that made for a good discussion during an otherwise boring Mets-Phillies game.

 

(I apologize for the annoying line-breaks, or lack thereof, in this post.  Sometimes the coding just won’t take…and this is one of those gremlin infested posts)

2 Replies to “Dice-K warmed up in a ski cap – is it legal? Does it matter?”

  1. More important is that Dice-K has a shirt with 1 sleeve longer that the other.  Ollie Perez was made to change shirts earlier this week because of the sleeves.  To go along with this, Why do some players wear sweatshirts, some pullovers and some (including Terry Collins) wear jackets.  Nothing similar there

  2. Dice-K is wearing a team issued hat. Saw a clip of Tampa Bay dugout from last nights game in Boston, many members wearing similar hats in Tampa colors. Hint, it’s league approved clothing.

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