They look almost exactly alike. No, not Chris Colabello and Jamey Carroll of the Minnesota Twins. Almost nobody looks like Carroll (on the right), a long-time major league guy with distinctive facial features. I'm talking about the Twins jerseys. The one that says "Minnesota" is appropriate for road games, and the Twins were on the road at Miller Park on Tuesday night. The one worn by Colabello, a 29-year-old rookie, says "Twins" and usually is for use at Target Field only.
Colabello entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter and reached on an error. The Twins broadcasters didn't seem to notice the jersey foul at first, but the Brewers guys did, via The Big Lead.
Just so long as the umpires don't notice! And if they had?
Rule 1.11.a3 states:
No player whose uniform does not conform to that of his teammates shall be permitted to participate in a game.
So, if the umpires or the Brewers had noticed Colabello's improper jersey, he could have been made to change jerseys at any point. I suppose umpires would have cause to kick him out of the game, too, but they probably would have made him wear a generic jersey, or a teammate's. Just as long as everyone's said "Minnesota." Actually, it would have been funny if umpires made everyone else on the Twins change jerseys and then kicked Colabello out. That would have been Angel Hernandez's solution.
Now, it might seem like major leaguers should be responsible for their own uniforms, but clubhouse employees hand out the jerseys each team uses on a given day. What the team wears usually is decided by the starting pitcher. So this isn't a case of a rookie just being the new guy who messed up, though Colabello probably took some heat anyway. Given his unlikely and incredible trek to the majors, he's probably fine with any teasing. It's also possible that a practical joker teammate switched the jerseys on him.
Other jersey fouls, like the one Marco Scutaro committed in 2012 for the Giants, can be the player's fault. Scutaro caught heck for it.
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