Michael Sansone, a left-handed reliever for Salem, the Red Sox Single-A affiliate, strolled from the bullpen to the mound on Tuesday night, ready to take over in the bottom of the ninth inning of a road game against Hickory (Rangers) at L.P. Frans Stadium.
There was just one problem.
Sansone wore red socks, but he also sported a red jersey when all his teammates were wearing blue. Considering baseball isn’t soccer -- pitchers aren’t allowed to wear different colors as goalkeepers do -- the Salem reliever was directed by the umpires to change.
The southpaw found a replacement, grabbing a blue uniform top from a teammate in the Salem dugout and putting it right over his red jersey so play could resume. Hickory Crawdads broadcaster Brian Rushing sympathized with Sansone’s plight.
“In Minor League Baseball, it happens,” Rushing said. “Sometimes you forget a jersey, so you’ve got to pull another one on. It just becomes part of the territory.”
Sansone might have had the wrong jersey, but he had the right stuff: Despite allowing three hits and a run, he finished out the game -- a 12-6 Salem win.