Tattoos And Other Taboos

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As the baseball season opens this week, fans may notice that the league seems to be focusing as much on what players put on their bodies as on what they put in them. After having to contend with the steroid controversy earlier this year, Major League Baseball is making sure players clean up their acts in other ways. The league has told Blue Jays pitcher Justin Miller, above, that he'll have to cover the tattoos that adorn his arms with long sleeves so as not to distract other players. In the past, similar concerns have led to skirmishes and new rules of sartorial conduct.

Seeing Red over Orange
JOHN FRANCO
Reds manager Jack McKeon in 1999 interrupted a game to protest the orange T shirts worn by Franco and Met teammate Pat Mahomes

Ringing Ears About an Earring
ARTHUR RHODES
Distracting jewelry is banned after a brawl nearly broke out in 2001 when a Cleveland batter insisted that pitcher Rhodes remove his earring

Pants Patrol
MANNY RAMIREZ
The Boston slugger likes his clothing loose, but the league's latest labor agreement requires all players to wear fitted pants and tops

Pay Tribute at Your Peril
LUTHER HACKMAN
In honor of deceased teammate Darryl Kile, Hackman and others added Kile's initials to their caps. Now league approval is required