In every baseball game, the team always needs to have their coaches. If you love watching baseball games, you are sure to find coaches on the benches guiding their teams. But, you might mistake them with others because they wear uniforms like their team.
So why do baseball coaches wear uniforms? Well, it is part of baseball’s rules, and it is just right given the outdoor setup of the game!
What Is the Role of the Coach in Baseball?
We will be talking all about baseball coaches. But first things first, what do coaches do in baseball?
The primary role of coaches includes telling the team’s manager about the performances of their players. This will help them strategize and make the players part of a winning team.
For most major baseball leagues, each team has from nine to eleven coaches. And, each coach plays a different role, like the batting coach, pitching coach, and other positions.
The coach would focus on each player so that they can competently carry out their functions for the games.
The things coaches do in baseball do not significantly differ from other sports. But, the baseball coach outfit does seem to stand out from the others.
Why Do Coaches Wear Uniforms?
Today, we see coaches wearing the same outfit as their team, just with a different number.
1. Suitable for the game settings
If you are an avid fan of baseball or play it yourself, you would know that it is an outdoor sport. The open field, grass, and vast space are the usual setup for every game.
Does this relate to the baseball coach gear we see in every game?
The attire of any individual is closely related to where they are currently at. The usual business looks like those basketball coaches would look weird when placed in the baseball setting.
Wearing formal clothing, with all the suit-and-tie and pants, would be too much for a baseball coach. So when we take into consideration the outdoor setup of baseball, coaches wearing uniforms fit just right!
2. Aligned with the rules
Also, another thing to consider when coaches wear their clothing is that they are still regarded as players of the team. Like any other player, they need to match their teams by wearing the same uniform.
What Do The Rules Say?
The sports coach outfit is also written on the Major League Baseball rules. The League Rules tell us what should be the attire for the players, coaches, and even the managers.
The rules for this are written in Rule 1.11, Section a1 and a3. In Section a1, it notes that players should have the same team color, style, and design. Furthermore, if there is someone on the team with a different jersey or attire, they cannot participate.
As we read along to rule 2.00, it states that the coach is also a team member assigned by the manager, that should be wearing a uniform!
If it is in the rules, baseball teams participating in games will surely follow them.
The Long Tradition of Baseball Uniforms
A prominent reason coaches wear their iconic baseball coach outfit is because of tradition.
Depending on how much of a believer you are, sticking to superstitions and practices will remain prevalent even today.
It started back on April 4, 1849, when the New York Knickerbockers wore the usual baseball uniform prototype adopted today. The attire includes white flannel shirts, straw hats, and woolen pants.
From here, many modifications to the baseball uniform molded it into what we see today. Some of the changes observed are putting their represented cities on their jersey, using graphic designs, and having special baseball shoes.
Despite being something done for more than a few decades in the major baseball games, traditions are not something that can fully explain why coaches wear their team’s uniform.
Similarly, not everyone is fond of coaches wearing the same uniform as the team because we see how different coaches suit up in other sports. Reddit holds a lot of discourses around this, but generally, opinions vary.
Hopefully, this article answers your question as “why do baseball coaches wear uniforms?”. We see it all the time in all existing baseball games, so it is just right that we dive deep and answer why.
To sum it up, coaches wear their team’s uniform because of the sport’s tradition, its stipulation in the rules, and it is best for the outdoor setting of the game.
Times have changed, and coaches are now different from batters and runners. But, this does not change the history and superstition of why they still stick with the good old team uniform each game!
Read more: Tips to wear a baseball jersey.
A powerful swing and the ball is flying across the field, just one hit, and we might never forget the thrill it brings. I do not know about you, but I never do. Every baseball game is the chance to compete with others and cooperate with your teammate. It is among my biggest passions.