Rays’ manager Joe Maddon likes to wear a hoodie over his jersey — or more likely, over a t-shirt in lieu of a jersey. Major League Baseball has put the kibosh on that, however, telling him that the hoodie is not approved for on-field wear. Maddon said he’ll stop wearing the hoodie….

I think managers should be able to wear anything they want to. Maybe we’d get some style out of these guys.

– Craig Calcaterra, Hardball Talk.

When I read the top, newsy part of this story, I figured I’d link to it as an excuse to make the point that managers should be able to wear anything they want. Then I read to the bottom and found that Calcaterra said just that.

But I mean, duh. I guess I can sort of abide having the base coaches wear uniforms, since they’re on-field personnel and all. But baseball pants really aren’t very flattering, and I imagine Razor Shines could come up with something still a little more dashing — but still appropriate for on-field use — if left to his own devices.

And managers? The tradition dates back to player-managers, but at this point there’s really no good reason for the manager to be in uniform. Let’s see some seersucker suits.