Tattoos And Other Taboos

By Jeremy Caplan Sunday, Apr. 04, 2004
    • As the baseball season opens this week, fans may notice that the league seems to be focusing as much on what players put on their bodies as on what they put in them. After having to contend with the steroid controversy earlier this year, Major League Baseball is making sure players clean up their acts in other ways. The league has told Blue Jays pitcher Justin Miller, above, that he'll have to cover the tattoos that adorn his arms with long sleeves so as not to distract other players. In the past, similar concerns have led to skirmishes and new rules of sartorial conduct.

    Seeing Red over Orange
    JOHN FRANCO
    Reds manager Jack McKeon in 1999 interrupted a game to protest the orange T shirts worn by Franco and Met teammate Pat Mahomes

    Ringing Ears About an Earring
    ARTHUR RHODES
    Distracting jewelry is banned after a brawl nearly broke out in 2001 when a Cleveland batter insisted that pitcher Rhodes remove his earring

    Pants Patrol
    MANNY RAMIREZ
    The Boston slugger likes his clothing loose, but the league's latest labor agreement requires all players to wear fitted pants and tops

    Pay Tribute at Your Peril
    LUTHER HACKMAN
    In honor of deceased teammate Darryl Kile, Hackman and others added Kile's initials to their caps. Now league approval is required