Important spring training update: Who was the best dressed?

A lot has gone on in the baseball world since the end of the lockout. All-Star players are switching teams, owners are crying poor and trading all their good players, and the Yankees have made a very unexpected move. It’s all exciting and fun. But one thing that has been on my mind: What did these players wear to their first day of spring training?

There has been so much anticipation of this day in the last four or five months. Nobody knew for sure when it might happen. If I was in that position, I would have put a lot of time into thinking about my arrival day fit. Whether every player actually felt that way is obviously an unknown, but we can get an idea based on what they wore. Unfortunately, we don’t have video or photo evidence for every player, so this won’t be completely comprehensive, but we will do our best with what we have.

Also, in the best interest of not violating some players, I won’t be including every single picture or analysis in this piece. I’m sure if they were alerted that it was “Bring Your Best Drip” day, then the fits would have been outstanding across the board. For now, we will simply highlight the best outfits of the day, but who knows, maybe when Opening Day rolls around, we can redo this to see what the best of each player’s closet is.

Most of the fits in today’s analysis appeared in this post, so refer back here as needed:

We’ll get started with the Cali boy, Giancarlo Stanton. Bryan Hoch caught a clip of the entire fit.

It’s a solid job. I guarantee you that not many other players in the league showed up to camp in ripped jeans, and for that reason alone, I respect Stanton’s fit. The hat matches the jeans, and he also went with a match of the classic baseball three quarter shirt and some Nike Huraches. He is simultaneously ready to lift weights but also just go for stroll. Not my favorite one of the day, but a solid B performance for the Yankees slugger.

The next one will certainly make you sad, but that’s okay.

Gio Urshela was ready to go. He wasn’t too flashy but there is something about pulling up with just your new, untouched gloves and a crispy Victus wood bat that adds to the entire fit. He’s sporting some normal athletic pants, a white sweatshirt, and like Stanton, good ole training sneakers. It’s the combination of simplicity and happiness and it deserves a B+. Little did he know this would be his last fit for the Yankees.

If you skip to 0:14 in the first linked arrival video, you’ll see Zack Britton in true nerd form:

@Yankees

He did it better than everyone else. He truly does look like a nerdy scout with his glasses, apple watch, and clipboard. There were a lot of low effort, nerdy fits on Sunday and Monday, but this one was easily the best. Another B performance.

I said I wouldn’t throw much hate around in this post, but I’m definitely a little confused by Josh Donaldson’s choices here. One thing I’ll give him props for is that he definitely cares:

There is a ton of effort put in here, rightfully so. It’s your first day in pinstripes and you’re known to be a flashy player. You have to show up. I love the choice of the Jordan 3s. It’s not one of the popular Jordans, but that’s all personal preference. Donaldson also made sure the pants brought the attention to the 3s. Another job well done. The issue here Is the sweater. It looks like a bullet proof vest. That’s weird. I won’t read into it much more than just the aesthetics. If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve given Josh an A-, but instead, he gets a B-.

Okay, now onto my three favorite fits of the day. Fast-forward to 0:21 and you see Luis Gil looking absolutely incredible in his all-Adidas jumpsuit:

@Yankees

I’m more of a Nike/Jordan person, but this is still great. There isn’t much else to say other than that. A- performance.

Incredible choice, Gleyber. Since it’s spring training, you don’t necessarily want to bring out the best overall fit, but you do want to bring out the fly kicks. Gleyber is rocking the Atmos x Air Max 1 DLX Animal Pack sneakers. It’s a limited edition Nike that you don’t always see people sporting unless they really know their sneakers. Matching the t-shirt to the kicks is essential when the kicks are this great. He also looks like he’s in pretty good shape (BSOHL?). A+ job here.

Like Torres, Miguel Andujar’s choices are perfect head to toe. It’s great to see Andújar in good health after a scary incident back home, and now rocking this high-level fit. He obviously knows what he’s doing. He has Nike SB everything on in terms of clothing and most importantly, some fly Air Force 1s. I know sneakers very well, and for some reason, I can’t even identify these. Either they are custom or extremely limited edition. Either way, his entire fit has a theme that is completed by the sneakers. Another A+ effort and execution.

There we have it. Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andújar to take the crown for 2022 spring training arrival fits. A lot of people might shrug this off, but you what they say, look good feel good. I’m super excited for what these two will bring to Opening Day. Let’s hope they’re on the roster by then!