Big thanks to @eric_sternberg for the catch…I was burned already once this year but the article is on Mets.com, and also has the answer to a FAQ
As for the uni-choice I think we can sorta blame the equipment manager. If he hangs out black is a pitcher likely to care enough or in the case of a youngster like Gee be ballsy enough to ask the equipment manager to roll out another set….plus say I was somehow “Santana” – wouldn’t the equip manager just know never to roll out black when I’m throwing?
So the pitcher decides, but the equip manager has tremendous power of influence.
Who decides which uniform combination the Mets will wear on a given day? Is there any strategy to it, or is it just on a whim?
— Brian S., Glen Cove, N.Y.
Though equipment manager Kevin Kierst may lay out whichever uniform he pleases, it is up to each day’s starting pitcher to make the ultimate call. Last Thursday in Cincinnati, for example, some Mets wanted to wear gray uniforms to combat the day’s high-90s heat. But Chris Capuano overruled Kierst, citing the club’s three-game winning streak wearing black. So, black it was.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course — such as this Friday’s game against the Braves, when the Mets will debut blue “Los Mets” jerseys for Fiesta Latina night.
Usually, especially at home, Kierst will hang a certain uniform in the lockers before most players even arrive to the park. It is not often that a starting pitcher overrules him, but each member of the rotation does have that right.
“It’s kind of tradition,” Capuano said.
Hopefully it will be a different design than a tiny Los slapped on a Mets jersey.
