If you are a Houston Astros fan or a fan of old guns, circle April 10 and April 20 on your calendars. Those are the days the Astros will wear throwback jerseys, complete with a controversial handgun on them.
For the first three years of their existence, the Astros were called the Colt .45s and their jersey had a Colt on it.
For their 50th anniversary, the Astros are wearing all of their old jerseys on Fridays this season (yes, including the infamous multi-colored rainbow one!). When the team told MLB its plan, the league pulled the ultimate PC move and said it couldn't wear the pistol.
Baseball purists and gun-lovers were outraged, and after several months of negotiations with the team, the league gave in, so now the original jersey will be worn unedited.
New team owner Jim Crane said in a statement:
"We made this decision for a number of reasons. We listened to our fans, who were almost unanimously in favor of wearing the original jersey. We wanted to honor all of our past uniforms during this special 50th anniversary season, and we felt it was important to be true to the tradition of the franchise."
Former players are also pleased.
"I think it's critically important." said Bob Aspromonte, an original Colt .45. "That's the start of the franchise. Those three years were incredible to the growth of the franchise. Those Colt .45s uniforms are really special, and to watch that domed stadium being built right alongside while we were playing, it all ties in. You can't take that away. The Colt .45s uniform was well-liked by everyone. I think it's a great jersey and was a great tie-in for a new franchise."
Now, I'm not a gun owner or gun rights fanatic, i generally support reasonable gun control policies and I am not generally in favor of gratuous public displays of guns, but come on! It is effing stupid that MLB made an issue of this. Wear the damned shirts! It's not like the shirts are going to harm anyone.