“Baseball uniforms are a unique beast. The shirts have buttons (though, for some reason, they don’t count as “formal wear” at weddings), the pants have belts and the players need to wear hats to keep the sun out of their eyes. But nothing is as unique to baseball as the stirrup sock.”

Source: The long history of baseball’s most glorious fashion accessory: The stirrup sock

Baseball uniforms are very interesting, but nothing is as unique to baseball as the stirrup sock.

The tradition can be traced back to 1868, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team to expose their socked legs.

“The stirrup has become part of the visual signature of baseball as no other sport used it. For a certain generation, myself included, it was kind of a key moment when you got your first Little League uniform and got to pull up those stirrups. I remember how official that felt.”

Stirrups give a player the ability to show off his unique style and pizazz . As one old-time announcer said, “I definitely do notice when guys on the other team wear them and they look sharp. There’s a lot of good looks out there.”