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JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia liked the Miami fashion sense of pitcher Jose Fernandez so much that he stole the purple jeans and gold high-top sneakers the young pitcher wore to the ballpark.
The bulkier Saltalamacchia wore a duplicate Jose Fernandez practice jersey with the jeans and sneakers for the team's morning stretch Friday.
One by one members of the Marlins burst into laughter.
"Now that I've put them on I actually like them," Saltalamacchia said.
Fernandez was among the last to notice, and the ebullient 21-year-old couldn't contain his laughter upon seeing the catcher squeezed into the jeans.
"This is pretty funny," said Fernandez, who ran back into the clubhouse to retrieve his phone so he could snap a photo.
Lining up next to Fernandez, Saltalamacchia went through all the Marlins' stretching routines.
"I thought he might have taken them off, but you know what? Just let it ride out," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said with a smile. "I don't know that those pants are going to fit Jose again ever. He might have to get a new pair of purple pants."
Still, Redmond approved of the look.
"Salty can pull it off," the manager said. "That's what happens in baseball. You sit around too long thinking of stuff that's crazy to do."
Saltalamacchia, in the lineup as the designated hitter, changed into more customary attire for batting practice. Fernandez was not scheduled to pitch Friday against St. Louis.
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