Jacket Required

UPDATE (April 21, 2010):

After our scathing criticism (below) of MLB's no-hoodie policy, the grand-high Commissioner of Baseball himself, Bud Selig, has declared that Joe Maddon can wear his signature outerwear.

This is a triumph not just for this humble blogger but for all bloggers the baseball-blogging world over. Well done!

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ORIGINAL POST (April 20, 2010):

The MLB powers that be have proclaimed that Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon can no longer wear his ubiquitous hoodie.

The baseball fashion police would prefer have insisted that Maddon wear the official Tampa Bay Rays dugout jacket. I mean, the only reason it's called a "dugout jacket" in the first place is because the manager supposedly wears one. Outside of the days when the starting pitcher is feeling a bit chilly, the manager is usually the only guy sporting one.

For his part, Maddon has said that he finds the pullover (which is also official Tampa Bay Rays gear by the way) is simply more comfortable. I can certainly see Joe's point on this one - some people just don't feel comfortable wearing these jackets.

While they have come a long way in the last decade or so, dugout jackets still tend to be fairly ugly, overly-shiny and puffy in all the wrong places - particularly for a man with a bit of, um, post-athletic girth.

Take for example, an older gentleman, such as Lou Piniella, manager of my beloved godforsaken Chicago Cubbies. When Lou dons his official Cubs dugout jacket, it appears as though he's trying to smuggle Alfonso Soriano out of the ballpark ... or at least out of his lineup.

The problem for Joe Maddon is I'm just not sure the hoodie is doing him any favors in that regard.

What baseball needs to do is mandate exactly which pieces of officially licensed gear are "good enough" for the dugout and which are better suited for the homely, unwashed masses watching the game in the stands and at home.

The biggest upside of the MLB decision is that, at least for now, the baseball world remains safe from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Now that guy knows how wear a hoodie!