I’ve started to pick up on a somewhat of a theme over the past few weeks. For whatever reason, MLB players don’t seem to like when things they say end up as catch phrases on t-shirts. I’m not sure if it’s because they want a cut of the profits, they’re embarrassed by the attention, or some other reason but, Dallas Braden and Dustin Pedroia have both recently expressed discontent over shirts that have been made in their honor.
Braden is the most recent example. He thinks the “Get Off My Mound” shirts the Oakland Athletics are selling — which is of course a reference to the famous barking attack Braden unleashed on A-Rod when he ran across the back of the mound — are a poor marketing tool and he’d rather the incident go away. Here’s what he had to say about the shirts, courtesy of Out of Bounds via New York Daily News:
It’s just not cool,” Braden told the New York Daily News, referring to the shirt. “It’s just a serious, gross lack of tact. At the end of the day, I hope I do not become associated with that kind of approach.”
“They’re trying to generate revenue, trying to get butts in the seat, I can see that,” Braden said. “It’s almost like, at what cost do you do that? They didn’t have permission. They were told on multiple occasions, that, no, it’s not a good idea. It’s not going to be approved. They just kind of put the horse-blinders on and ran with it.”
I understand Braden probably wants to bury the hatchet and maybe even regrets spazzing out in the heat of the moment, but the A’s marketing people obviously know what they’re doing. He may not like the idea, but I think it’s pretty obvious it’s a good one and he’ll have to deal with that once he sees thousands of A’s fans walking around wearing the shirt.
Apparently Braden isn’t the only player who dislikes a shirt that was created because of his actions. Dustin Pedroia coined the phrase, “Laser Show, Relax.” when asked about David Ortiz’s early season struggles. At the time, Pedroia reminded reporters of what happened when everyone questioned his hitting abilities after his rookie season struggles. Barstool Sports took the liberty of turning the phrase into a shirt, and Pedroia wishes they hadn’t. Here’s what he had to say about the shirt on WEEI-Boston:
Take it from one who knows; the shirt is pretty popular. I’ve seen many people walking around in them so once again you can’t say the shirt is a bad idea. Maybe these guys are looking for royalties? Whatever the case I can’t say I see the big deal. In Pedroia’s defense, you can tell he was joking around. Braden, on the other hand, should probably just relax and worry about getting himself healthy. Whether he hates the shirt or not, is it really something that’s worth being this outspoken over?
Sources:
Dallas Braden would rather not wear this ‘get off my mound’ t-shirt [Out of Bounds via NY Daily News]
Pedroia Just Said Our Laser Show Shirts Suck On WEEI [Barstool Sports]
