Forgettable all-star uniforms detract from the specialness of all-star games: Betancourt

New York Times

18-07-2025

If an all-star-specific uniform isn't worn does anyone miss it?
The 2025 MLB All-Star game had multiple highlights. A swing off? That's new and exciting. Although, admit it, there was a part of you that wanted Bud Selig to come out and say the game was ending in a tie.
But while that new element stole the show, there was something a little old school that was a widely welcomed sight for those who remember MLB All-Star game uniforms from a more civilized age (i.e. pre-2020). Each player wore their individual team's standard home or away jerseys when taking the field rather than matching one-off all-star uniforms. And as many all-star game scholars noted across social media in response to the change: that's the way it should be when it comes to all-star games.
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Kobe vs. Jordan at Madison Square Garden. A-Rod telling Cal Ripken Jr. the Orioles legend is starting his final all-star game at shortstop. These games and the moments that define them are better when the all-stars are wearing the uniforms that made them icons in the first place, and not something less identifiable that almost always comes off as just a way to spruce up jersey and ballcap sales.
Which leads to an even more serious question for those of us who take big-league merchandise seriously: what is the buyability of all-star gear given the small window of relevance? Does an MLB All-Star cap or jersey purchased in July get worn later that September in the home stretch of a playoff run? I don't need statistics to tell me in the chase for a wild card or a division title you're likely grabbing the merchandise that most closely mirrors what your favorite team is wearing on the field during their most important games of the season as opposed to something colored in a shade your team would never use. No one in the Bronx is reaching for anything ice-cream colored in October.
If you're attending an all-star game, that's different.
A wild-colored jersey with 'American' or 'National' (or as was the case at the Derby this year 'AL' and 'NL' in an Atlanta-inspired cursive script that I'll say was pretty slick and a little comic-booky) and a cap with a few extra stars and a patch to signify the year and location of the game are nice keepsakes and the perfect souvenir to say 'I was there.' Ditto for an all-star game that takes place at your local stadium, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby.
This year's MLB festivities treated us to new star-spangled fitted caps and all-star jerseys worn during the Home Run Derby, as has been tradition since the '90s. The derby is a wonderful multi-hour commercial for said merchandise. There are the biggest stars in baseball, wearing slightly different caps and new jerseys that are remodeled each year and never stay the same, giving a slight uniqueness factor for those who care.
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Every year I spend those Derby hours pondering. Not over the jerseys per se. You can't convince me those all-star jerseys are purchased with the intent of frequent usage. Although CC Sabathia gushing over James Wood while wearing Wood's 2025 All-Star jersey almost got me to bite as a Washington Nationals fan.
A post shared by Washington Nationals (@nationals)
The all-star caps almost get me every summer. Maybe if Wood wore his during his at bats in the Derby I would have caved, but he didn't, so my Ripken-like streak of not buying all-star gear continues.
The blast radius of enjoyment for these types of caps and jerseys, for me, really feels like all-star weekend itself. I'll wear a Washington Nationals City Connect cap (both of them) until the end of time, but all-star game gear? I just can't do it.
Wearing a 2025 all-star cap in 2026? Never.
Yes, I get it. The intended point is to get the next all-star game cap in 2026. But who is really collecting these things? And that's coming from someone with 25 fitted baseball caps by his office desk. A nice display piece? Sure. An all-star fitted can be that. A hat you're wearing during September call-ups? Unlikely.
That's not to say perfect all-star game gear worth reaching for your wallet doesn't exist. It happened. Once.
Those 1996 San Antonio-themed NBA All-Star game jerseys, the ones with the chili pepper on them that were worn by some of the greatest NBA legends of all time? Jordan. Shaq. Penny. Grant Hill. I'd wear that right now. But I also think pinstripes on NBA uniforms are cool. So maybe I'm just too into the '90s. The NBA then had players wear their own team's uniforms for all-star games from 1997-2002, and since going back to the one-off designs, nothing has stood out like those San Antonio threads.
And while I'm convinced no great Pro Bowl jersey exists, I would without hesitation purchase a Sean Taylor No. 21 Pro Bowl jersey to commemorate his dimensional-rift-causing de-cleating of punter Brian Moorman in 2007, even though those uniforms look like they're from the first Captain America movie. And not the one with Chris Evans. The one you saw on HBO at your grandparents house, with the rubber ears.
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What made that jersey special was what Taylor did while wearing it, not the jersey itself. There's also something special about seeing a player in a San Diego Padres uniform celebrate with a teammate in a San Francisco Giants uniform.
But maybe I'm just bitter. Perhaps my refusal to buy into baseball merchandise custom-made for July comes from hurt feelings.
Look at the all-star game optics I had to endure last year.
In the 2024 MLB All-Star game, when Juan Soto got to first base and was greeted by Bryce Harper, the optics were just too much for me. There at first base was (soon to be) about a billion dollars worth of baseball players between the two. A billion dollars that my Nationals didn't have to spend (and yet the bullpen is still pending) after saying goodbye to both stars, illuminated in colors that could best be described as sherbet. That hurt. And not just because of how bright it was.
All love between former teammates Bryce Harper and Juan Soto at the #AllStarGame ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tLLo9AXj6U
— MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2024
I don't think there's any coincidence MLB toned down the colors this year and went back to basics.
But maybe the only thing all future all-star uniforms need to be memorable is a good chili pepper.
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