In our modern spell-checked era, you would not expect typos on Major League Baseball uniforms. But they are more common than one would imagine.
Graphic courtesy ESPN
As ESPN sportswriter Paul Lukas notes, “Since nobody has figured out how to load a spell-check function onto a sewing machine or a heat press, uni typos are sure to continue. Working in a uniform sewing shop is probably a lot more stressful than it might initially seem.”
Joe Hilseberg worked for seven years in the Baltimore shop that does lettering for the Orioles and Ravens jerseys. This is what he told Lukas: “A misspelling is your biggest fear. It’s something that should never happen. When I see a mistake like that, I think, ‘How many people did that go through and none of them caught it?’ Fortunately, no mistake of mine ever got to the seamstress.”
Here are some notable goofs:
Joe Carter, July 14, 1994. The city of the Blue Jays was misspelled “TOROTNO” on the front of Carter’s uniform. The jersey misspelling was caused by the manufacturer, Wilson Sporting Goods. Carter was unable to use his primary uniform because it had a patch attached to it from when he played in the All-Star Game earlier in the week. Somehow, no one noticed the mistake until the sixth inning, when Carter switched to his All-Star jersey.
Adam Riggs, Aug. 16, 2003. Minor league journeyman Adam Riggs hadn’t been with the Angels very long before he took left field in a home game against the Tigers with a sleeveless jersey that read “ANGEES” across the front. Riggs had no clue until his hysterical teammates sat him down in the dugout between innings and broke the news to him.
Photo courtesy UniWatch and ESPN
Ted Kluszewski, May 8, 1960. As Uni Watch notes, this slugger’s last name is a typo waiting to happen. And it did, when in 1960 the Chicago White Sox became the first major sports team to put player names on the back of uniforms. During a road trip to New York, his name appeared with both a backwards “Z” and an “X” instead of a “K” at the end of his name. As The New York Times put it, “Undoubtedly, the tailor was too engrossed in the problem of fitting so many vowels and consonants in the space available to concentrate on his spelling.”
Aaron Harang, April 12, 2005. The pitcher took the mound for the Reds with his team’s city spelled “CNCINNATI” on the front of his jersey. To make matters worse, he lost to the Cardinals, 5-1.
Ryan Jorgensen, Aug. 26, 2007. After Jorgensen hit a first-inning grand slam for Cincinnati against the Marlins, a teammate pointed out that his name was misspelled on his jersey (it should end in “sen,” not “son”). Baseball players are a superstitious lot, so one might expect Jorgensen would keep wearing the “lucky” jersey. But he switched to one with the proper spelling within two innings.
Courtesy UniWatch and ESPN
Eliezer Alfonzo, June 3, 2006. Alfonzo was a journeyman in the minors for over a decade before finally receiving his call to the big leagues. He was supposed to meet the Giants in New York for a game against the Mets, but his flight was canceled because of a thunderstorm. So he took a three-and-a-half-hour limo ride through the downpour and made it to Shea Stadium just in time to learn that the game had been rained out. The next day, he found his name penciled into the starting lineup. But he made his big league debut with his name misspelled on his jersey (it should end in “zo,” not “so”). Alfonzo hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning that ultimately won the game against the Mets, which may have explained why his jersey was still misspelled in the Giants game the following day.
Eugenio Velez, April 7, 2010. Velez made his season debut wearing a jersey with San Francisco spelled incorrectly. “Maybe they left his shirt in ‘San Fran-cic-so,” quipped the AP.
Two Washington Nationals, April 17, 2009. The Nats sent their two best hitters, Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman, onto the field wearing “NATINALS” jerseys for three innings.
Jeff Francoeur, August 16, 2007. Wearing a jersey with the “e” and “u” switched in his name, Francoeur went 0-for-4 with the Braves in a game against the Giants.
Graphic courtesy ESPN
Joe Slusarski, April 11, 1991. After taking a red-eye flight to Oakland to make an emergency start (because scheduled starter Eric Show had an infected finger) and getting only four hours of sleep, he found his jersey lettered with “SLUZARSKI.” Undeterred, the 24-year-old A’s rookie pitched seven scoreless innings against the Twins in a 3-0 win.
Jim Fregosi, 1986. When Fregosi started managing the White Sox in the middle of the season, his jersey read “FERGOSI” until the White Sox spotted the error. Fregosi joked, “My ex-wife and kids used to misspell it, too—until it was time to go to the bank.”
Steve Garvey, 1983. When Garvey showed up at the San Diego Padres spring training camp, Ray Peralta, the equipment manager, showed him that the manufacturer had sent four jerseys for the $6 million first baseman with his name misspelled “GRAVEY.” “We noticed it last week,” said Peralta. “He wasn’t offended at all. He wanted to have one to keep. We just hope he turns out to be a gravy train for us.”
Then we had the intentionally wrong jersey, courtesy of San Francisco Giants shortstop Johnnie LeMaster, which you can read about here.
As Lukas points out, “There’s at least one team that’s never had a uniform misspelling: the Yankees. With a simple logo on the front and no player names on the back, they’re typo-proof.”
