2-4-1 Blog: MLB Ruins ASG Uniforms, but the NFL Is Bringing Back Throwbacks!

​We've got ourselves a classic good news, bad news situation in the sports apparel/gear news world.

Let's start with the bad:

It's no secret that I've essentially stopped following baseball in the wake of the Mookie Betts trade. YoutubeTV dropping NESN certainly doesn't help either.

Recently, I've considered dipping my toe back in the waters of America's Pastime for social/professional purposes, but that's a blog for another day. I want to give the game I loved another chance, but between the greed of billionaire owners and the incompetence of Rob Manfred, the game hasn't been exactly reeling me back in. This latest change is just another example of baseball being out of touch (Hall and Oates, 1984).

For years, I've been on the record that the Major League All-Star Game is far and away the most superior All-Star Game of the major sports. It's the best showcase of elite talent;  they actually try (except for Adam Wainwright in 2014). Since I stopped religiously following the Red Sox and baseball in general, I don't know a lot of the young talent. I figured the ASG would be a great game to watch and catch up with the last year and a half.

One of the best things the All-Star Game had going for it was how players wore their regular uniforms in the game. There were AL/NL jerseys for batting practice and the HR Derby, but during the actual game, you'd see Red Sox and Yankees turning double plays; Mets pitching to Braves catchers. I don't know if those specific examples have ever happened, but I think you get my point. It was an awesome look that's provided some fantastic team photos over the years. 

1976 National and American League All Star Teams.

1979 NL All Stars in the Kingdome dugout (Seattle).

1983 National and American League All Star Teams

1998 NL All Stars in Colorado

2018 American League All Stars celebrating a win.

​Amidst all Major League Baseball's current issues, they decided this is where action needed to be taken. Let's ruin the All-Star Game's look with this hideous, no character ​monstrosities! R.I.P. team photos looking cool; anything to squeeze any extra buck out of the fans. MLB should stand for Making Lame Business-decisions. If Ray Charles were alive, he'd call these fugly.

​

I'm cool with having players and coaches wear city specific All Star Game hats. I have no complaints here:

But man, those uniforms are disgusting. They give me major bowling shirt vibes. It's too bad the Indians want to distance themselves from Charlie Sheen, he's the ideal candidate for one of these. There's zero reason to make this change other than trying to squeeze another buck from the fans. These color schemes are as appetizing as a puke sandwich. Just sell the ASG versions of the regular uniforms with all the fucking patches and whatnot if you're that worried. Don't be like the others sports. Baseball wearing their actual uniforms in the game was one of the little quirks that made the Mid-summer classic fantastic. I miss when the NBA did the same in the early 2000s. 
​

Antoine is barely off the ground straight up holding Kobe's like he's trying to make a shoestring tackle.

I pray nobody buys these, but like all prayers, I know they'll go unanswered. Hopefully, this is just a one-year experiment due to backlash. I haven't seen a single post supporting these. Keep talking shit! It works. Whoever decided this was a good idea should have a conservatorship (yay, relevant pop culture references #FreeBritney) because they are not fit to make decisions.

Luckily, today was not all doom and gloom on the uniform front. Starting next season, NFL teams will be allowed to wear alternate helmets, ending a decade-long ban on many of the league's best throwbacks.

NFL approved alternate helmets today for teams wearing throwback uniforms starting in 2022, per league sources. This opens the door to the defending world-champion Bucs wearing the old white helmets with the orange swashbuckling Buccaneer as early as 2022.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 24, 2021

According to NFL.com teams will be allowed to wear two different helmets next year as long as they follow these rules:

• Clubs must obtain an entire new set of alternate color helmets for all players
• Alternate color helmets must be the same make, model and size as the applicable player's primary helmet
• Alternate color helmets must be made available to all players at the start of training camp and should be fit at the same time as the primary helmet
• Alternate color helmets must be worn in practice at a minimum during the week leading up to the game in which they will be used

Teams must inform the league office of their intent to use an alternate helmet in 2022 by no later than July 31, 2021. So, we'll know this year which teams plan to utilize throwback/alternate helmets in 2022.

​Now, this is what I'm talking about! Look at the No Fun League turning the other cheek to its own pseudoscience. According to the NFL, the helmet rule was all about player safety, but it was like putting a filter on a cigarette. Football is violent, and there's only so much you can do without drastically changing the game. The NCAA continued to allow alternate helmets over the last decade, although they might not be the best example of caring about the well-being of its athletes. The one helmet rule has been in place since the 2013 season, which means teenage fans may have never seen their favorite teams wear classics like:

are those not the most '90s cleats of all-time?

​We're just one season away from the return of creamsicles, kelly green, and Pat the Patriot. It sucks that baseball continues to ruin its product, but at least the NFL smartened up and realized they'd make a shit ton of money selling all this throwback gear that is suddenly relevant again. Now all the NFL needs to do is bring back unique Super Bowl logos. If you hate what baseball is doing to the ASG, be sure to share this blog!