They've Got the World on Their Shoulders

At press time, the Little League World Series was in high gear in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Eight United States teams and eight international teams began the double elimination tournament on August 21^st, after being postponed one day by rain, and the local heroes hailing from Lewisberry, PA were still firmly in the mix heading into the semifinals on Saturday the 29th. 

Seen here celebrating one of their victories, Red Land Little League Baseball was considered by many to be the hometown favorites, playing just two hours north of their Harrisburg-area home base. 

Perhaps the pinnacle of all of youth sports, the LLWS is an annual tradition we cherish around here at Team Sports Planet. It helps us remember all the good things about youth sports and why we enjoy helping athletes from all over the world get what they need to compete.

 

The pageantry, the exhilaration of victory, and yes even sometimes the despair of defeat all provide a plethora of memorably thrilling and poignant moments each year.

Naturally, being in the baseball team uniforms business, our attention was particularly focused on the eye catching garments provided for the young athletes by Russell Athletic. Featuring vibrant solid colors on the body, these full-button, short sleeve jerseys certainly stand out from the crowd. What really makes them pop is the micro print on the shoulder area of the uniforms. Look closely and you'll see it's not powdered sugar on the players' shoulders, but the names of the states and countries in the region each team is representing. 

In the Wednesday night showdown between the Pennsylvania team and the boys from Texas, the dark blue being worn by the Redland Club from Lewisberry was hard to distinguish from the purple-clad Texans. It had some of us here at TSP HQ in Philadelphia accidentally rooting against the local favorites. Just goes to show you how tricky color matching and distinction can be, even in the Little League World Series! 

These uniforms are definitely outside the box and opinions seemed to be divided on whether they were a home run or a sacrifice fly. Some folks say when it comes to the national pastime, it's best to stick with the more traditional route. Others think it's best to swing for the fences in all things, even uniform design. 

What do you think? Let us know in the poll on the top right side of the page. We'll be sure to keep it in mind when planning our new looks for baseball custom uniforms.