Paul Lukas of UniWatch figured out that MLB is putting all teams in uniforms with camouflage design highlights on Memorial Day. He figured it out because the team store for each team has the jerseys on sale, with the note “as worn on-field, Memorial Day, May 27, 2013.”
I’m informed by an MLB source that the league “isn’t making a dime” on these jerseys. And that proceeds are going to the Welcome Back Veterans charity. Which is admirable.
But even with proceeds going to charity, there are some who believe that the idea of having players in camo on Memorial Day is a misguided one. Lukas feels that way. As does Dave Brown from Big League Stew. You should go read their pieces in full for their position, but the upshot is that Memorial Day is not a day to honor the military as a whole. It’s to honor those who died while serving. Brown:
It’s just disturbing how many people don’t know what Memorial Day is for, and that they’ll just mindlessly go along with anything that sounds remotely patriotic. Memorial Day has become a synonym for anything at all to do with ” ‘Merica,” and it’s a disgrace.
While Major League Baseball is not choosing to do one thing over another – I’m told that in addition to the jerseyes the league will do more appropriate Memorial Day things such as honoring a moment of silence for fallen veterans — Brown’s argument resonantes pretty strongly with me. We as a country are suffering from no shortage of patriotism and open embrace of our armed forces these days. It would be nice if we spent a little more time reflecting on the implications of war and, at least on Memorial Day, spending a little less time reveling in the broader trappings of the armed forces and patriotism.
But hey: free beach towel.
