MLB Changes 2017

[IceCap]

6 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

Most everyone can still function properly after "having a drink".  I don't ascribe to the philosophy that driving after one beer is drunk driving.   

 

But yeah, anyone who does drive drunk deserves all the condemnation we can muster and more. 

Yep. Jose Fernandez wasn't the innocent victim of a freak boating accident after having one light beer two hours before.

The guy was drunk and high on cocaine. He deserves the condemnation he's getting.

[Bmac]

10 hours ago, tohasbo said:

Faux flannel gray will definitely be for the Orioles.  That I do not doubt at all.  MAYBE the Nationals do it as well?

How likely is it the Orioles become the test child for UA? I mean, I assume they will, but I'm not sure what all UA could even do with their uniforms. Will we see a Maryland flag inspired design element?

[SilverBullet1929]

14 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

So clearly driving a car at some point during the same day as having one drink is a pretty broad category. To put an example like mine in the same category as Jose Fernandez, who was high and drunk while driving a boat, is incredibly disingenuous.

 

 

14 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

Most everyone can still function properly after "having a drink".  I don't ascribe to the philosophy that driving after one beer is drunk driving.   

 

But yeah, anyone who does drive drunk deserves all the condemnation we can muster and more. 

I agree with both of you. Again, I'm just going back to the one poster a few days ago who roped every person who's ever driven drunk even once into one category as people who all deserved to die. That bothered me because of the general assumption that it was. 

[leopard88]

7 hours ago, Bmac said:

How likely is it the Orioles become the test child for UA? I mean, I assume they will, but I'm not sure what all UA could even do with their uniforms. Will we see a Maryland flag inspired design element?

 

Even with the return to the cartoon bird and white front panel on the home cap, the Orioles have remained pretty traditional since they ditched the sansabelts and pullovers in 1989.  I don't see them suddenly becoming the MLB-UA version of the University of Oregon just because UA is based in Baltimore.

[WSU151]

8 hours ago, Bmac said:

How likely is it the Orioles become the test child for UA? I mean, I assume they will, but I'm not sure what all UA could even do with their uniforms. Will we see a Maryland flag inspired design element?

 

Let's keep in mind the most unique design in MLB had to be heavily revised for 2017 to make it look better and cleaner.

 

Pro leagues have generally been way more traditional than college teams the last 10 years, even with Reebok, Adidas, and Nike making the unis.

 

 

[SilverBullet1929]

A few days ago my 8 year old asked me why the White Sox don't actually wear white socks and in explaining it the best I could I wondered if they could actually find a way to make white socks work for them again in a modern way. Any ideas? Can it be done? 

[kroywen]

25 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

Let's keep in mind the most unique design in MLB had to be heavily revised for 2017 to make it look better and cleaner.

 

Pro leagues have generally been way more traditional than college teams the last 10 years, even with Reebok, Adidas, and Nike making the unis.

Exactly. At most, we'll get a Seahawks-esque design, as opposed to a full-on Oregon. Just as the Seahawks were Nike's most prominent redesign in the NFL, we might have one or two teams get the Seahawks/Bucs treatment by Under Armour. But I can't see any pro teams in any sport, especially baseball, going full Oregon.

 

The D-Backs are actually the most obvious candidate in my mind, given that they're the one team that Majestic really put its stamp on, and they're clearly willing to go along with more radical redesigns (relative to what we usually expect in MLB). Combine that with the fact that the D-Backs uniforms don't seem to have been well received by most fans, and the fact that Under Armour presumably wouldn't want to market another manufacturer's "signature design" (such as it is), and I can see the D-Backs getting overhauled again by UA.

 

I can also see the Padres as candidates for a UA overhaul, given that their identity has been so listless, ever-changing, and not well-received. Their ownership hasn't shown a proclivity for more "modern" designs - everything they've come out with so far has been relatively traditional - but I can see them as a really good candidate for a more conservative or traditional UA design.

 

Also wouldn't be surprised at updates to the Marlins, as a progression of their existing identity. They clearly have an ownership group willing to go outside the box on design (both uniforms and ballparks), and at the time of their new identity's release, it was probably the most radical rebranding in MLB since the 1980s.

 

As always, I'm sure we'll get a couple surprise teams that get overhauled, perhaps even a pre-expansion team (a la the Browns with Nike).

[WSU151]

4 minutes ago, kroywen said:

Also wouldn't be surprised at updates to the Marlins, as a progression of their existing identity. They clearly have an ownership group willing to go outside the box on design (both uniforms and ballparks), and at the time of their new identity's release, it was probably the most radical rebranding in MLB since the 1980s.

 

 

And MLB might have new ownership in Miami by 2020...so there might be a change in color schemes or logos.

[kroywen]

1 minute ago, WSU151 said:

 

And MLB might have new ownership in Miami by 2020...so there might be a change in color schemes or logos.

Good call. Loria is definitely selling, whether it's to Kushner or someone else. That's a situation ripe for a rebranding (especially since the Marlins' current identity is a bit outside the box, which some potential owners may not like).

[SilverBullet1929]

The Kushners will not be the ones buying the Marlins but they will have new ownership relatively soon.

 

With that said, I wouldn't expect a change in uniforms or logos anytime soon either. Or at least nothing drastic. 

[kroywen]

10 minutes ago, SilverBullet1929 said:

The Kushners will not be the ones buying the Marlins but they will have new ownership relatively soon.

 

With that said, I wouldn't expect a change in uniforms or logos anytime soon either. Or at least nothing drastic. 

I missed the news that the Kushner deal had fallen through - that's probably best for all involved parties. I know there was a potential political storm brewing over Loria's potential appointment as Ambassador to France right as he was in discussions to sell the Marlins to the Kushners, so best that that's avoided.

 

Any new change in uniforms would probably be dependent on the new ownership, whoever that might be. I think it's more or less impossible to say right now whether there'd be any tweaks or overhauls to the Marlins' identity until the team is sold.

[SilverBullet1929]

I just don't think it's certain that the new owners will hate the Miami logos and uniforms as much as traditional uniform fans tend to hate it. For better or worse, the Miami rebrand has a foundation of an identity that can be built upon and improved without just going back to the Florida Marlins look. It's possible the new ownership wants to embrace that challenge. 

[WSU151]

5 minutes ago, SilverBullet1929 said:

I just don't think it's certain that the new owners will hate the Miami logos and uniforms as much as traditional uniform fans tend to hate it. For better or worse, the Miami rebrand has a foundation of an identity that can be built upon and improved without just going back to the Florida Marlins look. It's possible the new ownership wants to embrace that challenge. 

 

Black and orange are Loria's favorite colors though.  This was known years before the change happened.  Pretty much everyone knows that the blue the Marlins use is pretty awesome and should be incorporated more into the uniforms.

[SilverBullet1929]

17 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

Black and orange are Loria's favorite colors though.  This was known years before the change happened.  Pretty much everyone knows that the blue the Marlins use is pretty awesome and should be incorporated more into the uniforms.

Yeah and that's a change I can see happening... I'm just saying I don't expect the new ownership to trash the entire identity as some would like. 

[SilverBullet1929]

While we're on the subject of the Marlins... gonna use this moment to drop in my annual fingers-crossed prayer that they decide to bring back the red-orange cap this year.

 

I just got an email from them and from the shop trying to sell caps for the new season and the image shows 3 authentic caps for sale, with the red-orange one actually being the biggest and most prominent in the ad. The audacity! "Buy a new cap... especially THIS one that we'll NEVER wear!"

 

Of course with now almost 3 years since the last use of the cap, I know I shouldn't hold my breath on this. 

 

Here's the ad...

[RichO]

2 hours ago, SilverBullet1929 said:

A few days ago my 8 year old asked me why the White Sox don't actually wear white socks and in explaining it the best I could I wondered if they could actually find a way to make white socks work for them again in a modern way. Any ideas? Can it be done? 

 

I think the options are better (or at least would have more player acceptance) now than a few years ago, or really anytime in the last 20 years. Players now are embracing socks and striped socks in a way that they haven't so either a striped stirrup with a black or gray sanies, or at least a striped sock would work. Someone posted a pic in another thread from the 59 World Series. That would be a great start.

[Gobbi]

4 hours ago, WSU151 said:

 

Black and orange are Loria's favorite colors though.  This was known years before the change happened.  Pretty much everyone knows that the blue the Marlins use is pretty awesome and should be incorporated more into the uniforms.

Agreed! This is my favourite Miami Marlins jersey:

 

(yes, I know it's just a fashion jersey)

[kroywen]

16 minutes ago, Gobbi said:

Agreed! This is my favourite Miami Marlins jersey:

 

(yes, I know it's just a fashion jersey)

I'd be all in favor of the Marlins completely dumping black (or at least sidelining it to a trim color) and instead becoming a primarily blue team, with orange and yellow as their secondary colors. That is a gorgeous shade of blue that would be completely unique to the Marlins within baseball.

 

On the white home jersey: a blue wordmark, outlined in orange and/or yellow, paired with a blue cap, undershirts, and socks. Basically, swap out black for blue on the current home uniform (and tweak the coloring of the wordmark/outlines as necessary), and make the blue jersey the primary alternate. It'd be the perfect evolution of the Marlins' look in the (eventual) post-Loria era. The color scheme would embody the color and vibrancy of Miami Beach, while the wordmark would continue to evoke the art deco architecture common within Miami.

 

Take the unnecessary fish off the cap logo, and revise the number font to match the beautiful wordmark, and you'd have an outstanding and unique identity. The building blocks are there; they're just being misused right now.

[SilverBullet1929]

2 hours ago, kroywen said:

I'd be all in favor of the Marlins completely dumping black (or at least sidelining it to a trim color) and instead becoming a primarily blue team, with orange and yellow as their secondary colors. That is a gorgeous shade of blue that would be completely unique to the Marlins within baseball.

 

On the white home jersey: a blue wordmark, outlined in orange and/or yellow, paired with a blue cap, undershirts, and socks. Basically, swap out black for blue on the current home uniform (and tweak the coloring of the wordmark/outlines as necessary), and make the blue jersey the primary alternate. It'd be the perfect evolution of the Marlins' look in the (eventual) post-Loria era. The color scheme would embody the color and vibrancy of Miami Beach, while the wordmark would continue to evoke the art deco architecture common within Miami.

 

Take the unnecessary fish off the cap logo, and revise the number font to match the beautiful wordmark, and you'd have an outstanding and unique identity. The building blocks are there; they're just being misused right now.

Beautiful and well said. Love the lines about embodying Miami Beach, evoking the art deco, and most off all acknowledging that there are building blocks for a strong identity. Forward this to the new ownership when the change happens. 

 

With that said, as a Marlins fan I've heard all the complaints about the rebrand and while I disagree with some I understand why some things aren't liked except for one thing... the number font. 

 

I see that it's unique to baseball but I don't get what's "wrong" with it. It's not like the Brewers Times New Roman font of generic boredom so can anyone fill me on the problem with it or maybe what a better font option would be? 

[Gothamite]

9 hours ago, SilverBullet1929 said:

A few days ago my 8 year old asked me why the White Sox don't actually wear white socks and in explaining it the best I could I wondered if they could actually find a way to make white socks work for them again in a modern way. Any ideas? Can it be done? 

 

Absolutely it can.  If nothing else, put a thick black stripe around the top to create a visual break between the sock and pant leg.