MLB 2016 Changes

[ConcreteCharlie]

I was just thinking the same about the dugout jackets... Now the majority of players seem to wear the Magestic hoodies.

Looking at the "Take October" dugout hoodies for this post season, they will have a new design next year ( so long annoying zipper that players liked to rip out)

They seem to wear those weird hoodies/zip-ups all the time. Brawls dont look nearly as good as they used to with those clunky things.

[Bouj]

1. Yeah, don't the BP hats change on a regular cycle anyway? It's been 3 years, hasn't it? I mean, aren't they due to change the template league-wide again? Even if the material is still DE, they have to change the design so they can sell more merchandise.

2. The Padres have been "changing" for 10 years. I'll believe it when I see it.

That's pretty much what I've heard. It sounds like some teams are making changes that fit better with their classic look and will be ditching the gimmicks such as alt colored bills for teams that have never had them before the DE rebrand. Some teams are making somewhat natural transitions that make sense with their branding and will be different but nothing drastic. Others are gonna be total headscratchers with color placement and logo usage and will look awful. One team in particular is going to look TERRIBLE with their new BP set.

Again, this is all word of mouth, but I've never known this particular source to be way off on stuff like this.

So it's not just BP caps but new BP jerseys coming up as well?

No, I think the jersey template has another year to go, if they stay on cycle. The hats & jerseys aren't linked, cycle-wise. They may change the designs, but not the template.

Oh, and losing the different-colored bills for everyone would be a great development. Not everyone needs two-tone hats.

[Silent Wind of Doom]

I thought we did these the day after the World Series. Guess we're getting an early start this year!

Hmm... Who do I think should be the two rebrands? Lemme make a chart and when I'm done I'll know.

Teams That Are Perfect and Shouldn't Be Touched

-New York Yankees

-Toronto Blue Jays

-Baltimore Orioles

-Detroit Tigers

-Philadelphia Phillies

-Los Angeles Dodgers

Teams That Are Pretty Perfect, But Could Be Tweaked

-Boston Red Sox (The home jersey piping could be spread around, make the alternates look less pajama-like.)

-Kansas City Royals (Weird third alt, away could be print or script, and they could use more powder blue.)

-Oakland Athletics (Were possibly best look in the league, but changes in green alt and away cap need to be undone.)

-Seattle Mariners (Need more teal!)

-Atlanta Braves (Bring piping/red to or drop navy blackout uniform.)

-New York Mets (Drop camo and drop silver lettering, it just looks weird.)

-Washington Nationals (I know people are down on these, but I actually really like the look. The complicated piping to me makes them look like the Braves and makes them unique among predominantly red/white teams. They could tweak a few things, though.)

-Chicago Cubs (Burn the gray alt with fire)

-St. Louis Cardinals (Bring back the navy away cap full time and make the change to the St. Louis script on the aways. It's amazing how the team has made what seemed like a perfect untouchable look really feel like tweaks could be made.)

Teams That Are Beautiful, But I Wouldn't Be Too Mad at a Rebrand

-Chicago White Sox (Lovely, timeless identity, but recent throwbacks have made me realize that if they injected a little red into the identity, it wouldn't be a bad thing.)

-Houston Astros (Beautiful throwback to their original identity (Why can't the Padres do this?), but admittedly a little plain. A few added touches like a shooting star here or a tequila sunrise here would be nice.)

-Texas Rangers (Schizophrenic look that can't decide on a primary color but SOMEHOW still always looks beautiful. Just give them "Rangers" on the home, but as long as they keep these colors, any changes will look just as good.)

-Cincinnati Reds (I really like their current look, but do accept that the Big Red Machine look is superior, and would have no qualms if they were to change to that)

-Pittsburgh Pirates (I'd put them in the above list, but changes like pinstripes and vests would be equally as good because the Pirates have a unique look that has, for the most part, been kept throughout all their iterations, and any such change is really interchangeable with their current look. Oh, and drop the camo.)

-Arizona Diamondbacks (Love their current unique look, but previous look was just as unique and fits the local culture better. Can go for either look. Ditch McDonald's Playplace material matte helmet.)

Teams That Are Serviceable, But Could Use Change

-Tampa Bay Rays (Love the colors, but needs more Columbia/some plaid (Is the plaid still part of the team's culture?))

-Minnesota Twins (Home cap listed as alternate with useless gold trim.)

-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Good looking club, but need less A logos, more gold halos, acceptance of their home of Anaheim, and a little more navy couldn't hurt.)

-Miami Marlins (Need to embrace colors they chose more/suppress black.)

-Milwaukee Brewers (Unique, but not as good as the Mariners and White Sox looks that also came from that decade, gold looks good close up but doesn't work as well from a distance or expanded to an entire jersey, kind of drab,)

-Colorado Rockies (Definitely unique, but a bit drab and they could really turn up the purple.)

Teams That Need Change Now

-Cleveland Indians (Schizophrenic identity split between fitting/fun/successful home and away alt and classic/retro/staid away and home alt, boring block C logo, teams needs to stick with an identity and if it's going to be a C, make it a better looking one, C needs outline on caps.)

-San Diego Padres (Have systematically taken out every little bit of uniqueness out of the identity. They don't look half bad, but like the Indians using a boring look, it just doesn't fit.)

Huh. I guess I hope it's the Padres and Indians, and wouldn't mind seeing the Rays, Twins, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, and Rockies. Sadly, the Twins and Marlins are likely too close to recent changes for it to be them.

[AnPheitseog]

I thought we did these the day after the World Series. Guess we're getting an early start this year!

Hmm... Who do I think should be the two rebrands? Lemme make a chart and when I'm done I'll know.

Teams That Are Perfect and Shouldn't Be Touched

-New York Yankees

-Toronto Blue Jays

-Baltimore Orioles

-Detroit Tigers

-Philadelphia Phillies

-Los Angeles Dodgers

Teams That Are Pretty Perfect, But Could Be Tweaked

-Boston Red Sox (The home jersey piping could be spread around, make the alternates look less pajama-like.)

-Kansas City Royals (Weird third alt, away could be print or script, and they could use more powder blue.)

-Oakland Athletics (Were possibly best look in the league, but changes in green alt and away cap need to be undone.)

-Seattle Mariners (Need more teal!)

-Atlanta Braves (Bring piping/red to or drop navy blackout uniform.)

-New York Mets (Drop camo and drop silver lettering, it just looks weird.)

-Washington Nationals (I know people are down on these, but I actually really like the look. The complicated piping to me makes them look like the Braves and makes them unique among predominantly red/white teams. They could tweak a few things, though.)

-Chicago Cubs (Burn the gray alt with fire)

-St. Louis Cardinals (Bring back the navy away cap full time and make the change to the St. Louis script on the aways. It's amazing how the team has made what seemed like a perfect untouchable look really feel like tweaks could be made.)

Teams That Are Beautiful, But I Wouldn't Be Too Mad at a Rebrand

-Chicago White Sox (Lovely, timeless identity, but recent throwbacks have made me realize that if they injected a little red into the identity, it wouldn't be a bad thing.)

-Houston Astros (Beautiful throwback to their original identity (Why can't the Padres do this?), but admittedly a little plain. A few added touches like a shooting star here or a tequila sunrise here would be nice.)

-Texas Rangers (Schizophrenic look that can't decide on a primary color but SOMEHOW still always looks beautiful. Just give them "Rangers" on the home, but as long as they keep these colors, any changes will look just as good.)

-Cincinnati Reds (I really like their current look, but do accept that the Big Red Machine look is superior, and would have no qualms if they were to change to that)

-Pittsburgh Pirates (I'd put them in the above list, but changes like pinstripes and vests would be equally as good because the Pirates have a unique look that has, for the most part, been kept throughout all their iterations, and any such change is really interchangeable with their current look. Oh, and drop the camo.)

-Arizona Diamondbacks (Love their current unique look, but previous look was just as unique and fits the local culture better. Can go for either look. Ditch McDonald's Playplace material matte helmet.)

Teams That Are Serviceable, But Could Use Change

-Tampa Bay Rays (Love the colors, but needs more Columbia/some plaid (Is the plaid still part of the team's culture?))

-Minnesota Twins (Home cap listed as alternate with useless gold trim.)

-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Good looking club, but need less A logos, more gold halos, acceptance of their home of Anaheim, and a little more navy couldn't hurt.)

-Miami Marlins (Need to embrace colors they chose more/suppress black.)

-Milwaukee Brewers (Unique, but not as good as the Mariners and White Sox looks that also came from that decade, gold looks good close up but doesn't work as well from a distance or expanded to an entire jersey, kind of drab,)

-Colorado Rockies (Definitely unique, but a bit drab and they could really turn up the purple.)

Teams That Need Change Now

-Cleveland Indians (Schizophrenic identity split between fitting/fun/successful home and away alt and classic/retro/staid away and home alt, boring block C logo, teams needs to stick with an identity and if it's going to be a C, make it a better looking one, C needs outline on caps.)

-San Diego Padres (Have systematically taken out every little bit of uniqueness out of the identity. They don't look half bad, but like the Indians using a boring look, it just doesn't fit.)

Huh. I guess I hope it's the Padres and Indians, and wouldn't mind seeing the Rays, Twins, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, and Rockies. Sadly, the Twins and Marlins are likely too close to recent changes for it to be them.

I would love pinstripes to come back for the pirates.

More than anythign else though, I want the pirates to have one cap and that is it. Aka the non-outlined cap.

[Ark]

Cleveland had a perfect uniform.

Just turn back the clock to the 90's.

[hawk36]

Cleveland had a perfect uniform.

Just turn back the clock to the 90's.

Completely agree. Those were very nice.

[FinsUp1214]

If it seems the Padres are one of those teams, then my hopes for the other team are the Rays or Diamondbacks. I feel like both teams are in need of blowing it all up and starting anew, and now is the perfect time for either team to do so.

I'd say Miami, but I feel they're just a few small changes away from getting it right. Namely switching the secondary color from orange to light blue and switching the number font to something else. Otherwise, I think the base of what they have is almost there. Those changes take it from bottom ten to top ten, easily.

A dark horse I could see is Colorado, but I personally actually don't want to see them do anything drastic. All I think they need is a purple cap full-time and they're set. I hope if it is by chance them, they don't go crazy far away from where they're at.

[Beeperino]

This is my annual post where I hope beyond hope that the Reds tweak their uniforms enough to at least 1) drop the dropshadow and 2) get rid of the stupid black-billed road hats (that have looked stupid continuously since 1999). In a few months, I will author another post expressing my disappointment that the Reds road unis will be hurting my eyes and the eyes of millions of others for at least one more year...

[Packid]

We've probably already seen the new BP template for next year.

[Ray Lankford]

I hope the other team is Cleveland and they go with something a bit more respectful with the Indian theme.

The Spokane Indians really nailed it so Cleveland Indians should just rip them off.

[Quillz]

< snip >

Agree with your analysis except for two things: Blue Jays should add a permanent white-paneled cap, I think it would go best with their blue alt. And same for the Angels... the 2014 ASG white-paneled cap looked really good with the Angels' red and cap logo, and given they've got a nice red alternate jersey, would fit in nicely there.

I agree that the Padres and Indians are probably due for a change. I think the Padres current template is fine, I would just change the colors back to brown and yellow.

[FlyingLamprey]

If the Padres do switch over to navy and yellow (and most/all signs seem to point to that they are), then I would be interested in seeing if they drop their current camo alts and replace it with a Navy one (read: the camo that the US Navy uses, not generic navy-colored camo).



Would it look good? I really have no clue, I'd have to see what it looks like in person. But, it would be more in line with the color scheme, and it'd be more accurate for the Padres, as the Navy is far and away the most important military branch in San Diego (home port for Pacific Fleet et al). Of course, no camo would probably be better, but realistically... that's not happening anytime soon. And if anyone's going to wear camo, I feel that the Padres would be the best candidate - they are the trendsetters for this craze, after all.

As for who else is due for a rebrand, it's a toss-up. Cleveland of course has the Wahoo mess, I doubt Arizona would switch back, Colorado is due for some tweaks, so is Cincy, Tampa could focus more on Columbia Blue and/or actual rays because rays are such a good idea, Texas needs to find some color consistency and maybe tweak their logos a tad... I really can't think of a certain second candidate.

[Quillz]

Things I would like:

• Colorado to clean up their word mark and logos a bit. The serif font with the silver inlays feels a bit dated and doesn't really look good at smaller sizes. I've seen many fan-made Rockies concepts that look great. And they need to emphasize purple much more than black. it's their color, they really need to own it.
• I think Arizona is fine with red and black. What I would like is for them to recolor and update some of their old logos, like the "snake eating the baseball" logo from their first season.
• The Rays to bring back the manta ray logo. Maybe go for a lighter blue, as some have suggested. They don't need to bring back the "Devil" portion, but I really felt their older identity was both stronger and concrete (as I said before, I don't really buy the whole "rays of sunshine over Florida" thing, especially when the Marlins are in the neighborhood and have two championships.)

[Anubis2051]

We've probably already seen the new BP template for next year.

If this is the case, I'm totally okay with it. Love the Raglan look.

[jrodsep]

Cleveland had a perfect uniform.

Just turn back the clock to the 90's.

Exactly and the Mariners should use the teal brimmed caps and helmets with the home uniforms.

[FiddySicks]

It could be the Dodgers as the surprise team. I read a post last week on the Dodger message board about a rumor that they could be tweaking the word mark on their home and road jerseys and adding a pinstripe throwback home uniform on selected home day games. In addition, a blue alternate jersey could be added to the set for interleague Sunday home and road games. I'm guessing it's just a rumor, but these days with the sports marketing industry...you never know.

Well, I'm not sure the team will be the Dodgers, and it would really surprise me if they were the ones who made any substantial changes.

BUT, I'm hearing that the second team to make a change may not be changing their AC 59Fiftys, but might only be making some adjustments to their jerseys, so you never know.

[sportstar1212]

Astros are wearing their orange alts tonight. I really wish there was a rule against wearing alts in the Postseason. White vs. grey only, please.

[ANGELCAT-IDA61]

For a team possibly not changing their 59fifty's, but adjusting their jerseys a bit, I'm guessing that second team could be the Texas Rangers. Maybe the Rangers removing the white outlining around the "Texas" or reversing the red and white bordering around the lettering, similar to what the Mariners did before the 2015 season. Since they wear the red caps at home, maybe they will bring back the 1994-2000 home jersey with the sleeve trimming they have on their current road set. The Phillies are another possible team making a slight tweak on their jerseys, but the hats remaining the same. We'll just wait and see who the teams are.

[AnPheitseog]

Astros are wearing their orange alts tonight. I really wish there was a rule against wearing alts in the Postseason. White vs. grey only, please.

This. 100% this.

So annoyed the pirates will be in black tomorrow.

[jp1409]

Astros are wearing their orange alts tonight. I really wish there was a rule against wearing alts in the Postseason. White vs. grey only, please.

This. 100% this.

So annoyed the pirates will be in black tomorrow.

I'd say they'll probably wear black every single game until they're out... What a shame.