Sock hop

Posted at 3:07 PM on April 22, 2009 by Chris Dall (2 Comments)

I don't know how many of you pay attention to the sartorial elements of baseball, but if you're like me, you've noticed the gradual disappearance of the stirrup, that piece of hosiery that was a unique element of the baseball uniform from the 1950s through the 1980s. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, some minor league teams are trying to bring the look back. I applaud them for it.

Nowadays, and I'm not sure when this started, the popular style for most baseball players is baggy pants with no sock showing at all. To me, it kind of makes the players look like they're wearing pajamas. A few players choose to go old school, however, pulling their colored socks up to their knees and tucking their pants into the socks. But you hardly see any players wearing stirrups anymore. I don't know of any player who sports the style I remember vividly from the 70s and 80s, with the white socks pulled up mid-calf and the long, thin "strap" of the stirrups (featuring one of the team colors) prominently displayed.

Now we all know that uniform styles change, many times for the better. While a lot of purists have complained about the baggy shorts era in basketball, I don't think anyone would want to see today's basketball players in snug-fitting tops and short shorts. Nor would anyone want to see a return to some of the fashion atrocities visited upon baseball the 1970s. But I wouldn't mind seeing a few baseball players buck the fashion trends and bring those stirrups back.

And mustaches too. Baseball needs more mustaches.

Comments (2)

Didn't Ian Kennedy wear stirrups when he was up with the Yankees?

Posted by Kanonen80 | April 23, 2009 9:03 AM

yes he did, with the stirrups pulled up high and just a little bit of the white sock showing underneath. Kind of a mix of old school and really old school.

Posted by ChrisD | April 23, 2009 10:44 AM

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