The Cubs appeared to fire the next shot at the Cardinals during the first weekend of practice in Mesa. Ryan Williams wore a T-Shirt with “In Blue Out Red” across the back and the Instagram post/photo made its way to Jupiter, Florida, the Spring Training home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Back of T-Shirt
Gordon Wittenmyer found out the T-Shirts have nothing to do with the Cubs’ rival. They were a gift to some of the players from mental skills director Darnell McDonald during a minicamp in January.
According to the Sun-Times, “As that department began emphasizing meditation before workouts during a January mini-camp for younger players, the color associations were prominent … taking in the more relaxed, serene ‘blue,’ and letting go of the stressful, chaotic ‘red.’”
Front of T-Shirt
Jake Arrieta loves the T-Shirts. Arrieta called it “amazing” and said they are “going to have these made on tank tops and dry fits and the whole nine yards.”
Arrieta called Darnell McDonald the Cubs’ spiritual guru and said, “We’re just trying to expand our horizons anywhere we can.”
Ryan Williams told the Sun-Times that during the minicamp they “would have 15-30 minutes of meditation” each day before they went out and stretched.
The message on the t-shirt might take on a different meaning once the season begins. The reason behind the message and the actual meaning says a lot about the players and the way the culture around the team has changed.
• Full Report from The Sun-Times
• Photos – The Sun-Times