Here’s the 3-2 pitch– hey what’s that?

By: Angie Wiatrowski

Ever wonder why pitchers decide to wear sleeves in 80-degree weather during a game? Well, for Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Justin Miller, it’s because his tattoos are considered distracting. More than 50 percent of Miller’s body is covered in tattoos. No one knows who made the complaint, but he was asked to wear sleeves when he pitches because his tattoos are colored and they distract the batters. His whole left arm is mainly covered with multicolored clown tattoos, and most of the tattoos on his right arm aren’t visible. Miller throws right-handed and the only visible tattoos are the words “love” and “hate” on his knuckles. In an article from ESPN.com, Miller said, “It’s not a part of the uniform, it’s a part of me.” He also added that his left arm shouldn’t even be considered a distraction. How distracting can it really be?

Apparently this sort of issue goes beyond tattoos. A similar situation came up with former Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Arthur Rhodes and former Cleveland Indians’ shortstop Omar Vizquel. Vizquel complained that Rhodes’ diamond-studded earrings were blinding and distracting. Rhodes had to take them out. I can see if he had an obnoxious chain necklace with a clock or something, but his earrings?

An even weirder scenario comes with Rule 1.11 E passed in 1957. “No part of the uniform shall include a pattern that imitates or suggests the shape of a baseball.” Is someone really going to mistake a baseball on a logo for the actual thing? Really? For years, the New York Mets logo had a baseball on the arm patch, and the “P” for the Philadelphia Phillies had the seams of a baseball. Just a bit ironic, yet umpires and Major League Baseball believe it’s a definite distraction. I thought the whole tattoo situation was pretty interesting, and after researching I came across all of these other instances and it just surprised me how much people pay attention to little things like that. Who knows what will become a distraction next.

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Angie Wiatrowski is a journalism student at Columbia College Chicago and has been an active journalist since freshman year of high school. She attended Minooka Community High school, where she was the Special Features editor for the school newspaper. She was born and raised around baseball and is a diehard Chicago White Sox fan. Also, check out her blog.

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2 Comments

  1. Multicolored clown tattoos?? Serious? I bet that’s a big hit with the ladies.

    Comment by David on May 4, 2008

  2. How ’bout that guy who used to pitch with one arm? Maybe MLB should have told him he had to grow another limb.

    Comment by den cotton on May 5, 2008

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