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10 things to buy the baseball fan in your life this holiday season

Liz Roscher
·Staff writer
Mike Trout cuts a handsome figure on these socks from Stance. (stance.com)
Mike Trout cuts a handsome figure on these socks from Stance. (stance.com)

It’s the holiday season, and that means one thing: gift giving. Figuring out what to get the important people in your life can be stressful. You want to get them something more personal than a gift card, but what should it be? Well, if one of the people in your life is a baseball fan, this list can make the gift giving easier.

Stance Socks
Socks may seem boring, but not the way Stance does socks. You’ll be able to find a pair of socks for any kind of baseball fan, because Stance has a lot of socks. Logo socks? Got it. Socks with famous historical stadiums? Check! Socks featuring the stars of baseball? You bet!

The Pirates ugly sweater, complete with their team motto, is both ugly and awesome. (shop.mlb.com)
The Pirates ugly sweater, complete with their team motto, is both ugly and awesome. (shop.mlb.com)

Ugly MLB sweaters
Why wear a boring old t-shirt or jersey when you could wear an ugly sweater emblazoned with the logo of your favorite team? The MLB.com shop has a metric ton of these babies in every imaginable color, style, and team. Some are truly ugly, but others are pretty neat, with designs that incorporate stadiums and traditional holiday symbols like snowflakes and fir trees.

Nothing says “I’m an Orioles fan” like the giant O’s bird on your Fan Kicks high top sneakers. (fankicks.com)
Nothing says “I’m an Orioles fan” like the giant O’s bird on your Fan Kicks high top sneakers. (fankicks.com)

Some sweet Fan Kicks sneakers
Wearing your fan allegiance on your chest is easy, but wearing it on your feet? It’s also easy if you have the shoes. Fan Kicks has MLB logo sneakers in high top and low top, with laces and without, and with designs for all 30 MLB teams.

Jose Altuve’s three-homer game in the 2017 NLDS is graphically represented in this poster from Prinstant Replays. (prinstantreplays.com)
Jose Altuve’s three-homer game in the 2017 NLDS is graphically represented in this poster from Prinstant Replays. (prinstantreplays.com)

Prinstant Replays poster
What better way to show your fandom than on the walls of your home or office? Prinstant Replays has graphical representations of amazing plays from several eras of baseball. The range of plays they offer is truly amazing. In the same order you can get a poster of Craig Biggio’s 3000th hit, the Diamondbacks’ World Series walk-off, Mike Piazza’s post-9/11 home run, and Jose Altuve’s three-homer game in the NLDS. And that’s just a tiny sampling!

Loudmouth Golf has a lot of MLB-themed loud golf pants, like these argyle Cubs pants. (loudmouthgolf.com)
Loudmouth Golf has a lot of MLB-themed loud golf pants, like these argyle Cubs pants. (loudmouthgolf.com)

Extremely loud MLB logo pants
If you’re looking for a gift that loudly trumpets “I LOVE BASEBALL”, Loudmouth Golf is here for you. They have golf pants for most MLB teams, in patterns that will sear the retinas of both friends and passers-by. But they don’t stop at just pants. There are old-timey baseball knickers, shorts for both men and women, and even leggings.

An original Paine Proffitt t-shirt design, paying tribute to the Rockford Peaches, from Team Brown Apparel. (teambrownapparel.com)
An original Paine Proffitt t-shirt design, paying tribute to the Rockford Peaches, from Team Brown Apparel. (teambrownapparel.com)

Rockford Peaches gear
If the baseball fan in your life likes “A League of Their Own” (like all right-thinking people), you can now buy them officially licensed Rockford Peaches gear from Team Brown Apparel, like this smart shirt designed by Paine Proffitt. There are also Peaches logo shirts, sweatshirts, and tote bags. If they’re more of a Kit fan than a Dottie fan, you can also find Racine Belles merch.

The Clearing Question Marks vintage baseball t-shirt is just one of many neat shirts from Ebbets Field Flannels. (ebbets.com)
The Clearing Question Marks vintage baseball t-shirt is just one of many neat shirts from Ebbets Field Flannels. (ebbets.com)

Funky vintage baseball t-shirts
Not all baseball gear has to be current. Ebbets Field Flannels has a lot of t-shirts that feature vintage designs from the minor leagues, Mexican League, Negro League, Independent League, and there are even a few Japanese teams. The designs are truly cool, with team names and mascots that you’d never see today (but wish you could). Like the Tri-City Atoms, the Portland Lucky Beavers, and the Clearing Question Marks.

A golden era catcher’s mitt from Shoeless Joe Ballgloves. (shoelessjoeballgloves.com)
A golden era catcher’s mitt from Shoeless Joe Ballgloves. (shoelessjoeballgloves.com)

Golden Era glove
The way baseball gloves have changed through the years is fascinating, and if you have a fan in your life who loves vintage baseball, a golden era glove is a great gift. Shoeless Joe Ballgloves makes lovingly crafted recreations of gloves from 1910-1956, including a super neat 1915 catcher’s mitt.

Former player Rick Ankiel teamed up with Yahoo Sports columnist Tim Brown to write about his journey in the majors. (Amazon.com)
Former player Rick Ankiel teamed up with Yahoo Sports columnist Tim Brown to write about his journey in the majors. (Amazon.com)

“The Phenomenon” by Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown
Baseball books are great gifts in general, but “The Phenomenon,” by former major league pitcher and outfielder Rick Ankiel and Yahoo Sports columnist Tim Brown, is a thoughtful and inspirational story about Ankiel’s major league journey. Ankiel, once a pitcher, suddenly started suffering from “the Yips” (a baseball-specific form of anxiety), and the book details his battle to overcome them and get back into the majors. And while you’re at it, pick up “The Arm” by Tim’s fellow Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Passan. You won’t regret buying either one.

SportsCrate offers subscription boxes of MLB merchandise for 10 teams. (sportscrate.com)
SportsCrate offers subscription boxes of MLB merchandise for 10 teams. (sportscrate.com)

MLB Diamond Crate from Sports Crate
If you still can’t decide what gift to get the baseball fan in your life, an MLB Diamond Crate from Sports Crate is just what you need. It’s a subscription service that delivers a box of premium team-related MLB merchandise to your doorstep every other month. They don’t have crates for all teams yet (just 10 right now), but more are coming soon.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher