Something happens inside anyone who puts on a baseball uniform. No matter your age, you feel youthful. No matter your occupation, you become a player. No matter your skill, you feel as if just wearing that uniform will allow you to transcend the status quo and transform to a spiritual awareness that is simple and true.

You can win. You are donned in the garb of the greatest sport on the planet. A sport fueled by the drive and ambition and determination that is at the heart of every American, those qualities that define this great country and all that it stands for: freedom, success, liberty and independence. Few other sports are characterized by how they emphasis the skill of the individual player.

It is team, but it is solo. Only you are at bat. Only you can hit the ball and make a play happen. You have your number. It is your uniform. You make the play. By far the most interesting aspect of baseball uniforms as this great American past time has evolved is the socks. Each team's identity was distinguished by the stocking colors, and the names usually followed suit.

Emblems on the socks were an additional symbol, but were not significant as they are today. The press was the source responsible for the use of nicknames for the different ball clubs, and they were consistently inconsistent. In 1901, the Detroit Tigers established the first constant display of an emblem by placing a small red tiger on the black, wool caps that spurted a trend of fans wanting to acquire a genuine Tiger cap, a rage that lives on even today!