Out With the Losing, In With the Red!

A FEW YEARS AGO, a study came out showing that when two equally matched opponents faced off against each other, athletes wearing red were more likely to win. In the baseball world, we need look no further than last year's World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies to begin the debate. But wait, that's not all. In 2007 the Boston Red Sox won their second World Series in four years, having introduced red alternate home jerseys in 2004. In fact, since 2002 when the Anaheim Angels switched over to red as their primary color and won their first World Championship, teams wearing red have won it all five out of six times when there was a red-colored team. The lone red loser was the Houston Astros in 2005 when they lost to the Chicago White Sox, albeit wearing a darker brick red.

The trend is now in full force with team marketing departments going on red alert. That's why we saw the Atlanta Braves sporting laser red alternate home jerseys the last couple of years as well as the Washington Nationals with their red tops. The Angels also added a red alternate top to their wardrobe, while the Arizona Diamondbacks shed the purple and gold of their lone 2001 championship season in favor of a darker red color scheme.

Perhaps the most interesting application of this study was the decision by the Pittsburgh Pirates to introduce a red alternate vest top (w/ black sleeves) worn on friday home games last season. As absurd as that may sound to Bucs fans who live and die with the yellow and black, something needed to be changed in Bucsville. That's for sure.

Like it or not, the "red phenomenon" is here to stay for awhile and will go down as a major influence on baseball uniforms of the 00's.