Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons - #22 Ed Yarnall (2004)

Having already poured it all out for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in a previous post, this post will be less detailed.  At the same auxiliary souvenir stand at Lackawanna County Stadium that I bought the Darren Burton jersey — it was either called Stand 3A or 4A — I acquired what one would call a batting practice jersey.  Rather than a full set of front buttons, it is a two-button pullover style jersey.  It is indeed black, rather than the dark navy that accented all other Red Baron uniforms before and since.  The numbers are fire engine red as opposed to maroon.  While the Phillies updated their uniforms and color scheme in 1992, the Red Barons waited until 2003 to match their shade.  I am unsure if I purchased it on an April 2005 visit to the ballpark (I think so), or at the 2006 home opener (less likely).

Until twenty minutes ago, I was prepared to give up on identifying the player this was issued to.  I dug through old baseball card sets and team photos.  I figured out that Gavin Floyd wore #21, Dan Giese #23, and Shawn Wooten #24 in 2004.  I've struggled to determine who, if anyone, wore this in games, so I've called it team issued for the time being.  Scant evidence exists that these tops were ever worn by players as the Red Barons notoriously rarely wore alternates in games.  These Gavin Floyd pictures taken by Four Seam Images in Rochester prove their existence though additional photos from game action that same day show the Barons suited up in classic greys.  This photo of Ed Yarnall from earlier in the season seems to have answered the question.  The two inches of extra length for a six-foot, four-inch pitcher certainly checks out.  Some conflict persists.  His baseball card from that season shows Ed wearing a #51 home jersey.  Since we're calling it a Team Issue anyway, let's go with it.  

Looking back to my golden era of minor league baseball, I mostly think of Yarnall as one of the most dominant starting pitchers during the International League's 1999 season.  The Columbus Clippers were the strongest team in the league in terms of regular season and Ed was their ace.  His 3.47 ERA was almost two runs better than any of the other Clipper rotation mainstays who made 20 starts.  Five years later, with seven major league appearances and a trip to Japan sandwiched between, Yarnall took the mound wearing a different set of pinstripes.  Ed would bounce around AAA for a few more years, winding down his professional career in familiar fashion, the last season split between the Mexican League and independent ball.

Details:

• Manufacturer - Russell Athletic
• Size - 48 (2" Extra Length)
• Date Acquired - Unknown
• Authentic Team Issue - Nylon excluding trim
• Two-color Twill Script/Numbers
• Issued for 2004 Season

Pittsburgh Pirates - #37 Mike Johnston (2003)

In March of 2011, I was nearing the end of my first curling season.  As was tradition at the time, each April a bus of curlers from Pittsburgh would visit Rochester for a single day of friendly competition.  Wanting to show a welcoming spirit and a nod to my Pennsylvania roots, I purchased this to wear while curling against the yinzers.  It was the first of what became many purchases from the esteemed Kruk Cards described in the previous post.

Mike Johnston was a 20th Round pick of the Pirates in 1998 out of tiny Garrett College in McHenry, Maryland.  A six-foot three Pennsylvania boy, Mike would eventually see big league time in 2004 and 2005 with Pittsburgh before taking two years off (I assume a significant injury?) and subsequently winding down his professional career with the White Sox organization and the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League.

The manfacturer's tagging is on the inside of this jersey.  Attached is a simple nylon tag with 2003 printed on it.  As Mike spent that season in Altoona, I imagine he was added to the 40-man roster in his sixth season of professional baseball.  This was likely prepared as a matter of course in case he made the jump that season.  The jersey is pristine, showing no signs of use as expected, and features no patches being vest-style.  I mentioned Mike's height earlier, which makes this one of my worst fits (I am 5'11").  For too long, growing up in the 90's made me think I wore size extra large shirts.  That's a stretch.  Once I've caught up on the jersey blog, I will likely sell this piece and try to purchase a sleeved road Pittsburgh jersey in size 46. 

Details:

• Manufacturer - Majestic
• Size - 48
• Date Acquired - 3/10/2011
• Authentic Team Issue - 100% Polyester
• Two-color Twill Script/Numbers
• No Patches
• Issued in 2003 per internal tagging

Seattle Mariners - #57 D.J. Mitchell (2012)

At the end of May 2014, I was about to give notice at my job of ten years and start the hard portion of a career change that involved some relocation and vast fluctuations in income and savings.  As such, this is the last jersey I would purchase for over two years.  I actually first purchased a different navy Mariners jersey first, one with Seattle across the front belonging to Luke French, but sold it very quickly as it was far too large and the style wasn't very interesting.  This jersey was another purchase from Kruk Cards, an incredible card and memorabilia warehouse in Michigan, permanently linked in the sidebar.  Typically, this vendor seems to acquire full lots of similar jerseys direct from MLB teams. I don't recall exactly why I chose D.J. Mitchell.  I imagine it simply had to do with size and cost as the purchase price was exceedingly good.

D.J. Mitchell was a 10th Round draft pick of the Yankees in 2008 out of Clemson University.  He played parts of three seasons in Scranton before appearing in four major league games for the Yankees in 2012.  On July 23 of that season, Mitchell was one of two pitching prospects sent to Seattle for the great Ichiro Suzuki.  D.J. was immediately optioned to Tacoma and designated for assignment during that offseason.  He would not pitch in the major leagues again and finished his professional career in the Atlantic League.

This is the first jersey in my collection featuring the Major League Baseball Authentication Program hologram and lookup number.  This is a nice third-party authentication feature that greatly simplifies provenance research.  As Mitchell did not appear with the Mariners after the trade, it easy to say this jersey is Team Issued, but the confirmation, right down to the date worn, will come in handy on some of my other jerseys.  The jersey features an interesting metallicized silver twill that really pops in strong lighting.  There are no sleeve patches or tagging on this batting practice jersey, designed similarly to the spring training jerseys of that time.

Details:

• Manufacturer - Majestic
• Size - 46
• Date Acquired - 5/20/2014
• Authentic Team Issue - Polyester / Spandex Mix
• MLB Hologram: EK209093
• Three-color Twill Script
• Two-color Name/Numbers
• Batting Practice Jersey for 2012 Season

Tucson Sidewinders - #19 Unknown (2003)

In April 2004, less than two months away from graduating from engineering school, my senior design team went to Tucson to take part in the 8th International Micro Air Vehicle Competition (spoiler alert: we didn't win).  I suppose we were part of the trial-end-error process that led to drone photography.  On the last day we were in Arizona, the rest of my team went golfing and wound up in Mexico.  I, on the other hand, saw that the Tucson Sidewinders were playing the Tacoma Rainiers at Tucson Electric Park.  This would be my first and still the only Pacific Coast League game I have ever attended.  Six years later, an eBay user auctioned off one of what he claimed were many Sidewinder vest-style away jerseys.  I either missed or lost the auction, but subsequently e-mailed the seller to ask about his additional inventory and got a ludicrously good deal on this one.

I've struggled to determine who, if anyone, wore this in games, so I've called it team issued for the time being.  My only clue that it was at least issued during the 2003 season comes from the patch pictured below.  I was able to find my game program from 4/11/2004, looking for clues, but no one was listed wearing #19 early in the 2004 season either.  The 2003 Sidewinders boasted Brandon Webb, Lyle Overbay, and Rod Barajas at one time or another.  I can say with certainty this didn't belong to them.  There are more than a few players who could have worn it, perhaps the owner of this knows.  If anyone out there has any insight, please let me know!

This was the first vest-style jersey that I purchased.  The placement Pacific Coast League 100th Anniversary patch is interesting, but I suppose it speaks to the inability to place sleeve patches on a vest. It also precludes possible use by the team in 2004.  The Sidewinders are another team that no longer exists.  Previously known as the Toros, they were renamed and the color scheme changed to relect Tucson's relationship with a new parent, the expansion Diamondbacks.  Tucson Electric Park was part of a pair of Cactus League stadia removed from Metro Phoenix.  When I attended the game in 2004, it had just finished hosting the D-backs and White Sox for the spring.  Following the 2008 season, the team moved to Reno to escape attendance woes and became the Aces.

Details:

• Manufacturer - Rawlings
• Size - 46
• Date Acquired - 9/7/2010
• Authentic Team Issue - 100% Polyester excluding trim
• Three-color Twill Script/Numbers
• Chest Patch
• Issued for 2003 Season

Toronto Blue Jays - #36 Bob File (2003)

In April 2004, roughly a month before graduating from college, I joined friends from high school, college, and my future wife on a weekend trip to Toronto.  By this time, I knew I'd remain in Rochester after graduation as I was offered a job with the local division of Harris Corporation.  After a ten-year period of caring about the minor leagues far more than the major leagues, and noting that Toronto was significantly closer to my new home (sorry Pittsburgh and Cleveland!), I decided around this time that I would become a Blue Jays fan.  I certainly wasn't entering at a high point.  My friends and I witnessed a decent game, decided for the Orioles by a Larry Bigbie homerun in the Top of the 9th, but that edition of the Blue Jays would go on to lose 94 games, including a few more I'd see that year.  On our way out of the SkyDome, as it was still called, and on our way to drink the largest pitcher of beer I've ever seen at the Peel Pub, we stopped in the team store and bought this jersey.

Bob File was a big boy, a 6'4" 210 pound relief pitcher, and like me originally from Pennsylvania.  Drafted out of Thomas Jefferson University in the 19th round, Bob made quick progress through the minor league ranks.  He reached AAA Syracuse in only his 3rd season in professional baseball, yet dominated.  He allowed only two earned runs and two walks in 19.1 innings.  It appears another quick minor league start propelled Bob to 60 major league appearances in 2001.  It appears that the wheels fell off to some degree in 2002 and injuries must have gotten him during 2003, the year this jersey was intended to be used, and the last year that the Blue Jays wore this style before switching to a white, blue, and silver scheme.

The jersey is in excellent condition as one might expect for a game-issue.  It served as my introduction to embroidered team tagging, a practice that has sadly fallen out of favor in recent years, but to me is still part and parcel of the world of game work jerseys.  A close inspection shows that the central red line through each letter and number is actually a very thin piece of tackle twill, individually stitched.  Also worth a look is the sleeve patch.  The muscular bird hugging the T was actually the team's primary logo in 2003 after being introduced as an alternate logo in 2001.  It always looked a little too similar to the Texas Rangers T to me.

Details:

• Manufacturer - Majestic
• Size - 48
• Date Acquired - 4/17/2004
• Authentic Team Issue - 100% Polyester
• Three-color Twill Script/Numbers
• Left Sleeve Patch
• Issued for 2003 Season