MLB has "grown way too fond" of holiday uniforms in recent years, taking "what might have seemed a nice one-off nod to special occasions and turning them into multiday sales pitches," according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Teams from Saturday through yesterday wore Independence Day-themed jerseys "featuring stars and stripes in numbers and lettering, with mismatched socks meant to evoke an American flag." There have been four holiday-themed jerseys in the season's first three months, and two of them "call for the teams to model both home and away versions." Clubs also wore "pink-infused uniforms for Mother's Day, hunter green for Memorial Day and light blue and graphite for Father's Day" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 7/3). The array of patriotic uniforms inspired some backlash on Twitter. Triblive.com's Chris Adamski: "Do MLB teams ever wear their regular uniforms anymore? Does every holiday need its own uniform? Even if so- do they need to last *4* days?" ESPN's Howard Bryant: "MLB jerseys in overkill drive: stars on one sock, stripes on the other, stars on the numbers, red, white, and blue logos hoping it = green." SportsLogos.net's Chris Creamer: "If you really hate this MLB holiday uniform thing? Good news! This weekend is the last time it's happening in 2017." Super 70s Sports' Ricky Cobb: "Thanks, MLB, I'd have never felt these strong feelings of patriotism if every team's uniform wasn't a total shitshow this weekend." But other observers were more favorable. DC-based WJFK-FM's Grant Paulsen: "Kudos to MLB for not over-thinking uniforms; allowing players to wear socks, gloves and jerseys with stars and stripes today. Adds to fun."
