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Since the beginning of the history of baseball there has always been a certain type of uniform that the players must wear. Although the uniforms serve a purpose for safety reasons they also have a purpose for the spirit of the team. Let’s take a look at the differences between the older baseball jerseys that they used to play in.
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The Jerseys:
Let’s take it back to the 19th century when one of the first baseball teams took the mound which was the New York Knickerbockers. When they took the mound they were rocking all sorts of different outfits. When they took the field they were wearing blue wool pants, flannel tops and straw hats. It was not until the 1900’s when the MLB started to introduce uniforms with the teams logos on them. The original uniforms were made out of wool. Unlike today’s jerseys that are made out of polyester to make it easier to breathe out of. Which for the summer months I could imagine was a nightmare to play in. They also had certain jerseys that represented a certain position that the player played. When a lot more teams were added to the league the only way that you could tell them apart was because of the socks that they wore.
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Baseball Caps:
In the beginning there were no baseball caps that the players wore during the games. For the first baseball game the players wore straw hats until they were able to make the hats out of wool. When the early concepts of the baseball hat were introduced, they did not look like the ones that we have today. Back then, they looked more like flat caps than baseball caps. They also did not add their team's logo until 1901 when the first team to do this was the Detroit Tigers.
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Pants and socks:
The MLB had a bit of trial and error when it came to what to do with pants and socks. The earlier concepts had the pants freely which then led them to be tucked into their socks. In today’s rule, it is up to the players on whether or not they tuck their pants into their socks. I know a lot of players who do it to prevent dirt getting tucked up onto their pants but it is up to the player.
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Cleats:
Back in the 1800’s, a brand called Spalding created the leather cleats that they played in back then. They would run for about $6 which is about $186.69 in today's money. Some of the cleats had metal spikes in them so they are able to sink into the dirt and make it easier to run. But if you are sliding into second base and those cleats hit the second baseman those spikes are going to leave a mark. But with stadiums introducing artificial turf the shoes were changing to make it easier to run in. The shoes that they wear today are molded plastic which make it easier for the player to play in.
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