Talking Stirrups With Twins Pitcher Chris Paddack
MLB’s foremost hosiery hero is keeping the old-school look alive.
If you’ve read Uni Watch for even a short amount of time, you probably know that I love baseball stirrups. And for the past three seasons, nobody in the big leagues has worn them better than pitcher Chris Paddack, who broke in with the Padres in 2019 and quickly established himself as MLB’s preeminent hosiery hero.
In addition to wearing his stirrups with just the right amount of white undersock showing, Paddack keeps things lively by changing his stirrup striping from game to game. Last season, by my count, he wore at least seven different stirrup designs (eight if you count spring training) — almost certainly an all-time record.
I suppose you could complain about the lack of uniformity, but I say that’s a small price to pay in return for spreading the gospel of baseball’s best uniform element.
I looked forward to seeing if Paddack could break his own record this season, but then something unexpected happened: On Opening Day, Paddack was traded to the Twins. Hmmm — would he keep wearing stirrups in Minnesota? We found out on April 13, when Paddack made his Twins debut. He was indeed wearing ’rups — with the Twins’ “TC” logo on the side, no less! — but with a much lower cut than he’d worn in San Diego.
Would Paddack change things up with a new design in his next start, which took place in Kansas City on April 20? Yes — but not in the way I expected. Instead of wearing a new stirrup design, he wore socks! My heart sank.
Was this just a one-time aberration, or had Paddack forsaken his role as MLB’s foremost proponent of old-school legwear? I fretted for six long days until April 26, when Paddack once again took the mound and — to my immense relief — was back to wearing Twins stirrups.
At that point I decided it was time to interview Paddack (which, let’s face it, I should have done a long time ago), so I asked a Twins rep if he could set something up for me. But I’ve found over the years that athletes don’t always have a lot of patience for questions about their uniforms — would Paddack want to talk about his? A few hours later, the rep wrote back: “Chris smiled when I showed him this. He’s in!”
Paddack and I spoke by phone last Wednesday, April 27. Here’s a transcript of our very enjoyable conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Uni Watch: Anyone who’s watched you pitch a few times can tell that you love stirrups. How did you start wearing them, and how did they become part of your signature look?
Chris Paddack: When I was a 12-year-old kid [in 2008], I went to my first big league game. The second baseman for the Rangers, Ian Kinsler, had his pants up high, just rocking the old-school look, even though he didn’t wear stirrups. That’s one of the reasons why I wear my pants up, because of him. He just looked so flashy out there. And then in 2019, when I made my debut with San Diego, I had the honor to be teammates with him.
UW: Like you just said, Kinsler wore socks, not stirrups. So how did you decide to take it a step further, with the stirrup?
CP: Ever since high school, I’ve always been a big fan of the traditional stirrup — you know, the white sock underneath the sanitary socks — and having the different fun options that you can play around with to match the uniform. That’s really my only reasoning behind it.
UW: So you were wearing stirrups through high school, through the minors, all the way up to the majors?
CP: Yeah. In high school, and at first in the minors as well, I would just go to the local Dick’s. Then I started going to a website called TCK.
UW: Twin City Knitting!
CP: Yeah, they still make them. The only negative side is that for a custom design, you have to order 12 at a time. So I would bite the bullet and they’d send me a dozen. Now they take care of me, so shout-out to them for that. They’re great.
UW: Now that you’re with the Twins, have you ordered some new designs from them?
CP: Yeah, I got some powder blue ones coming, some red ones. And I got some navy and some grey ones for the road. So we’re going all-out for this season, and I’m super-excited to bring those out, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
And one thing related to that, I’m excited to announce that I’m working with the Twins to give back to the city. Like I said, TCK sends me 12 pair per color ordered, and obviously I only have 30 starts in a season, so I’m going to have way more stirrups than I need. So I think we’re going to auction them off after every start, just as game-worn memorabilia, and then that money will go to a local charity here in Minneapolis.
UW: Oh man, I love that! We’ve seen lots of other game-worn gear in recent years, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen MLB auctioning game-worn stirrups! That’s awesome.
CP: Thanks.
UW: Did you ever have a coach in high school or the minors who had a rule about everybody having to wear stirrups, or were you always the only one?
CP: I played on some teams where they wouldn’t necessarily make us wear stirrups, but it was an option, so a lot of guys rocked them, especially pitchers. I feel like it’s more pitchers wearing them nowadays, more so than position players.
UW: Yeah, there’s Pablo Lopez of the Marlins, Noé Ramirez of the Diamondbacks, and a few others. Is there any kind of fellowship or camaraderie among you guys? Like, “The few, the proud, the stirrup-wearers”?
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CP [laughing]: No, but it’s an easy look to spot or point out. You know, if we’re watching other big league games in the clubhouse, or if I turn on SportsCenter after a game, it’s easy to point out which guys are wearing them. And then Stance [MLB’s sock supplier], they have a couple of socks where it’s that stirrup look, but it’s just a single sock.
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UW: Not as good, right?
CP: You know, those are pretty cool too. Especially for Jackie Robinson, or Mother’s Day, Father’s Day-type stuff, where you don’t really have time to order pink or blue stirrups. Those are some fun options as well.
UW: You definitely led the league in stirrup designs last year with the Padres. By my count you had at least seven different designs, maybe more, plus green ones on St. Patrick’s Day in spring training. So you just ordered those all yourself from TCK?
CP: Yes, exactly.
UW: Were you trying to set a record for the most different designs in a season?
CP: No, no. I wouldn’t say that I’m the type of guy who says, “Hey, look at me, I’ve got cool socks on!” I want to be known as the guy who went seven shutty [shutout innings]. But it definitely helps — I think it’s kind of part of of my look, my brand. I’m kind of an older-school guy, and I do like to look the part. But I also like to keep up with some of our flashy players, even though I’m a small-town kid and enjoy the ranch lifestyle, so I like to whip out some of the fancy, loud stirrups from time to time as well. That way I get the best of both worlds.
UW: Do you like the Twins’ stirrups with the “TC” logo on the side?
CP: Yeah, those are pretty sweet. Once my custom designs come in, I’ll be rocking the ones with the stripes and different colors and all that, but the ones with the old traditional “TC” on the side are pretty cool too. So I’m adding those to the mix.
UW: It looks like with San Diego you would go in with a medium to higher cut [for the foot opening on the stirrup], like maybe a seven-inch cut. But for your first few starts with the Twins, you had the lower cut. Is that because that’s all that was available?
CP: Yeah. I do prefer the higher cut, just being kind of a longer-leg dude — they tend to fit a little better. And I feel like the higher they are, the more that they stay in my cleat — I’m not having to adjust them every now and then.
UW: For your start against the Royals last week, I saw that you wore just the regular striped socks, not stirrups. You kinda had me worried there, Chris — what was that about?
CP: I just feel like those socks look better with our road uniforms, so I went with that look while I’m waiting for my customs to arrive from TCK.
UW: Ah, so you were thinking about the overall composition.
CP: Exactly.
[In the period since this interview took place, Paddack had another start on the road, this time in Baltimore. Sure enough, he once again wore socks, not stirrups, as seen in the photo below. — Paul]
UW: There must be a lot of situations where you are literally the only person on the field wearing stirrups. Have your teammates ever asked you why you insist on this look, or even given you shit about going with old fashioned style?
CP: I’ve actually been very fortunate. If anything, they’re gonna compliment — like, “Dude, that’s a badass look.” You know, some guys don’t like wearing their pants up because it doesn’t feel right for them. And I’m the opposite — I don’t like the pants-down look because I just feel off. I don’t think I could pitch a game that way unless you could 100% guarantee me that I’m gonna have a CG [complete game]. It’s just a weird feeling for me.
UW: Have you evangelized for stirrups and tried to convince your teammates that they should wear them too?
CP: I feel like I might be able to get some of the guys to wear ’em this year, especially with the powder blue stirrups that I ordered for our baby blue uniforms. So maybe there’s some hope on that. But no, I’m not trying to get anyone else to do it. I just like the old-school look for myself. I think that’s why they make baseball socks in the first place, so you can wear your pants up, but that’s just my opinion.
UW: That’s why we have teams called the Red Sox and the White Sox, right?
CP: Exactly. There’s two teams with “Sox” in their name, so there’s a reason behind that. But at the same time, some guys like it, some guys don’t. So it’s more about personal preference.
UW: Last question: Has any reporter ever asked you this many questions about stirrups?
CP: No. And I’m fired up, man — I’m glad I found someone who finds the stirrup game as exciting as I do!
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And that’s where we left it. Paddack definitely Gets It™! I look forward to seeing his new Twins designs in the weeks and months to come, and I salute him for using his signature look to support charitable causes. A true hosiery hero, in more ways than one.
Paul Lukas has been writing about uniforms (and stirrups) for over 20 years. If you like his Bulletin articles, you’ll probably like his daily Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, check out his Uni Watch merchandise, or just ask him a question? Contact him here.