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About three months ago, longtime reader Steve Dodell told us about how he designed the baseball uniforms for the Bronx high school where he’s a math teacher and the new baseball coach. At the time, he was only able to show us his initial sketches and the resulting manufacturer’s mock-ups. But now that the physical uniforms have arrived, he sent me some follow-up notes.
As you may recall, Steve’s team is going with reversible jerseys instead of separate home and road jerseys:
At the time, I wrote, “Has anyone reading this ever dealt with reversible jerseys? It seems like one side would button left over right (like a standard men’s shirt), while the other side would be right over left (like a women’s blouse), right?”
Now that the jerseys have arrived, Steve says:
Yes, you are correct. Each side has its own set of black buttons. I would have used clear or grey buttons on the grey side of the jersey, but the vendor did not offer me the chance to specify a button color. The maroon side of the jersey buttons the standard way, left over right; the grey side buttons right over left. And since the buttons are in the same place on both sides, it is kind of difficult to button, as space is really tight to manipulate the buttons into the buttonholes.
I had also wondered aloud if the reversible format wouldn’t be able to have the usual inner tagging. Steve says, “Correct again. The only type of tagging at all is a tiny size tag on the grey side, sewn into the side seam. There is no other tagging, not even laundry instructions.”
Interesting!
Obviously, they can just snip all of those little size tags. Unfortunately, they can’t do anything about the grey side of the jerseys not matching the grey pants. “Makes MLB’s mismatched greys look great by comparison,” says Steve. Check it out:
Yikes!
Another thing this uniform has in common with the current MLB fiasco: an awkward placket break.
On the plus side, Steve says the cap came out great and “everyone in the school wants one”:
———
Despite the minor flaws, Steve says the kids love the uniforms. Big thanks to him for sharing this experience with us (and also for the important work he does as a teacher), and best wishes to the team, whose first game is today. Go Lions!!
Too Good for the Ticker
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the tequila sunrise house!
(Big thanks to Jonathan Dodd for this one.)
Culinary Corner: The Annual (and Final!) Derby Pie Edition
Three days from now is the first Saturday of May, which means it’s time for the Kentucky Derby. And that means I’ll be making the dish I always make on Derby Day: a derby pie, which is a lot like a pecan pie but made with walnuts and chocolate chips.
Derby pie is super-delicious and easy to make. Here’s how to do it:
If you know how to make pie crust, make some dough and position it in a 9-inch pie pan; if you don’t know how or just can’t be bothered, get yourself a frozen 9-inch pie shell.
Set your oven to 350º. While it’s heating up, get a big mixing bowl and beat together four eggs, a cup of light corn syrup, 3/4 cup of light brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of melted butter. Then add 3 tablespoons of bourbon (or maybe a smidge more than that, if you’re so inclined), a tablespoon of vanilla extract, a tablespoon of flour, 6 ounces of chocolate chips, and a cup of chopped walnuts.
Mix all of that together, pour it into the pie dough or frozen shell, and pop it into the oven for an hour. It’ll puff up high like a soufflé, but it’ll settle back down while it cools, which you should allow it to do for an hour or so. This up/down motion usually results in some cracks in the top of the pie, which used to annoy me, but now I’ve grown to like it:
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, the chocolate chips always sink to the bottom (I guess they’re less buoyant than the walnuts), resulting in a nice two-tone effect:
It’s traditional to serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream, although I don’t bother with that — the pie is rich enough on its own. Less traditional and even less necessary, but nonetheless delicious, is this bourbon sauce, which is pretty much the bomb.
Trust me, there won’t be any leftovers.
NYC Party Reminder
Remember, May 26 is Uni Watch’s 25th anniversary and will also be my final day. To celebrate, the great hockey-rock band the Zambonis will be playing at the Bowery Electric in Manhattan, along with comedian/accordionist Dave Hill. Please join us! You can get your tickets here. All the proceeds will to the band, not to me. Hope to see you there!
• • • • •
Our latest raffle winner is Luke Vaughan, who’s won himself a Uni Watch membership card. Congrats to him, and thanks again to Corey Zoldan for sponsoring this one. — Paul
That cap is fantastic! Kudos all the way around on that project!
Agreed on the cap! The uni in general is really nice despite a few nitpicks.
I’d love to see some more photos, especially the hat. Looks great despite the minor flaws!
Great find Johnathan Dodd, that house looks awesome!!!
Go FDA III Lions! That hat is very cool indeed and the reversible jersey is a clever idea for budgetary reasons. I love the maroon with gold pinstripes design, it has a nice classic college look to it. Do they play home games with those grey pants as weel or do they have maroon home pants with the same pinstripes?
Love the pie and if I had a house instead of an appartment on the third floor I would copy that paint scheme right away and drink tequila sunrises in front of it every single day.
Those swirly buttons are awesome.
“Lions” uniform is actually very similar to my Jr High baseball team in Fla. Golfview – late 70’s.
Their football uniform was based on the Green Bay Packers traditional uniform and logo but with maroon and gold instead of green. Also, instead of a Packers style helmet stripe they were square dashes across the top.
Very cool to finally see the physical uniforms come in. They look great!
I don’t believe I’ve ever noticed this in Paul’s prior listings re Derby Pie, but walnuts? My parents lived in Louisville, KY for many years, and I’ve had lots of Derby Pie. I’ve always had/seen it with pecans, not walnuts. From searching on line, seems the nuts are both commonly used. Paul, ever had it with pecans? I suppose I only ask because I prefer them to walnuts.
Pretty cool! Love the reversible nature despite the quirks. Hate to say it because it seems overdone (and usually poorly done) with the MLB CC uniforms, but black pants might work for both sides of the jersey and avoid the gray mismatch? Probably not room in the budget or schedule for this season, but just thinking out loud. Good luck this season!
“awkward placket break”
Never thought I’d say this, but I’m starting to warm up to the pullover top. Really, why does a baseball jersey need buttons. Or a good compromise is the henley top.
If the team went with Athletic gold or Maroon pants for away games, there would not be a grey/grey mismatch issue!. Would be different for sure.
Love the Tequila Sunrise house.
Thanks for all the positive comments. I would have replied sooner, but today was our first game and it was a crazy day. We only have one set of pants, the grey, for budgetary reasons. While we did not win today, we looked great in the maroon tops and we will keep trying our best. As luck would have it, we got a new student today who says he was scouted in the DR as a pitcher! Hopefully we can get him rostered ASAP.
That cap is fantastic! Kudos all the way around on that project!
Agreed on the cap! The uni in general is really nice despite a few nitpicks.
I’d love to see some more photos, especially the hat. Looks great despite the minor flaws!
Great find Johnathan Dodd, that house looks awesome!!!
Go FDA III Lions! That hat is very cool indeed and the reversible jersey is a clever idea for budgetary reasons. I love the maroon with gold pinstripes design, it has a nice classic college look to it. Do they play home games with those grey pants as weel or do they have maroon home pants with the same pinstripes?
Love the pie and if I had a house instead of an appartment on the third floor I would copy that paint scheme right away and drink tequila sunrises in front of it every single day.
Those swirly buttons are awesome.
“Lions” uniform is actually very similar to my Jr High baseball team in Fla. Golfview – late 70’s.
Their football uniform was based on the Green Bay Packers traditional uniform and logo but with maroon and gold instead of green. Also, instead of a Packers style helmet stripe they were square dashes across the top.
Very cool to finally see the physical uniforms come in. They look great!
I don’t believe I’ve ever noticed this in Paul’s prior listings re Derby Pie, but walnuts? My parents lived in Louisville, KY for many years, and I’ve had lots of Derby Pie. I’ve always had/seen it with pecans, not walnuts. From searching on line, seems the nuts are both commonly used. Paul, ever had it with pecans? I suppose I only ask because I prefer them to walnuts.
Pretty cool! Love the reversible nature despite the quirks. Hate to say it because it seems overdone (and usually poorly done) with the MLB CC uniforms, but black pants might work for both sides of the jersey and avoid the gray mismatch? Probably not room in the budget or schedule for this season, but just thinking out loud. Good luck this season!
“awkward placket break”
Never thought I’d say this, but I’m starting to warm up to the pullover top. Really, why does a baseball jersey need buttons. Or a good compromise is the henley top.
If the team went with Athletic gold or Maroon pants for away games, there would not be a grey/grey mismatch issue!. Would be different for sure.
Love the Tequila Sunrise house.
Thanks for all the positive comments. I would have replied sooner, but today was our first game and it was a crazy day. We only have one set of pants, the grey, for budgetary reasons. While we did not win today, we looked great in the maroon tops and we will keep trying our best. As luck would have it, we got a new student today who says he was scouted in the DR as a pitcher! Hopefully we can get him rostered ASAP.
Go Lions! Lots of succes with the program!
Thanks!