Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Luis Perez was ordered by home plate umpire Bill Welke to change the shirt underneath his jersey when he came into Thursday night's game in the top of the eighth inning to face the Minnesota Twins.
Perez was warming up when Welke told him to change the shirt, which had a white line separating two shades of blue around the elbow of each sleeve. As Big League Stew points out, this is a clear violation of an MLB rule which states that "any part of an undershirt exposed to view shall be of a uniform solid color for all players on a team". It further states that "no player whose uniform does not conform to that of his teammates shall be permitted to participate in a game."
Perez's teammates were all wearing a solid blue undershirt, so the game was delayed a minute or two as Perez was sent to the locker room and changed his undershirt to the one his teammates were wearing. Kudos to Welke for knowing the rule and enforcing it correctly.
The last-minute shirt change didn't affect Perez as he pitched a three-up, three-down inning, but let that be a lesson learned for Perez. He probably won't be wearing that two-toned undershirt again...at least, not on the baseball field.
Video via MLB.com.
Perez was warming up when Welke told him to change the shirt, which had a white line separating two shades of blue around the elbow of each sleeve. As Big League Stew points out, this is a clear violation of an MLB rule which states that "any part of an undershirt exposed to view shall be of a uniform solid color for all players on a team". It further states that "no player whose uniform does not conform to that of his teammates shall be permitted to participate in a game."
Perez's teammates were all wearing a solid blue undershirt, so the game was delayed a minute or two as Perez was sent to the locker room and changed his undershirt to the one his teammates were wearing. Kudos to Welke for knowing the rule and enforcing it correctly.
The last-minute shirt change didn't affect Perez as he pitched a three-up, three-down inning, but let that be a lesson learned for Perez. He probably won't be wearing that two-toned undershirt again...at least, not on the baseball field.
Video via MLB.com.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
