Best Halloween Costume Ever: New York Yankees Roger Clemens

The best Halloween Costume I ever had was when I dressed up as Roger Clemens of the New York Yankees, as a World Series baseball player. There are many reasons this was great, but the main reason was that the Yankees were in post-season play that year, and made it to the World Series, right around the time of the Halloween parties. So, the New York Yankees team was a hot ticket at the time, and during that year, so was Roger Clemens!

October 1999
Imagine this... It's October, nearing the end of the month, and the New York Yankees are in post-season play. It's 1999. The New York Yankees are up against the Boston Red Sox to take the American League Pennant. They win the series four to one, defeating Boston and moving them in to the frenzy of the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.

The first game starts on Saturday, October 23rd in Atlanta. This was the first night I wore the costume. Talk about excitement- everyone is talking up the New York Yankees and their victory. Roger Clemens is hot- he's on fire. He's talked about here, there and everywhere.

So then, Roger Clemens gets his chance to shine in game four, played on Wednesday, October 27th at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. He pulls it off with his normal style and excitement! Talk about a great World Series. The New York Yankees sweep the Atlanta Braves. (I never did like Atlanta.)

I live in Hagerstown, MD, which actually has a good number of Yankee fans. Of course, many people stay true to the Baltimore Orioles, but they never even usually see October. So, it wasn't hard to get everyone on the band wagon of cheering for the New York Yankees in the 1999 postseason!

Make it Current
Now, the New York Yankees didn't make it to the World Series this year, so the excitement just isn't gonna be there for you. So, it's easy enough to modify the costume to fit whatever year you're in. The best part about this year is that play will actually occur right on October 31st- Halloween! Unless, of course, we get a sweep of 4 to 0 by one of the two teams. Game 6 would take place Wednesday night, October 31st.

All you have to do to modify the costume is pick a hot player from one of the teams in the World Series, preferably one that you are a fan of, and already have some of the costume.

How do you make the costume?
The second thing that made this Halloween costume so great, aside from the fact that it was timely, was that it was also authentic. I put a great deal of time way before October making sure I would have what I needed for the costume. Having been to the World Series the previous year, I already had some cool gear.

1. World Series Jacket. I had an actual New York Yankees World Series jacket. It was beautiful. It cost a pretty penny in 1998, but was worth every cent. It was a gorgeous blue shiny jacket, warm enough to wear in October. Yes, it actually still got cold in October back in those days!

2. Roger Clemens jersey. I had an actual Roger Clemens jersey, white with the blue pin stripes. I wore a long-sleeve blue tshirt underneath, like many of the players wear to keep warm in October.

3. Baseball pants, socks and shoes. I didn't really need authentic baseball pants from the Yankees. I was able to borrow the pants from a friend who had played baseball locally. They looked exactly like the Yankees' pants. I had to have the baseball socks, which I bought at Play it Again Sports. The shoes were purchased at Play It Again Sports as well- a pair of black baseball cleats. Not real comfortable to wear on regular indoor floors, but true to the costume.

4. Batting gloves and mitt. Because Roger Clemens was going to be pitching on American League soil (which I know they planned out), he wouldn't have to bat. But, since he could potentially have pitched Game 7 if there was one, I wore batting gloves. I had them anyway, since I personally go to the batting cages myself every summer. I've been heard to hit an 85 mile per hour fastball, believe it or not. I also happen to be left-handed, so my mitt was on the wrong hand. I didn't really wear it anyway, I just had it with me to complete the costume. It would be easy to pick up an inexpensive used mitt for the left hand (worn by right-handers).

5. Makeup, clothes and hat. My only real downfall was that I am a female, and I don't look anything like Roger Clemens. I am only 5' 3" and nowhere near his over 200 pound stature. I also have long brown hair, not short blonde hair. I could have gotten a mask, perhaps, or a wig- whatever. But with everything else, I don't think it mattered much. I did wear the black makeup under the eyes, which I got at a local costume store. I also had a New YOrk Yankees baseball cap, to add the final touch.

The final coolest thing about my costume was that I was truly a Yankee fan. It wasn't just a costume, it had meaning to me. I also was a huge Roger Clemens fan. (I'm still a fan of both.) I also love the sport of baseball, and have played myself. So, I had the FEELING of being that Yankee ball player. I also had lots of side stuff to go along with my costume. I had a baseball signed by Roger Clemens. I had the 1998 World Series program. I had all other sorts of tidbits to help with my costume.

It was the best Halloween costume ever- being a major league baseball player in the World Series, Roger Clemens of the New YOrk Yankees!