Teammates had urged Hunter Pence to ditch the high-sock look to change his mojo, akin to asking a zebra to trade his stripes for polka dots. In the midst of a huge slump, Pence caved Saturday and did not tuck his pants into his socks.
He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Experiment over.
“It did not feel good. It felt awkward,” Pence said after he returned to the high socks Sunday and hit three doubles. “It won’t happen again.”
Pence has worn his socks high since he was a kid. The only time he didn’t was coming up in the minors with the Astros, who forbade it.