Lookouts keep rolling in black
When infielder Ryan Walker joined the Chattanooga Lookouts a month into last season, he was informed about a change in the dress code.
“They said I needed a black belt and a black undershirt,” Walker said. “I was like, ‘OK, here we go.’”
Once labeled as alternates to cream-colored uniforms the Lookouts were expected to wear most afternoons and evenings at AT&T Field, the black jerseys with “NOOGA” across the front and the accompanying white pants have become the redesigned clothing of choice for Chattanooga’s pitchers and position players. The cream-colored uniforms that recognize past looks of a franchise that dates back to 1885 have been worn fewer than five times this season, while the road gray uniforms have been worn just 10 or 12 times.
Black is where it’s at for a team that won its eighth straight game with Wednesday night’s 5-3 dumping of the Tennessee Smokies at AT&T Field.
“When we wear the black top with the white pants, the pants are similar to the pants we wear in the big leagues,” Lookouts first-year manager Jake Mauer said, “so I think they fit a little different and better. The black tops are kind of a different material and are lighter, and we’ve actually gotten a lot of comments from people about how much they like the black.
“It boils down to the starting pitchers, because they pick what we’re going to wear that day.”
Mauer and Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo aren’t about to challenge the players on their uniform choice given that the Lookouts now have won 22 of their past 24 games counting Wednesday’s win. A Jonathan Rodriguez single to left field in the first inning scored Edgar Corcino to give Chattanooga a 1-0 advantage, and Nick Gordon’s double to center in the second scored Travis Harrison to put the Lookouts up 3-1.
Levi Michael doubled to right in the third inning to score Walker to make it 4-2, and that was enough comfort for Lookouts starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez, who yielded seven hits and two runs in seven innings while striking out six.
When asked about the new uniforms early last season, former Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz said, “We’re going to do our best to try and keep them from wearing the black ones all the time.”
That turned out futile. “I know I wasn’t here when they established that at the start of last year, but black gets it done,” Walker said. “It started because they are the most comfortable, and now it’s just what we wear.”
Said outfielder LaMonte Wade: “It’s been working, so why change it? We’re going to keep it the way it is. They’re comfortable.”