Hey, the New York Mets might be 4th in the NL East, but they’re probably in first place when it comes to ferociously ugly merchandise no one in their right mind would purchase. Much as I’d rather focus on Tuesday’s 4-0 defeat of Colorado — the visitors stranded 9 and went 0 for 7 with RISP against Mike Pelfrey (6.1 IP, 5 K’s, 3 BB, 7 hits) — a sextet of Mets were inexplicably chosen by the MLBPA Players Choice fashion line to design their own swag. From MLB.com’s Tim Britton :
Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, J.J. Putz, Omir Santos and Gary Sheffield were on hand to model their own gear. John Maine, the sixth Met to take part in the project, was not available due to his shoulder injury.
Murphy built off his Irish heritage by infusing the Mets’ classic road look with both the color green and a logo of a clover over his signature.
Parnell went with “earth tones” — brown with camouflage lettering — to give his merchandise an outdoors look that is big in his native North Carolina.
Putz strove for a patriotic feel, going with a camouflage jersey with red, white and blue lettering. Putz also produced an elaborate T-shirt design with his name in gothic letters above two eagles and a home plate bearing the Mets’ interlocking “NY” logo.
Santos paid homage to his native country with a Mets logo that integrated the Puerto Rican flag in the background. His T-shirt consisted of a big picture of Santos in catching gear.
Parnell and Putz’ designs sound terrific — if you’d like this place to supply your wardrobe. But best of luck to the MLBPA, who must presume the average NYC baseball fan to have a fashion aesthetic formed by years of shopping at Stuckey’s. Let’s hope there aren’t any funds for retired players in need riding on this.
I already ordered the Putz jersey, but I had Francoeur’s name put on the back. Gonna be sick!
I love that all 5 players may be either off the Mets and/or out of baseball by 2010 depending on injuries, old age, inability to hit (or throw) a curve ball, etc.
They couldn’t get a real Met player to sign on for this? Or maybe someone like Luis Castillo who at least will definitely be on the team for the next couple of years?
And, why can’t I buy (or see) the Omir Santos options? It can’t possibly be any more hideous than the rest of this shit.