Manny to Papi: Get Well Soon (Especially Since I Won’t See as Many Fastballs Without You in the Lineup)
Back in the late ’90s, it was common for MLB players to salute their injured teammates with handwritten uni-number cap inscriptions (and occasionally non-teammates, too — lots of Venezuelan players added a little “14″ to their caps when Andres Galarraga was being treated for cancer). But like so many things that start out small and harmless, this one quickly got out of control, and the MLB office soon banned it.
But Manny Ramirez has never been accused of caring what the suits in the commissioner’s office think. With teammate David Ortiz out for at least a month with a wrist injury, Manny has revived the tradition of the hand-inscribed headwear salute. But in classic Manny fashion, he’s taken it a step further: Instead of putting Ortiz’s number on his cap, he’s put it on his batting helmet. Actually, he may have it on his cap too, and maybe even on his tam/snood thingie, but I haven’t gotten good looks at those. (Anyone..?) Meanwhile, let’s hear it for the Sharpie that was tough enough to penetrate all the gunked-up pine tar on Manny’s lid.
And that’s not all: Manny usually wears a “24″ sweatband on each arm, but on Tuesday night he had Ortiz’s “34″ on his right arm. Last night the “34″ had moved to the left side. This isn’t the first time Manny’s worn Papi’s armbands — they’ve periodically swapped and worn each other’s numbers on their arms — but I’m pretty sure this is the first time he’s done it as an injury shout-out.
I’ll be off the grid for most of this afternoon and this evening. Looking forward to seeing some you in Camden.
(Special thanks to reader Randy Williams for bringing Manny’s latest antics to my attention.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: More helmet-insert info, this time from Richard Stover: “I spoke with Bob Montgomery about the insert last season at Fenway Park. He seemed proud to be the last not to wear a helmet, yet puzzled that anyone would be interested in the details of such trivia. Then he added, ‘It’s in the Hall of Fame.’ ” Meanwhile, here’s a somewhat misguided assessment of a modern helmet insert (courtesy of Brandon Davis). Steve Dewing ran this on his excellent baseball photo site yesterday. A close-up of the glove reveals that it had been marked as “A genuine Steve Hamilton model.” Jared Wheeler sent along this gorgeous team portrait of the 1946 Phillies. “This stirrups style was used for one season before they went to a white/red/white scheme. Also interesting is how the braid around the neck abruptly stops at the start of the button placket. I also found this shot of the 1949 Phillies wearing the white/red/white stirrups. Dressed to the Nines has them as solid royal, but this looks like a spring training shot, so it’s possible they could be wearing the 1948 stirrups. I will have to get some verification on that. Also, see how the braid around the neck differs from the 1946 version. Finally, here’s a picture of the
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