Mets in pillbox caps

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Uniwatch today has a neat photo of the 1976 Japanese tour, and shows a bunch of players in the pillbox caps.

Who is that wearing No. 18 for the Mets? Youngblood didn't start wearing it until later the next season.

[batmagadanleadoff]

That #18 sure looks like Youngblood.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Are you sure that's 1976? There's what looks like Kingman in a Cubs cap at the very top left of the picture. And the Pirates didn't have those mix-n-match unis until 1977.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Plus, the Mets are wearing 1978 (at the earliest) unis.

[HahnSolo]

Is that Ted Williams kneeling behind Garvey in the Padre uniform?

Aurelio Lopez looks like Pedro in a fat suit and fro.

[batmagadanleadoff]

HahnSolo wrote: Is that Ted Williams kneeling behind Garvey in the Padre uniform?

It's ex-Met Roger Craig.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't wanna pile on here, but Ozzie Smith wasn't around in 1976. He's also wearing a one-year style Padre uni (1979 - Weren't all Padre unis in the 1970's one year styles [/joke]?)

I'd say that's a 1979 picture based on Ozzie's uniform.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, that's not 1976.

Check out Ozzie's afro!

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Uniwatch says it's 1976, but you are all correct so it can't be.

[soupcan]

If its '79 why are they wearing the pillboxes? Those are definitely 1976.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Those are 1976 caps, but that picture couldn't have been taken in that year. That's definitely Joel Youngblood in Mets uniform number 18, and he didn't become a Met until the infamous day of June 15, 1977.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

This in the Uniwatch comments..


On the All-Star shot from Japan: that picture has to be from 1979�there was not a tour in 1976 or 1977 and the Reds went in 1978. Also, it features Mets� uniforms not used until 1978 � and it features John Stearns and Joel Youngblood � neither of whom would have been selected to play on anything like an All-Star team in 1976. And Stearns would have been wearing 16 if it were 1976, which he wore his rookie season with the Mets, which was 1976 (although he was up late in �75).

[Guest AG/DC]

Thoughts on the Photo:

1. John Stoins packing the winter weight.


2. This is embarrassing to ask but what kind of shoes do baseball players wear on Astroturf? It looks like they're wearing your standard spikes for grass.


3. Does Ozzie have a fat lip?


4. The Pirates still can't get it together. I'm counting five Pirates with, sorta, five different combinations.


5. Two different hats on the Phils also
   
6. I'm guessing it was cold, but warmup jackets under the jersey is a butt look.


7. There is almost nothing redeeming about the Atlanta road kit at that time, but it would take a lot anyway to redeem the script "A," which looks lower-cased out of context, on the two-tone hat.


8. Youngblood looks evil in profile
   
9. The Expos cap looks like something you'd paint in.


10. John Stearns, still fat.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I love that scoreboard.

[soupcan]

I still want to know why they are wearing 1976 caps in 1979.

Pirates, fine but the rest are odd. Astro cap is normal, Cardinals caps are normal, Dodgers are normal unless the cap in the back row to the left of Stearns is a Dodger cap. The Phils are normal except for Tug. Braves and Cubs are normal.

It's like some guys forgot to pack their hats and the only Japanese sporting goods store around only had the bicentennial ones.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Eh, I don't mind the "atlanta" look.

Here's something weird: Only one American Leaguer in the whole shot. I assume that's Senor Smoke.

[Guest AG/DC]

Probably thought the Japanese would like them best at their flashiest.

Remember that this was still a Sunday alternate cap for a few teams, and of course the alpha-cap for the Bucs.

[batmagadanleadoff]

A group of MLB all-stars toured Japan after the 1979 season. Players were paid $10K each. Rod Carew quit the tour after four days because of, allegedly, a broken promise that Carew could make an extra $40-50K from Japanese endorsements.

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Here's something weird: Only one American Leaguer in the whole shot. I assume that's Senor Smoke.

There is surely an American League shot as well. This tour pitted the NL All Stars against the AL All Stars. (Check out the scoreboard -- top right).

[Guest AG/DC]

I was figuring that was Nippon vs. America, or something.


batmag is all over this photo.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Get outta the shot, Smoky!

[HahnSolo]

Was that Aurelio Lopez's nickname? I thought that belonged to Juan Berenguer.

[Guest AG/DC]

So let's do this thing...



First row, kneeling:
Dodgers trainer Guy McWhitehair, Steve Garvey, Some Guy Trying to Pass Himself off as Mike Schmidt, Exec McRaincoat, Chub Feeney

Second row, kneeling:
Roger Craig

Third row, standing:
Tommy LaSorda, Aurelio Lopez, Ted Simmons?, Fat John Stearns, Ozzie Smith, Gene Garber, Tug McGraw, Chuck Tanner?, Garry Matthews?, Joel Youngblood

Back Row, Standing:
Dave Kingman, Dave Parker, Andre Dawson's Ear?, Somebody Wearing a Hat in the Color that the Padres Would Later Wear, Future Mets Coach Ken Oberkfell?, Willie Stargell, Bert Blyleven?, John Candeleria, Ron Reed?, Dickie Noles?, Bud Selig? Ken Griffey, Bob Horner?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Griffey? No, that's Foster.

Good call on Ron Reed. Pro hoops player.

[Guest AG/DC]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Griffey? No, that's Foster.

Yeah, my confidence wasn't there with Giffey. His sideburns were neater, and I had forgotten how lean George looked in the seventies. And he was pretty lean as a Met.

I also considered that he was maybe a beardless Gary Maddox, but that would've made him the only Phil in white.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm gonna call your Bob Horner Phil Neikro.

I think the dude you list as Oberkfell is actually an Astro.

[Guest AG/DC]

That's OK. I think my Ron Reed is actually a Cardinal.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Uniwatch commenter has a theory...


One more thing on the 1979 Japan photo � here�s my theory about why they wore these special hats. 1979 was the 30th anniversary of the two-laegue (Central and Pacific) system in Japan, and in the Japanese all-star game, they wore pillbox hats with stripes!

[metirish]

Any link to the picture , only seeing a red x here.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

metirish wrote: Any link to the picture , only seeing a red x here.

http://blog.24to.moo.jp/images/20070728hakubutsukan10.jpg

A person also thinks CHuck Tanner is giving the backrub to Phillies owner Bill Giles.