Marlins93

Why does it feel like the Nationals change things up way more frequently than other teams do?

I don't believe the "brand visibility" angle. At least the way, it's been voiced as a main driver for the logo being relocated. MLB is getting paid a billion dollars by Nike for this contract, so it seems like MLB is basically letting them do almost whatever they want in terms of cost-cutting measures. And rolling out gimmicks like City Connect. I am guessing that the more economical (and "efficient") template design is the culprit. Nike engineered it with such narrow plackets, that MLB was forced to either accept a smaller logo or relocate it. They opted for the latter option to sustain "brand visibility." It's shocking how much Nike is screwing this up. It really makes you wonder how much money they are actually saving from manufacturing and materials costs.

I don't think the Diamondback's ST hat matches well with their jersey. Given the red logo and numbers, they need a red hat. There's not enough teal-ish color in their jersey for that hat to work.

I don't think anyone is overreacting. Based on the photos I'm seeing, this is a total disaster. These jerseys look cheap and counterfeit in every photo. And I don't like the reduced size NOBs from the Marlins' photos. Reminds me of those children's jerseys.

The Phillies City Connects should be made to look like Duracell batteries. Black pants, black jerseys, tan hat with squatchee made to look like a cathode button top.

Definitely seems like the original teal to me.

I am a big fan of the spring training hat designs this year. They aren't all perfect, but at least this is a good concept. Much better than the trucker hat gimmick and that hilariously bad "logo within a logo" concept they tried for a few years. That was "launch it into the sun" bad. It's cool to see the Marlins with a blue hat. It's a nice change of pace from the mostly black/monochrome design aesthetic I associate with this set. However, the hat exposes some of the major design flaws with that logo, that have always bothered me. Basically the "M" logo doesn't really work well with other backgrounds that are not black. This was the case with the "old" blue jersey, too. It utilizes those blue/red double outlines that required a white trim in order to place it upon a blue background. Seeing the blue, red, and white together creates a kind of awkward eyesore. If you look at the other logos in this hat collection, you notice how so few of them have white trim. And the other ones that do (Atlanta, for example), are much easier on the eyes. I appreciate the Marlins trying to upgrade this set and emphasize the color more, but it's really not worth saving IMO.

It's giving me serious "Washington Baseball Team" vibes.

You have to assume they actually thought of this and made a textile prototype. I wonder why they didn't think it was viable. I'm curious to see what a "real" version would look like. The more I reflect on the black jersey change, the more I sour on the decision to make white lettering. It's a total mismatch with the hat design, too.

Although the Marlins and Mariners both unveiled new brandings in 1993, I still contend that the Marlins "wore it first" especially since their announcement came months earlier. I also think the shade of "teal" is distinct enough for both teams and I actually don't even consider the Mariners' Northwest Green to be teal per se, anyway. But I definitely disagree with any notion that the Marlins should back away from teal because of the Mariners. And I also don't think the "Miami blue" shade is *that* good. In no shape or form would I consider *this* drab:

Or they could just go back to a color scheme that is clearly preferred (teal) and one that no Marlins fan wanted to get rid of. They have only been teal-less for so many years due to owner hubris. NYC carpetbagger Jeffrey Loria decided to Yankee-fy the Marlins original uniform set as soon as he bought the team. They were still technically a "teal" team but it was basically BFBS with teal very attenuated. He got rid of it altogether when the new stadium opened just because he wanted to flex his ego and put his stamp on things. Jeter did exactly the same thing when he bought the team. I feel like the team bosses just doesn't get it. They are not gaining any extra revenue by having this soulless identity trotted out since 2019 that most fans merely tolerate on the basis of "hey, at least the blue jersey is cool!" Look around Marlins Park on game day. Most people are either wearing City Connects or vintage teal.

I believe every word of this, but if I were your friend, I would have been incensed enough with that reasoning to push back. I went to a fair amount of games in 2023 and it was pretty obvious that the amount of teal gear on sale was pathetic at best. Sure they were selling the New Era teal cap, but jersey-wise it was slim pickings. That bizarre Andre Dawson Mitchell & Ness jersey (no idea how they landed on him to rep the team) and a Willis home jersey c. 2003, but they went most of the season without a replica of the 1993-2002 jerseys worn by the players on sale in the team store. And when they did start selling them, very late into the season, they seemed to rarely be in stock. If the merchandise sales seemed limited, it's because there was no merchandise. The online store was even worse. On top of that, I can't imagine the thought process of anyone who thinks a White Sox Marlins black alternate would sell better than a vintage teal throwback. Again, this f'n team, man. I hear you, but as others have mentioned, there seems to be enough fanfare around this unveiling that the blue one has to be for game use. We shall see.

The blue jersey is honestly quite nice and definitely the best of the four. Much improved from the first iteration. I am glad they decided to go with the "Marlins" wordmark instead of the "Miami" one. The obsession with focusing on "Miami" for the brand identity always bothered me; this is something they started doing back in 2012. On top of that, the "Marlins" wordmark also looks nicer than the "Miami" one does with the font style they selected. But I will ask again: if they Marlins have a nice blue jersey in the rotation that people clearly wanted, why does a White Sox black & white alternate even need to exist at all?

I know I'm always a total wet blanket about the current Marlins' identity, but the changes made to the black jersey are lateral at best. They basically "upgraded" an illegible jersey by making it totally bland. It's literally a black and white jersey (with the tiniest amount of accenting), almost akin to something that the White Sox would wear. Now I'm beginning to wonder: why does a black jersey even need to exist at all? They very comically touted their "colores" when they unveiled this misfire of a set back in 2018 and one of their four jerseys has practically no trace of their "Miami blue" and "caliente red." If there is some new rule about limiting the number of jersey combinations, just get rid of the black jersey entirely. It's never going to work. Just stick with the white, the grey, the blue, and a teal throwback Friday as your four. It sure seems like they aren't doing throwbacks this year, despite how wildly popular they were in 2023. This f'n team, man.

The hat is legible, I'd say. At least more so than the black jersey. It just has too little color to "pop" in the way that it should. I'd be shocked but pleasantly surprised if they unveiled new hats. I'm getting the impression they're just fixing the egregious design flaws with these two jerseys as they transition to the new templates. Could explain why it's being done this offseason, in particular.