Blue vs. Gray

The Yankees' iconic pinstriped uniform is one of the most famous and recognizable uniforms in all of sports.  That classic look has also been unchanged for the better part of a century.  And it's unlikely that it ever will.  Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle wore the same uniform as Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge, and whoever's on the Yankees 20 years from now will continue the tradition.

That tradition is why the Yankees are the only team to have resisted the urge to create a City Connect jersey.  Not that they ever had an urge in the first place.  They don't even have an alternate jersey.  If the Yankees are playing, you can count on them wearing pinstripes at home and gray on the road.  But that may be changing.

In Spring Training games, the Yankees occasionally wear their blue batting practice tops on the road.  It's become an option that's more and more popular among the players.  So popular, in fact, that Aaron Judge has made the request to Hal Steinbrenner that they can occasionally wear the blues at road games.  It would be quite a change for such a tradition-rich franchise, which has never worn an alternate top in the regular season.

They have, in the past, sometimes worn something other than their primary road uniform.  Normally for some sport of special event.  For example, when the Red Sox celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park in 2012, they played the Yankees and both teams wore 1912 throwbacks.  Same thing when then played the White Sox in the inaugural Field of Dreams Game and wore a special event uniform.  And, the participate in Players' Weekend like all other teams.

But a normal, non-special-occasion Tuesday night game in May?  They're either wearing pinstripes at home or gray on the road.  If the players get their wish, though, we may start seeing blue tops when they're on the road.  Of course, Hal needs to give his go-ahead for that to happen.  Which is by no means a guarantee.  But it's not impossible, either.

Don't forget, the Yankees used to have a very restrictive no facial hair policy.  George Steinbrenner instituted it in the mid-70s, and it remained in place until Hal loosened it last year.  And, as we've seen over the past two seasons since the policy's removal, plenty of Yankees players have taken advantage of the opportunity to grow a beard or let their hair a little longer.  Hal proved that he isn't resistant to change.  Which is why it actually is plausible that he might allow them to wear the blue tops for select road games.

One reason why I think this may happen is because we're only talking about road games here.  That's a key point.  Nobody wants to touch the iconic home pinstripes.  The Yankees would never even consider wearing blue jerseys at Yankee Stadium.  That would be blasphemous and a non-starter.  But occasionally wearing the blue batting practice top on the road?  Frankly, that doesn't seem like too big a deal.  Especially since it's the players doing the asking.

Michael Kay, however, is very opposed to the idea.  As soon as the news first went public, he went on his radio show and went off on the players simply for making the request.  He even said, "Win me a championship first."  Basically, he thinks the players should deliver a World Series title to the Bronx before even making such a request.  His position is a little extreme.  Because, really, what difference does it make?

Wearing navy instead of blue on the road every once in a while is something that the players have clearly been thinking about and is clearly important to them.  That's why Aaron Judge is the one who brought it up.  This isn't just some random player.  It's their franchise player and team captain.  It's the only guy in the clubhouse who has the clout to speak up and make such a request.  Which is another reason why I think it may be taken seriously.

And, to think that it should be conditional is just silly.  Why should they only be allowed to wear blue jerseys after winning the World Series?  Especially since it's entirely possible the opposite could be true, as well.  Granting this simple request would show the players that ownership is willing to listen to what they want.  Look at what happened last year with the facial hair policy.  And maybe being allowed to wear the blues could motivate the players and turn them into that championship team Michael Kay wants (and thinks they need to be before they can even make such a request).

But, at the same time, I see where he's coming from.  Yes, Michael Kay is a Yankees broadcaster (which makes him a team employee).  But he's also a lifelong Yankees fan.  And he was speaking as a fan.  A fan who thinks it's blasphemous to even suggest that the Yankees wear something other than pinstripes at home or gray on the road.  It's the only look Yankees fans have ever known.  While some other teams have a different uniform for each day of the week, with the Yankees that's never been the case.  You know what they're wearing for every game.  It's been the same for generations.  And it's hard for some fans to even envision it ever being any different.

For some Yankees fans, the idea of them wearing blue is akin to the team putting names on the back of their jerseys.  Now that would be a step too far, and everyone knows it!  It's an MLB rule that teams are required to have names on the back of their road uniforms.  The Yankees are the only team that doesn't have them.  They aren't required to.  They got grandfathered in.

This is not that.  As I mentioned, the Yankees already wear blue in some Spring Training road games.  Occasionally wearing those same jerseys in regular season road games wouldn't be this drastic, Earth-shattering change it's being made out to be.  The Yankees, in fact, are the outlier in that they've never worn an alternate top as a part of their regular rotation.  Nobody's suggesting they become the Rays and wear three different uniforms in a three-game series.  It's simply giving them another option.

Whether this actually happens or not is entirely up to Hal Steinbrenner.  There's an argument on both sides, and people feel passionately about both sides.  Ultimately, though, how much of a difference would it really make?  That's why I don't have a preference either way.  As long as you don't touch the pinstripes, it really doesn't matter if they wear blue or gray on the road.