Image Problem

The Chicago White Sox are the team with the greatest image problem. Nothing could have ever prepared Windy City denizens for the roller-coaster ride the Chisox image consultants have put them through over the past couple of decades.

In the late 70's. the White Sox switched from its traditional pinstriped uniform to strange mesh uniforms designed to make fans remember the era of Nap Lajoie. The uniforms themselves were pre-20th century in style. The sleeves would flail in the wind like tattered flags, much like the tattered White Sox fielders.

But when Chicago won a divisional pennant, the team appeared on national television wearing a big "SOX" across the front of polyester stretch uniforms with numbers on its pants. For once, the White Sox were taken seriously.

Changing Times

But times have changed, and so have the Chicago uniforms. There is a "C" on the cap for the first time in ages, and the new White Sox uniforms have a cursive "Chicago" borrowed from the basketball Bulls.

So, why reflect on baseball uniforms? Well, like the alleged flat seam on the baseball, the height of the mound, the spitball or the tricks the wind plays on a fly ball, the uniform is just another nuance of the game.

There is a feeling that the game has been modernized too much. Astroturf, indoor stadiums, polyester uniforms, aluminum bats, and the live ball have become household words for the baseball fan. The retreat from the polyester revolution has signaled a return to normality clean air, a fresh hot dog, green grass, and real uniforms. That's what the game is all about.