The Astros should be required to play in these spacesuits from the 1950s
Unlike most other sports, in which have its players' uniforms evolve many times over the course of the game's history, baseball uniforms have largely remained the same for nearly a century. Some argue that players should be able to play in something that looks a little more comfortable than the traditional button-up jerseys we are so accustomed to. Others insist that baseball uniforms are beautiful and should not be messed with.
In turn, our conception of what baseball players could wear remains fairly limited. Any glimpse at some sort of alternative uniform can be quite entertaining. On Wednesday, the National Air and Space Museum shared a great photo of a few fine gentlemen playing baseball in full-blown spacesuits:
While they never played baseball on the Moon, it doesn’t mean baseball hasn’t been played while wearing spacesuits. ⚾👨🚀 In this photo from the late 1950s, a player swings a baseball bat wearing a B.F. Goodrich Mark IV spacesuit. More on the strange game: https://t.co/SL8FytDMdP pic.twitter.com/uPcCZf75WC
— National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) February 7, 2019
The photos were taken at the U.S. Naval Air Material Center in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, these men were not donning the spacesuits to show off an actual baseball uniform alternative. Rather, they were attempting to demonstrate the flexibility of a newly designed spacesuit.
Nevertheless, this look at the suit in action also begs the obvious question: Why haven't we seen the Houston Astros suit up in full space attire for a game yet? For one thing, this feels like something Orbit would love.
We have actually seen an example of what this might look like with a more modern space get-up. During the Astros' World Series run in 2017, Houston-based NASA showed its support for the team with some Astros-themed suits:
NASA creates amazing tribute to cheer on Space City during World Series https://t.co/m1PpU8yx4G pic.twitter.com/LrRgn3CGa3
— Bay Area Citizen (@BayAreaCitizen) October 31, 2017
Maybe it is a bit too much to ask of the Astros to actually wear something like this in-game, but if anyone has the talent to pull it off, it's Houston. Right, Jose?