Wednesday, June 16, 1999McKeon fights Mets' fashion
Reds manager irks Valentine
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati EnquirerReds manager Jack McKeon indicated that he would give New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine the shirt off his back — as long as it conformed with baseball's rules.
One day after angering Valentine by asking umpires to order Mets pitcher Pat Mahomes to remove his orange T-shirt, McKeon insisted that his motives were purely professional, not personal.
“I've got nothing against Bobby Valentine,” McKeon said. “If it was (Larry) Dierker or Dusty Baker, I'd have done the same thing. ... I just feel bad that he feels I'm picking on him. I'd do the same to anybody. I certainly have to look out for the welfare of my players and my team. I like the guy. I've always gotten along with him.”
McKeon pulled out the rulebook and cited regulation 1.11 (a), which read in part, “All players on a team shall wear uniforms identical in color, trim and style ... Any part of an undershirt exposed to view shall be of a uniform solid color for all players on a team ... No player whose uniform does not conform to that of his teammates shall be permitted to participate in a game.”
Other Mets were wearing black T-shirts Monday, prompting McKeon's act. It recalled a June 2 game in New York when the Reds asked Mets pitcher Jason Isringhausen to blacken white markings on his glove — another no-no.
“We're not out there looking for stuff,” McKeon said. “It's ironic that it happened against these guys on both occasions.”
Valentine was still annoyed Tuesday: “I could have, at any time, gone out and had (the Reds') white wristbands removed. But I've never done that. The one overriding rule in the National League the last two years has been to speed up the game, not to do anything that's going to slow down the game.”
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