The baseball uniforms are a unique beast. The shirts have buttons, the pants have belts and all the players need to wear hats in order to keep the sun out of their eyes. But nothing is as unique to baseball as the stirrup sock as baseball team socks.

The tradition can be traced back to 1868, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first to become the team to expose their socked legs.

The team’s owners were trying to create a sensation, presumably to boost attendance and also…