Minor League Baseball has been known for not only the baseball experience but their crazy promotions. Anything from "Nothing Night" where fans get an empty box for a giveaway and there is no music or PA announcing in the ballpark, to anything revolving around something simple, like bacon. While that is within the norm for the MiLB, Major League Baseball may have had the most memorable, yet ugly, promotion of them all. The even crazier part of the promotion was it lasted all season. "Turn Ahead The Clock" was a promotion that lasted through the whole 1999 season, after the Seattle Mariners tried it out during the previous season. While many of you may have forgot or may not have even been old enough to remember, it deserves to be brought up again. I have decided to tell the history of the "Turn Ahead The Clock" promotion through words, and pictures. It may hurt your eyes, so be careful. There is a reason this lasted one season.
It all started in 1998 when the Seattle Mariners marketing team had the idea of playing off of throwback "Turn Back The Clock" games. They wanted to make the game have a futuristic feel, with uniforms and other aspects reflecting what the game could look like in the "space age" year of 2021 (I think they were a bit off with us being in the space age in five years, but who knows). Players even got involved, as Ken Griffey Jr. helped design the uniforms for the game. This was the result:
Recommended for you
The players were allowed to wear their hats backwards, cut the sleeves off and even wear their shirts un-tucked, until the umpires (clad in silver "futuristic" uniforms) said they could not because of the potential for batters to have an advantage with the higher chance of getting hit by a pitch. They also added other futuristic features to the game including: a robot delivering the ceremonial first pitch ball to Mr. Scott from "Star Trek", changing the Northwest Airlines billboard to "Northwest Spacelines" and even working with the opponent, the Kansas City Royals, to get them to wear special futuristic uniforms.
Check these ones out:
You would think this would last one game, right? Wrong! Major League Baseball loved the idea so much that they decided there would be "Turn Ahead The Clock" games league wide during the 1999 season. They even got Century 21 Real Estate to sponsor the whole thing. A few teams took it very seriously, incorporating their own different ideas for their uniforms and game presentation. Some examples were:
The New York Mets decided that by 2021 they would no longer be playing their home games in New York. Instead, they gave a sneak peek of the uniforms they would wear after they moved to the planet Mercury. Be ready folks, in 2021 you may have to travel a little further to see your beloved Mercury Mets play their home games. Be sure you are wearing proper attire for the weather.
The Philadelphia Phillies decided to put an American Flag patch on their jerseys. This doesn't seem different until you realize there are 60 stars on the flag. The Phillies made the bold prediction we would add 10 more states by 2021. Not much ground is being made on that front, but Puerto Rico keeps playing with the idea of being number 51 so we shall see.
The Minnesota Twins added a "60th Anniversary" patch as the games in 2021 will most likely include one on their uniforms. We will be looking forward to seeing these bad boys back on the field in five years at Target Field.
The Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms look like some kid's pajamas, much like the other teams who did this promotion. Unlike most teams, who just printed the names on the back of the jerseys vertically, they also printed the numbers that way.
It wasn't just the uniforms that got changed, though.
In a game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, some positions got renamed. Shortstop was renamed "Intermediate Station" and the Outfield positions were renamed "Left Sector", "Center Sector" and "Right Sector". Tony Gwynn was hands down the greatest player to ever play "Right Sector" in history.
Names were even changed. Jason Isringhausen, relief pitcher for the New York (Mercury) Mets, had too long of a last name to put on the jerseys in a vertical manner. For his special case, the Mets simply put "Izzy" on the back of his jersey, making him one of only a few players to have his nickname on the back of his jersey in the MLB (the XFL perfected this practice just two years later).
One team that dodged this promotional bullet was the Boston Red Sox. Their game was the last scheduled "Turn Ahead The Clock" game, but because of a shipment problem caused by Hurricane Floyd their jerseys did not arrive on time. Unfortunately, the jersey was still revealed.
At least they didn't have to wear them.
Here are some other designs that will help you get a feel for what this promotion brought to the table:
The Cleveland Indians had some beauties.
Honestly, the Colorado Rockies didn't look half bad. Even on an old-school guy like Jim Leyland.
The Arizona Diamondbacks had futuristic uniforms that actually fit in with their uniform set from back in the day. Those colors are great, but the design is definitely questionable.
The Angels had a logo in the 90s that just seemed to be made for this type of promotion.
Unfortunately, the "Iron Man" Cal Ripken Jr. had to wear these duds. Baseball purists will probably flinch at the sight of this one.
Not all teams agreed to wear these uniforms, however. The Yankees, Cubs, Blue Jays, Rangers, Expos (maybe they knew they were not going to be around in 2021), Astros, Reds, and Dodgers all refused to take part in the promotion. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was asked, "Don't you want fans to be able to see what the Yankees' uniform design will look like in 2021?" He responded with: "We're already wearing it." I'm not a Steinbrenner fan, but that's a great response. It also may be the only prediction this promotion got right, besides the Expos not having a 2021 uniform.
Overall, it is hard to say if this promotion was a flop (it was financially and critically), or a success (as people still talk about it and it is remembered by some baseball fans). Overall, it is interesting to look back on this promotion. It is also not hard to tell this was definitely a promotion that screams "90s era". The MLB may want to forget about it, but it was definitely fun digging it up and seeing it for myself. I'm sure these jerseys are available somewhere on the internet, in case you want to wow some fans at the next game you go to.
