The Uniform

[batmagadanleadoff]

O's are going back to cartoon bird on their hats.

Astros 50th anniversary logo:



Astros to wear throwbacks every home Friday -- throwbacks will represent every uni era in team history:

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Orange is making a comeback. I think it has something to do with the rotten economy.

[G-Fafif]

Edgy DC wrote: I mean with all teams.

[Edgy MD]

Is anybody going to give me a break here? I didn't mean to suggest that black players are 100% absent or banned from fashion shows and I think you know that. I meant to suggest that there seemed to tend to be a relative paucity of available non-white players, and if there is, it's likely based on factors largely beyond the control of those booking the show, so it's tough.

[G-Fafif]

I sometimes wonder what it takes to get some non-white guys at these fashion shows.

Mighty broad assertion yesterday. Four recent fashion shows: three with the "non-white guys" joining in the festivities. Diversity apparently lives.

[Edgy MD]

No, that's a mighty narrow reading. And you know it. I guess even pleading for a break isn't going to get me one.

And there's no reason to post more photos. I'm generous enough a reader to get a point the first time.

Meanwhile, tasty new wallpaper at the Mets' site.

[Frayed Knot]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: O's are going back to cartoon bird on their hats.

So I guess the days of Michael Kay describing the Baltimore uniform as having "an ornithologically correct" bird on their caps are over.
Such was part of his schtick back when, in his radio days, he would always take a moment during each game to detail that day's uni for the two participating teams; 'no names ... of course'

[Benjamin Grimm]

Well, if I ever had to wear a Yankees uniform I certainly wouldn't want my name on the back. Why promote the fact that you've been forced to wear the garb of an evil organization?

[G-Fafif]

Edgy DC wrote: No, that's a mighty narrow reading. And you know it. I guess even pleading for a break isn't going to get me one. And there's no reason to post more photos. I'm generous enough a reader to get a point the first time. Meanwhile, tasty new wallpaper at the Mets' site.

You piqued my curiosity with your statement on a topic I'd never before pondered. I checked on other teams. The composition of their participants was contrary to what you'd suggested.

Thank you for your generosity.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Mets black jersey will be an alternate and used on the road and sparingly in 2012. The black jersey will then be ditched in 2013. Mets uni changes announced yesterday are not a one-off set for 2012: those jerseys (below) are the new unis.


from Uni Watch:


Now Just Fire Wayne Hagin Already and We'll Be All Set
By Paul Lukas, on November 17th, 2011



For a time, life was Good. Or at least it seemed Good, because for the most part it looked Good. So even when fate threw various obstacles in our path � which, in retrospect, happened more often than not � at least the tableau unfolding before us was generally pleasing to the eye.

But then the Dark Plague began its devastating infestation. The first symptom was the appearance of blackened pustules on the chest. These soon spread to the extremities, and before long the malignancy had proliferated throughout the body. So began the dire times we have experienced, lo these past dozen years.

Despite our best efforts to fight the Dark Plague, it has proven to be a resilient enemy. And so even in those fleeting moments when life was Good, it usually did not look Good, and consequently it did not feel Good. Although there have always been those of us who refused to give up hope, deep down we wondered if we would ever live to see the day when the Dark Plague finally succumbed to the forces of Good.

My friends, that day is finally at hand.

Any way you slice it, the news coming out of Shea yesterday (which was 50 years to the day after they unveiled their first logo, incidentally) was a win-win. Or maybe a win-win-win-win-win-win. Here�s rundown of the developments, nearly all of them positive:

� The black drop shadow has been removed from the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys. You can see high-res versions of those jerseys here, here, and here.

� The black/blue hybrid cap (which had been the official road cap but was also frequently worn at home) has been eliminated. The blue cap will now be worn with the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys.

� The black undersleeves and socks, which were always worn on the road and sometimes at home, have been eliminated. The white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys will now be paired with blue accessories.

� The herringbone-patterned glacier twill lettering fabric has been eliminated. The new jerseys are using conventional tackle twill. (Here�s how it looks on the script.)

� Although all of these changes are being introduced to coincide with the team�s 50th anniversary, they are not one-year changes. I have confirmed through a team source that the plan is to retain all of the above-listed changes for the long term. I repeat: There are no plans to bring back any of the black elements.

� The team has a new anniversary logo, which is being worn as a sleeve patch on the jerseys. Interestingly, there�s a slight discrepancy between the logo and the patch: Note the color of the baseball stitching on the left side. The version on the left is how it�s shown in the style guide. Weird.

� The anniversary logo is also being worn as a rear cap patch. Can�t say I�m 100% in love with this, but it�s better than putting a patch on the side of the cap (I hate that look � always makes the cap feel unbalanced), and I think this execution is much better than the giant patch the Yankees used a few years ago.

Disappointments? I count three, all fairly minor: (1) The black alternate jersey and solid-black cap have not been eliminated � yet. They�ll be used sparingly on the road in 2012, and then scrapped altogether in 2013. (2) I was hoping they�d go back to a blue squatchee for 2012, but they�re sticking with orange. (3) I was also hoping they�d restore the little �NY� to the skyline logo, but no dice. In the grand scheme of things, however, I can live with all of these.

And there you have it. After a dozen years of campaigning for most of these moves, I don�t mind saying that the long-awaited ditching of the black � VB Day � tastes pretty sweet. Today my giant souvenir Mets cup is filled with champagne. (Actually, I don�t own a souvenir cup, and I don�t particularly like champagne. But you get the idea.)

My thanks to everyone else who�s helped with the cause over the years, especially Shannon Shark over at Mets Police (who, unlike me, has actually been diplomatic enough to break bread with some of the team�s front office types and, I�m fairly certain, has made them take this kind of stuff more seriously). Enjoy the moment, people � an all-too-rare triumph of Good over Stupid.

[TransMonk]

Squatchee...I never knew it had a name.

[Benjamin Grimm]

(2) I was hoping they�d go back to a blue squatchee for 2012, but they�re sticking with orange.

Squatchee? I've never heard that word, but I assume it refers to the button on the top of the cap.

and consequently it did not feel Good

I have to call bullshit on that.

[soupcan]

Ding dong the Black is dead!

Thanks be to the Almighty!

I haven't bought an 'official' hat in years but I do like that 50th anniversary patch on the back of the new one. Might have to pick one of those up.

Is it just the all-black hats that are 86'd (see what I did there?) or did the black hats w/ blue brims get dumped too?

Miami Marlins - I do like that much more than Florida Marlins but damn those those unis and hats are fug-ly.

Now all we need to do is change the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks to the Denver Bears and Phoenix Rattlers and we'll be all set.

I like what the Astros are doing, but thankfully the Mets unis didn't really vary all that much (or actually maybe they did) for them to really do that.


OE: I do need to read more and post less. it's the black/blue hat that's gone and the solid black remains. Ridonculous.

And...getting rid of the herringbone stitch and bringing back the tackle twill? Awesome. Seems like Charlie Samuels uniform changes are almost all gone. Nice job.

[Benjamin Grimm]

soupcan wrote: Is it just the all-black hats that are 86'd (see what I did there?) or did the black hats w/ blue brims get dumped too?

Actually, I think it's the other way around. The blue/black is gone, and the all-black will be seen on the (rare) occasions when the Mets wear the black jerseys.

soupcan wrote: Now all we need to do is change the Coloorado Rockies and Arzona Diamondbacks to the Denver Bears and Phoenix Rattlers and we'll be all set.

Make that Phoenix Firebirds and I'm with you!

[Edgy MD]

I repeat: There are no plans to bring back any of the black elements.

Keep repeating. It can't be said often enough.

One thing not mentioned is stirrups.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I repeat: There are no plans to bring back any of the black elements. Keep repeating. It can't be said often enough. One thing not mentioned is stirrups.

Will you pick a song already?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Speaking of uni changes... the Jays' new oldish set looks sa-weet.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I really like that font, especially writ big on the numbers.


They are of course a callback to the original BJ style from 77. Back then it struck me as a very, European, soccerlike look that would have been very out of place on an established National League franchise but to me was acceptable for the Jays being from another country, new, and in a shitty inferior league.

[Edgy MD]

Their original numbers kinda messed me up. A very soccerish look.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Split numbers are back.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

After a bit of a hiccup from MLB Centrale about the bang-bang-shoot-shoot imagery, the Astros bite the bullet and go with the original Colt '45 jerseys as is for this year's throwbacks.



Is it me, or are we in something of a tastefulness golden era here?

[ashie62]

I dont think we will see this again..

[Edgy MD]

Oh, we have and we will again.



Throwbacks mean money. Period.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Here are all the Astros uniforms for the year. Confession: I love the rainbow jerseys.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I love the rainbows, too. BTW, the team whiffed on this year's Colt.45 throwbacks. The throwback lettering is slightly wrong, as is the wisp of smoke coming out of the gun barrel to form the big "C".

[Guest The Second Spitter]

G-Fafif wrote:

The O's had one of the most elegant logos in the professional sports. Now they've effed that by reverting to a logo aimed at 10 years olds.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

eh, I don't mind the funny bird.

[Edgy MD]

I can't see that bird and not think about Scatman Crothers.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: eh, I don't mind the funny bird.

Lunchpail -- DON'T use Daddy's computer when he's away!