There's no place like home plate. That's exactly what the Jackson Generals of the Southern League are saying when they announce that their ballplayers will be made to wear jerseys themed after Dorothy from the The Wizard of Oz on a night celebrating the classic film.
Yep, come May 15 at the Ballpark at Jackson (Tenn.), the Class AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners will wear uniforms that make the players all look like Judy Garland impersonators. The players will be begging fans to pay no attention to the men beyond the grandstand.
Themed minor league jerseys have become quite the fashion deal in recent seasons. Back in February, we reported on the Saved By The Bell jerseys the Brooklyn Cyclones were planning. Another team dressed up like ancient Egyptians. Another has a Christmas Sweater theme planned for July. This idea tops (?) them all. Jumps all of the sharks. Is way, way, WAY over the rainbow. The players are going to need a lot of nerve to wear them.
As you can see from the schematics provided by the team, the jerseys are styled in the blue and white gingham pinafore dress Dorothy wore, along with with red ruby slipper accents and — AND, AND, AND — pigtails. Pigtails! (Well, pigtails are very softball, which is like baseball.)
There's also a jersey tag that includes renderings of Emerald City, the Yellow Brick Road and all of the parting gifts the Wizard gave to Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. (Although, some say that Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't already have.) Oh, and there's an image of Dorothy's little dog, too. Toto.
Hey, why not throw in some ruby red baseball cleats while you're at it?
Great! And terrible.
