It’s official: There’s something weird going on regarding Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón and the team’s sleeve advertisement.
As you may recall, Rodón’s sleeve just happen to be rolled up in a way that obscured the sleeve ad for the first two innings of a game on July 26 (which was his first start after the team added the sleeve ad). He later claimed, rather unpersuasively, that he had no idea the ad was obscured and that his sleeve had just magically “come up” on its own.
Fast forward to last night: Rodón was on the hill for the Yankees in Boston (with the Yanks wearing first responder caps because their game on Sept. 11 was rained out). As usual, the Yankees’ jerseys carried an ad patch on each player’s front-facing sleeve — except that the ad was missing from one player’s jersey. And who might that one player have been? None other than one Carlos Rodón.
Rodón pitched five innings last night. His right sleeve, where the ad would normally appear, was blank for the first four:
But someone in the Yanks’ hierarchy must have noticed, because look what suddenly appeared when Rodón went out for the bottom of the fifth:
Faaaaascinating.
Let’s shift into FAQ mode:
Did Rodón wear the sleeve ad the last time he pitched?
Yes.
What about the last time he pitched on the road?
Also yes. Photos indicate that he wore it without incident for every appearance between July 26 and last night.
Is it possible that they just somehow neglected to put the ad patch on his jersey?
Sure, anything’s possible. But to my knowledge, no other sleeve ad has gone missing from an MLB player’s jersey this season. Moreover, think about all the memorial patches, anniversary patches, and team-logo patches that teams wear — how often do we see any of them accidentally omitted from a jersey? Like, pretty much never, right? So while it’s theoretically possible that that’s what happened to Rodón, it seems highly improbable that such a rare mishap just happened to victimize the same player whose rolled-up sleeve was obscuring the sleeve ad six weeks ago.
In short: This doesn’t pass the smell test, at least for me. Your olfactory mileage may vary.
What’s Rodón’s gripe with the Yankees’ uni advertiser?
Beats me. Maybe they denied an insurance claim that he filed. Or maybe he thinks they’re woke. Or maybe he just doesn’t like uniform ads.
Did they just slap an adhesive ad patch onto his jersey in between the fourth and fifth innings, or did he change to a new ad-clad jersey?
Good question. Impossible to know, at least for now.
Update: Eagle-eyed reader/commenter Derek Linn points out that in the screen shot from the fifth inning, a stray white thread is visible on the “W” in Rodón’s jersey insignia:
That thread is not visible in the screen shots from the first four innings. That doesn’t necessarily prove that Rodón switched to a different jersey, but certainly lends credence to that idea.
Do you think we’ll ever find out the real story behind this?
Justing by how Rodón responded when asked about the rolled-up sleeve, I doubt he’ll ever provide a frank answer. (But if anyone connected to the Yankees has inside info on this, I’m all ears. Anonymity assured, of course.)
Did Rodón purchase a Uni Watch seam ripper from you?
Not yet! But Carlos, if you’re reading this, we’ve got you covered.
———
Rodón’s next start will likely be this Sunday in Pittsburgh. I for one will be paying close attention.
In the fifth inning picture there is a rogue white thread that goes across the right vertical portion of the “W” in NEW. There is no visible rogue white thread in that same spot on any of the previous innings. While it’s not definitive proof, it makes me think that he switched to a completely new jersey between the fourth and fifth innings.
Good spot! I’ve added that to the post.
When it’s hot and humid (as it was in Boston yesterday), pitchers go through four or five shirts (depending on how long they last) during a game. Ron Darling talks about that often on SNY broadcasts.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the second or third jersey he had on during the game. I wonder if he has (had?) multiple ad-less jerseys before he finally ran out and had to put one on that he wasn’t able to take a seam ripper to.
Also a string on the N at the top of the lower triangle. Doubt the jersey he was wearing got 2 snags while they sewed the patch on between bottoms of the inning.
He’s not the only one with an issue. Wearing that stiff, tacky patch for a third-rate insurance company is embarrassing. I would expect that from the Royals, Rays or Brewers, not the Yankees.
One only has to look at the concave ad on the convex sleeve to know that comfort is an issue. I’m sure there’s chafing. But a Chris Sale-type dustup will not play out in public. Teams and advertisers take their ads VERY seriously. David Wells is a retired old fart whose opinion means nothing.
Weird that the Royals, Rays, and Brewers are catching strays here when none of those supposedly tacky or embarrassing teams is wearing an ad patch. Someone is drinking the “Yankees mystique” kool-aid.
No, not at all. I’m saying most fans (including myself) would expect this kind of cash grab from a small market team—not from the almighty Yankees. Starr Insurance?? Never heard of them. It’s bad enough the Yankees went this route, but to do it with a third-rate insurer, c’mon. Chase, AmEx, Cadillac, Audi, or Mercedes would be a bit easier to accept. A premium brand partnering with MLB’s most successful team. But Starr Insurance??
Actually I think it would be the other way around. Small and mid-market teams would be more apt to slap on an ad patch whereas the cash-engorged Yankees would barely sniff at such a thing. But hey, more money is more money and now you know who Starr Insurance is.
Curious, but MLB Players Association did approve the ads right?
I am not saying individual players like Rodon might not be against them, for whatever reason, but the players signed off on this nonsense too, knowing they’d get a piece of the pie.
Regardless, any ad rebellion is a good one.
Correct, the union approved the use of uni ads in return for a cut of the revenue.
Perhaps Rodón was opposed to the $180 billion bailout Starr’s former subsidiary, AIG, received during the Great Recession. (Not that he would be wrong…)
The magazine did some international hockey pics (including local to me: 1962 Port Arthur Bearcats). Looks like they did a lot of soccer ones that also included international teams, as can be seen pictured at this site – Juventus FC, Manchester United, Brazil, Soccer, Bandy and Handball seem to be the more prevalent ones.
link
that should be and Brazil.
Then a new sentence:
Soccer, Bandy, and Handball seem to the most prevalent ones.
how great would it be if he stitch-ripped the patch off himself?
The way Rodon has pitched this year, you could just say he has issues … period.