By RODNEY HAAS Staff Writer Pinal Central

SIGNAL PEAK -- Before every game, there's an important decision that needs to be made for Central Arizona College.

It's almost as important as the scouting report for the opponent's lineup, knowing what pitches to pitch and what type of shift to deploy.

It's a decision that isn't just reserved for a junior college baseball team though, as it's something that many struggle with every morning — what to wear.

With more than 216 uniform combinations from nine different tops, two sets of pants, three caps along with different socks and belts, the Vaqueros have plenty of options to choose from — and at times, might leave them scratching their heads when looking in the closet.

"There's a ton of combinations that we have, but there's a few jerseys from back when I played," said Jerry A'Hearn, pitching coach and equipment manager who played for CAC 10 years ago.

With the vast variety of choices at hand, the final decision on what to wear rests with coach Anthony Gilich. He said a lot goes into it, including certain uniforms that are only designated for home and away, while others may involve what the other team is wearing.

"I try to spread it out a little ... and I try to use them all if we can," Gilich said. "There's not a whole lot of rhyme or reason, just try to spread it out."

The Vaqueros went with a white-on-white combination Friday when they hosted Arizona Christian's junior varsity team, and they will debut their new gold tops for a doubleheader Saturday against GateWay College. On Sunday, CAC will go with black tops with gray pants for their road game at Glendale.

At times, the decision is as old as the game itself. When superstition and baseball collide and when players and teams believe the reason for winning comes down to the luck of wearing different socks, underwear, or in this case, jerseys.

To paraphrase Crash Davis in "Bull Durham," never mess with a winning streak.

"I think it was one of those things where at the end of the year, we only wore about two uniforms," A'Hearn said.

Out of the nine uniform tops, some are made of polyester, while the older ones are heavier and made with cotton. The newest one this year is a gold top with "Vaqueros" in white. It is made of a lighter material, which makes it easier to bear on hotter days.

"Especially in Arizona when you are playing doubleheaders and it's 95 to 100 degrees out," A'Hearn said. "It's a lot easier on the guys to do that for 16 total innings in a game. So that's one of the reasons why the other ones get retired. They are a little heavier and a little worn down."

With the new gold jersey this year, the Vaqueros also retired two other tops. A'Hearn said over the course of 10 years, a uniform could be used for up to 600 games.

Some of the tops this year have been in circulation for more than a decade and are still in good condition because of the care given to them.

"They just kind of add up," Gilich said. "I try not to use our own budget on that because we have more pressing needs."

Gilich added that a lot of the money for the jerseys comes from fundraising and other donations from alumni. The camo jerseys were a special gift from Keenyn Walker, a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2011.

"That was one of the first things he spent his paycheck on, was helping us out and helping the program out," A'Hearn said of Walker's gift. "I think that was one where he was trying to give back to us, and we really appreciate it."

Walker played for the Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League last season after being released by the White Sox. He is just one of many former CAC players who have gone on to greener pastures in professional baseball. The rich history is also a major selling point for Gilich when trying to entice potential recruits.

It's what got first baseman Alix Garcia, who had no idea what the jerseys even looked like, let alone the nine tops and hundreds of combinations.

"It's cool because you get to play in something different every day," he said. "When we are hot, I would rather for us to stay in the same jersey that we have been wearing, the ones that we win in."

Garcia's favorite jersey is the DB9ers, and right-handed pitcher Nick Iverson likes them as well.

"It stands out, and you don't see a lot of teams having those," the Oakville, Ontario, native Iverson said.

The jersey is modeled off the throwback 1980s Chicago White Sox jerseys that are white with a black and red strip across with the word "Sox." In CAC's case, the word "DB9ers" is across the chest, and instead of the White Sox colors, they are similar to the green and gold of the Oakland Athletics.

"We have the variety of uniforms and I love playing in all of them," second basemen Devin Ray said. "It's nice to switch up the uniforms every now and then."