Sports Swag: Baseball Clothing Brand Review

Saturday June 16th, 2012

MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen:  Greetings baseball shoppers! As I sit in anticipation of receiving my Mike Napoli red Texas jersey-t in the mail and ready to talk baseball gear, I will start off this review with a disclaimer. Sports Swags, the clothing line being reviewed today is actually an-all around sports company. They are more than a baseball line- they include football, basketball and are moving into many other arenas. But this being MLB reports and talking baseball 24/7, we are going to focus on the baseball-end of the Sports Swag operation. But even though it is all about baseball at the end of the day, I had to throw it out there that they are sports-clothing-diversified.

So why do I bring up the Napoli jersey-t? Partially because I love talking Mike Napoli. The man is a baseball beast. But mostly due to the fact that I have a big weakness for baseball gear. Shirts, hats, jackets…everything. But if you are anything like me (is that a good or bad thing)…you probably had your fill of baseball jersey-t’s. I have about two drawers full of them, with no end in sight. Unless you are getting your fave player/team, the jersey-t’s start to get a little stale. I own about a dozen Tigers and Yankees dark blue jersey-t’s for example. I love them, but except for the player on the back, they are the same. The same old thing. On hot spring/summer days, I don’t want to wear jerseys to the ballpark. I like putting on a nice fresh t-shirt. But again, I want something unique. Something that will be comfortable to wear but still stand out at the ballpark. Welcome to Sports Swag.

Here is a little something about the company and its founder:

 

Created in 2011 by Kabir Chimni, Sports Swag is an urban sports lifestyle brand committed to providing every single one of our customers with the best possible experience. The idea for a clothing brand came to me after I had designed a logo for Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, which would eventually lead to our first product, the Brent Burns snapback hat. We are also working in conjunction with former A’s All Star, current Washington National Gio Gonzalez for his official shirt, which has already been designed and in the process of creation. We are also in cooperation with him for future clothing products . We are working with all sorts of athletes around the world to provide them with their own custom clothing that will be available to the public! 

Where did I first meet Mr. Chimni? Twitter, of course. Social networking at its best baby!!! I found the twitter handle through a retweet (@TeamSportsSwag). Great guy. Loved talking baseball with him. I felt his passion for the game. Then I spent some time navigating through the website (SportsSwag.com). That is where I found a shirt. THE shirt. The Sergio Romo shirt. Why did I have to have this shirt? I couldn’t tell you. Although I am a Tigers fan at heart living in the land of no MLB Network (Toronto, Canada), I will wear anything and everything baseball. I do own a Buster Posey black Giants jersey-t (thank you San Francisco airport), but nothing else Giants. I said to myself, “that Romo shirt is pretty cool. Can I pull it off?” Two weeks later, I was walking the streets of Toronto sporting the Romo. I did get many questions as to when Jose Bautista  played for the Giants. And does he pitch? Hockey-mad Toronto…I will give the people credit. At least they knew who Jose Bautista was. But Sergio Romo? Unsurprisingly, he does not have a huge following in these parts. But when I got into the Rogers Centre and had a couple of fans high-five me for my “sick Romo shirt”, it was all worth it. Baseball cred all the way.

The other shirt in my collection now is the “Got Heem!” classic. With Brian Wilson out with his 2nd Tommy John surgery, I am not sure if we will ever see him back to form. But Wilson to me represents a timeless character from a shining bright moment in Giants history. With the Brian Wilson popularity machine on hold, it is cool again to like Wilson outside of San Francisco. Plus I really like orange and this shirt is a cool shade of the color. The shirts fit right, look good and are comfortable. Classic additions to my baseball-t collection.

Looking at the Sports Swag lineup, I am already eyeing some new arrives. The Blake Swihart shirt is pretty neat. I am a big prospects guy and getting on the bandwagon early is always a fun baseball exercise. The other shirt on my list has the perfect message “Live. Die. Baseball.” Kabir, if you are reading this- get the shirts in medium packed up. My order is coming in! Father’s Day is this weekend and those shirts would have made nice presents for this dear old dad.

I have no idea where Sports Swag is headed in all the other arenas of sport. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less. They make nice baseball gear and that’s all I need to know. A Gio Gonzalez shirt????? I can’t wait to see what that one will look like. If it is anything like my Romo shirt, I will be one happy camper. Sure, I own a Strasburg shirt. Blue Nationals Jersey-T (thank you Washington airport). Do I really need another one with Gonzalez on the back? Nah. It’s been done. Swag is the new hip. Get on the Sports Swag wagon and get ready to receive plenty of high-fives every time you attend a baseball game. There is nothing better than the feeling of baseball cred. Sure, you can earn it by building your baseball knowledge. Looking the part though is just as fun. The best of luck to Kabir and Sports Swag. Now, maybe we can start talking about a unique Mike Napoli shirt to be produced in the future…

Jonathan Hacohen is the Founder & Lead Baseball Columnist for MLB reports:  You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen)

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A big thank you to Kabir and the fine folks at Sports Swag for providing us with samples of their products for this review.  I have enjoyed getting to know Kabir over the past few months. He is a man on a mission!  Be sure to check out the website for all your Sports Swag gear:  http://sportsswag.com.  They can also be reached on Twitter (@TeamSportsSwag) – be sure to give follow and let them know that MLB reports sent ya!