It's All Royal Blue's Fault

[G-Fafif]

Paul Lukas gets his man: an interview with the guy who brought black into the Met color palette.

Fascinating story in terms of process (and Charlie Samuels). Intriguing explanation of the drop shadows. And horrifying insight on why in particular the Mets wanted black...

one thing the Mets were convinced about was that the Yankees were killing them at retail, especially with the hats, because people didn't like royal blue.

...and, even worse, what they wanted to do:

[T]hey really wanted to change the whole look. And my thinking was, there's nothing wrong with this look. It looks great, the cap looks great, the road jersey with the Red Sox-y lettering is classic -- that's my favorite Mets jersey, in fact, and they wanted to make big changes to that. But I said no, you don't want to do that, you don't need to overhaul your look.

Definitely has that "could've been worse" feel to it.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yup.

Could've been better, too.

[metsmarathon]

i like the look of the black home jersey, honestly. it's not bad. i don't prefer it to the others they have on tap, but i don't hate it.

i'm not a fan of the black away jersey, and i do hate the black hat with the blue brim, though. and all the other bfbs.

but the home jersey isn't bad.

i love the pinstripes and the snow whites and the off-whites.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Black and royal clash. It's as simple as that. And they clash badly. Some configurations are better than others, but there's no getting around it. If you embrace the black, you've got to ditch the royal.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't think they clash. Can black clash with anything? Can white clash with anything?

I prefer the black-and-blue cap to the all-black one, but the classic blue is where it's at.

And I have more of an objection to the home blacks than the road blacks.

[Theoldmole]

If you embrace the black, you've got to ditch the royal.

That's what Toussaint L'Ouverture said.

[metirish]

What amazed me about the article is how the process came about , fair play to Lukas on this.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'm not sure that black and royal blue out-and-out clash... they're just weirdly assonant, if you will. And the darker the shade of blue-- as in the late-90s black stuff-- the more the visual near-rhyme rankles. (Me, anyway.)

The black-and-blue hats are just... they're really terrible.

(While the Toussaint L'Overture reference... is really sublime.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think they clash. Can black clash with anything? Can white clash with anything?

It can and does. Believe me. Believe your eyes!

The black-and-blue hats are just... they're really terrible.

'Cuz they clash. They imply sameness to the eye, and yet aren't the same, so the quality of the color is lost surrounded by a like-yet-different neighbor. It looks like something just blurred out of something else.

Let me apologize in advance:

[ashie62]

Blue and Orange..Thats it.

[G-Fafif]

The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008.

I've never terribly minded any of the black, not even if it was for black's/marketing's sake -- although I understand why (beyond aesthetics) so many do. "Sell more extra stuff" is fine, as far as that goes. "Royal blue isn't selling -- let's overhaul everything" is just stupid panic.

Always hated the drop shadows, especially on the pinstripes, though I like the story behind it. I had read some years ago that Samuels was in love with the 49ers uniform that had a similar drop shadow -- perhaps it's because he won a large bet on them one Sunday.

Never thought the "traditional" pinstripe of '95 to '97 was strong enough even though it wiped away the idiotic tail from '93-'94 (which, in turn, did away with the stale racing stripes). The "Mets" felt too thin. Except that it somehow seemed wrong, I found the snow white + blue cap very promising when it debuted in '97, the year before the shadow knew.

They had everything right in 1969. Never should have messed with any of it, including the MLB logo.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Sounds like Charlie should have been tossed out a loooooong time ago. I wonder if he was involved in the tail disaster of '93.

I like the pinstripes best -- by far.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I own a black Robin Ventura road jersey and a black home Johan Santana jersey -- with the Shea patch! The reason? I found them at a really good price. I wear a black cap with my softball jersey because it goes with the uniform.

[TransMonk]

I don't really care, but my least favorite are the black road jerseys that say "Mets". The road jerseys should say "New York".

When they wore the road greys with the blue caps for that Yankees series a few years ago, I forgot how much I missed that look.

I'm OK with the black, but would like to see it evolve into a once-in-a-while type thing.

[HahnSolo]

G-Fafif wrote: The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008.

Not sure what you mean here. They still wear the blacks away from Citi.

[G-Fafif]

HahnSolo wrote: G-Fafif wrote: The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008. Not sure what you mean here. They still wear the blacks away from Citi.

I was referring to the specific NEW YORK road blacks. The black METS jersey is the same home and away.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm not against changing up the looks now and again, almost all orgs do it from time to time. It's just the least surprising thing in the world the the Mets did so without having thought about it all that much or at least without thinking through its effects from every perspective. Any way you look at them they are a messed-up joke of an organization.

[G-Fafif]

This one, that don't exist no more:

[soupcan]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Any way you look at them they are a messed-up joke of an organization.

This.

Unfortunately.

[metirish]

G-Fafif wrote: G-Fafif wrote: The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008. Not sure what you mean here. They still wear the blacks away from Citi. I was referring to the specific NEW YORK road blacks. The black METS jersey is the same home and away.

are you screaming NEW YORK and METS right there?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Nice work on the handjive by Ike.

Well, they're not the only ones outfitted in clownwear. And certainly not the worst offenders. So, let's advocate for a tighter shit and spiffier look.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ike was born to handjive, baby.

The lighter the blue, the better the black unis look. (Or, rather, "less bad.") It really is a visual-assonance thing.

[G-Fafif]

metirish wrote: are you screaming NEW YORK and METS right there?

No, but if I were doing so at Citi Field, people would stare at me with disdain before getting back to their Blackberrys.

[ashie62]

G-Fafif wrote: metirish wrote: are you screaming NEW YORK and METS right there? No, but if I were doing so at Citi Field, people would stare at me with disdain before getting back to their Blackberrys.

BOC

[Guest themetfairy]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ike was born to handjive, baby.

Or he can't resist breaking into a chorus of Dov Y Melech Yisarael....

(Which is usually accompanied by hand signs)

[Guest themetfairy]

This one, that don't exist no more:

That photo always makes me smile G

[Ceetar]

I just don't really care about the color schemes, and would love for them to do something completely random like Orange tops..

What struck me most was the reasoning behind it. the city in shadows bit. That's cool and actually ties into the Mets tradition stuff.

the other was the 'windows' thing in the script that he suggests with opening it up a little. I think that'd be a good compromise actually.

[HahnSolo]

The whole logic behind black caps to help merchandising and catch up to the Yankees is so ridiculous. You can sell merchandise in whatever color you want. How many red, pink, powder blue, purple, orange, green Yankee caps/shirts are sold? (I see them all the time). But the Yankees don't wear them on the field.

[Gwreck]

I had a chance to chat with Charlie before the Omir Santos game at Fenway in 2009 and I of course (politely) registered my unhappiness with the black. Among other things learned, Charlie indicated his belief that the players preferred the black.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Unless players=Glavine, I don't think Felon Charile honestly spoke for the room. Black absorbs heat on hot summer afternoons (and nights). Black hides a well-earned soiling of the uniform top. Black robs from rookies the pleasure of making it to the majors and seeing a glistening unblemished uniform hanging in your locker.

Black robs Ron Hodges the pleasure of spitting gobs of tobacco on said-rookie's uniform and exploding that pleasure personally. Black makes you one more indistinguishable group of douchebags. Black says, "Are we home? Are we in Phoenix? Who gives a fuck? It's all one big blur anyhow."

Black is black. I want my pinnies back.

[Gwreck]

I get that Samuels' honesty is now known to be dubious at best, but I have no reason to suspect he was making stuff up, particularly given the depth of the conversation about the uniforms. Tidbidts learned during our conversation included that it was his idea to go to the blue caps during the Mets' final game at Yankee Stadium II; that he deliberately put the Mets in blue/hats and pinstripes for "big games" in recent years (NLCS Games 6/7; last game of 2007 and 2008 seasons), etc.

Again, not that I would even trust him to work a restaurant coat check, let alone the equipment at an MLB clubhouse, but I think it was an honest answer at the time.