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2016 MLB Concepts: National League


stl/indyguy1985

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Hey concept addicts! Welcome to a new baseball season! Last year I did a set of jersey concepts for each MLB team and what I thought should be the best re-design or adjustments that should be made to each one. Some of you liked them and I had a great time making them, so I've gone back and done some more designs and made a few tweaks to the ones I already had, as well as adding many different throwbacks. The template is still the Wikipedia template, but I find that as flat as that template is, it's the easiest to work with and re-color. The only thing I don't like is that there are no back views of the jerseys, but I may still redo all of these on a better template eventually.

 

Each team is presented with the home and road jerseys, or any alternates and throwbacks worn in separate locations shown in both home and road formats. If a jersey is worn both at home and on the road it simply just has the pants split in color with the home white represented on the left side and the road grey on the right. Also in some cases where undershirts or stirrups are different colors at home or on the road, they are shown in those colors on the same sides too. In a few cases where a team wears an alternate hat in both places, the hat is placed in the middle of the two regular jerseys.

 

As for the BP jerseys, they are only shown in the split format, as I feel that there is no need to wear different BP jerseys at home or on the road. Also, the design of the BP's is the pullover design from 2007-10, with the team's main color making up the body of the jersey and their secondary color under the armpits and down the sides. The reason for this is that I feel it is just a much simpler and better looking design than the crazy ones they have now. For the BP jersey logos, I have just the team's hat logo on the left breast, very reminiscent of the 80's and 90's BP jersey styles. The BP hats however are based off of the current design, and all are made to be a two-tone look with the bills being a different color than the crown.

 

Anyway, here's my concept descriptions for each team in alphabetical order, followed by the pictures of the jerseys:

 

Arizona Diamond Backs: I have no idea what Arizona was thinking coming out with the new designs that they have now. In my opinion, they're way too wild, have way too much going on, and just don't look very MLB-like. If you ask me, I think they look more like a college team's jersey. That being said, I kept the D-backs in the design and format of their previous jerseys, but also based it heavily off of their early 2000's design. The home jersey is like that design with just the "A" on the left breast and the hat with the snake "D" logo. The road jersey is pretty much identical to the previous one, but with the new "Arizona" script on it, which is the one thing I do like about the new jerseys. The alternates are also basically the same type that they previously had, but with the "A" again replacing "D-backs" on the red ones, and only red undershirts and stirrups with both. The throwback is the iconic purple pinstripes design from the early 00's and the BP jersey has the snake "D" as the logo. Overall, I like Arizona's colors from both era's, but I don't think that the two should have ever been combined.

 

Atlanta Braves: The Braves are one of those teams that have had some of the most traditional and time tested jerseys in the game, and in my opinion there was absolutely nothing that needed to be done with the regular home and roads, except keep the blue hat with red bill on both, as I just don't like the all blue hat. I really don't like the current alternates either, as I don't feel that they have the same traditional look as the regular home and road jerseys, so I made a pair that mimic the other two more closely. The home alternate is a brighter shade of red with white script lettering and piping, as well as a matching red hat with blue bill and white "A" logo to match the jersey script. The road alternate is the same shade of blue as the regular team hats, with white script lettering that I think makes for a much better contrast than blue on blue. The jersey also has a matching all blue hat with adjusted "A" logo to match the jersey script. For the throwbacks, I can't help but love the early 70's Hank Aaron era design with feathers on the sleeves and white front panel hats, so I included both versions for at home and the road. The BP jersey has the alternate version of the "A" logo with the tomahawk attached to it.

 

Chicago Cubs: Oh, what can I say about my hated rival Cubs. Simply that their jerseys like the Cards, are also very traditional and classic looking, and really needed nothing to be changed on either the home or road jerseys. The alternate jersey is pretty much the same too, minus the National League logo on the right sleeve, which I think is totally unnecessary. I couldn't really think of a decent throwback to use, as the Cubs design really hasn't been all that much different for the most part in each era. For a BP jersey I made it with the regular red hat "C" logo.

 

Cincinnati Reds: Another team that has had a lot of crazy designs over the years but has toned it down and become way more traditional in the recent past is the Reds. Not much to really be done here. The home, road, and alternate jerseys are exactly the same, except I replaced the black shoes with red and gave all three jerseys solid red hats, as I feel that black just does not look good on a team whose name is the "Reds." The throwback jersey is the iconic "Big Red Machine" jersey of the 70's. (This one does have black shoes however to make it fully authentic.) The BP jersey has the same white version of the team logo as the alternate jersey. The BP hat has a white crown with a red bill, a sort of throwback design based off of the white crowned hats that the Reds wore at different times in their history.

 

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies have another great traditional look that I felt needed no adjustment at home or on the road. The alternates however are a little different. Being one of the only teams to feature purple as a primary color, I gave the Rocks a solid purple alternate jersey to be worn at home, along with a matching purple hat with black bill. The road alternate is pretty much the same as the black alternates they wear now. I dropped the vest jersey because I just can't stand the vest look in the MLB, as I feel its another design that should be left in college or little league. Not really any place for a throwback here either, as Colorado has had pretty much the same design throughout their short history. The BP jersey has the interlocking "CR" hat logo on it.

 

Miami Marlins: In my opinion, the Marlins had one of the best and classic looking designs in the league prior to their 2012 rebranding. Why they decided to ditch the teal and more atomically correct fish for orange and stylized fish design I'll never understand. However, it's not like their current design wasn't entirely re-workable. For the home jersey, I took the "Marlins" script from the alternate orange jerseys and made the lettering black. (It makes way more sense to have the team name at home and it's city name on the road.) The road and black alternate jerseys are both the same, however I designated the orange for home and the black for the road. I really like the rarely seen orange alternate hats so I've included them for use both at home and on the road. The BP jersey has the same "M" hat logo.

 

Los Angeles Dodgers: Along with the Yankees, Cards, and Red Sox, the Dodgers look is as traditionally classic and iconic as you can get. I just think they've done a little too much with it in recent years. Mainly the use of the "LA" logo on the left sleeve, which I think is just excessive to have it on both the hat and sleeve, so I removed it. I also added a blue alternate jersey to be worn at home, and kept the throwback style road jersey with blue sleeve stripes. The BP jersey has the same "LA" hat logo.

 

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have managed to stick with a fairly conservative and traditional look for the past several years. Nothing I felt needed to be done with the regular home and road or alternate blue jerseys. I love the new inclusion of the retro "ball and glove" logo on the alternate hats so I've kept that, as well as put the same logo on the BP jersey. The pair of throwback jerseys are from the early 80's, which I think is the best looking era from the Brewers past.

 

New York Mets: The Mets are yet another team with a great traditional and classic look, especially now that they've dropped black from their color scheme. For the most part, there really was nothing at all that I felt needed to be done with any of the regular home and road or alternate jerseys, so I left them exactly the same. All I did was add a pair of mid 80's throwbacks, an era that I think best represents the Mets past. The BP jersey has the regular "NY" hat logo on it.

 

Philadelphia Phillies: Again, the Phillies are way too traditional and classic looking to need to have anything done with them, however I did add an alternate red jersey based off of this year's spring training jersey, but with white lettering to make it show up better. The 70's/80's throwbacks are I think the best remembered era of the Phils history, and the BP jersey has the simple "P" hat logo.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates: Same deal with the Pirates. Not much needed to be done here aside from adding a yellow alternate jersey and hat to go along with the current black one, and while I like the new late 70's throwback jersey the Pirates have decided to use this year, I've replaced it with the pinstripe version from that era in order to make it look different from the alternate jersey and kept the early 70's version. The BP jersey is pretty much the same as what is worn by the team now.

 

San Diego Padres: The Padres are perhaps the one team in MLB that have had somewhat of an identity crisis over the course of their history. Having so many different looks and eras to choose from, I decide to go with a hybrid of types by taking the new lettering from the current style jerseys and coloring them in the original brown and yellow scheme. The home jersey has the new "Padres" script, as I just don't think the "SD" logo works as well. The road jerseys have the same "San Diego" lettering, and the brown alternate jerseys are pretty much the same design as the current blue ones. I've kept the yellow front paneled throwback style hat as an alternate and added two yellow stripes to the stirrups. For throwbacks, I included the short lived mid 70's design which I always thought had a great script to it, as well as both of the jerseys worn by the team in the early 80's. The BP jerseys have the same "SD" hat logo as the one alternate. 

 

San Francisco Giants: The Giants have another traditionally classic look that works fine as it is, but also have some great designs from their past that still work as well. Keeping the regular home and road jerseys the same, I adjusted the black alternate jersey by changing the color in the lettering and piping to white for a better visual contrast. The sleeve stripes on both alternates have been adjusted slightly for a better matching order as well, and I also added a white version of the alternates. The road "SF" alternate I think works just fine as it is, and the BP jersey has the regular "SF" hat logo on it. Since the alternate jerseys so closely resemble the jerseys from the late 70's/early 80's I felt that there was no need for a throwback.

 

St. Louis Cardinals: For my hometown Cardinals, I felt that with the same traditional, classic and iconic look like so many other teams, there was nothing that needed to be done on the outset, but there were a few adjustments that I felt needed to be made. The first addition is red stripes on the pants, similar to the Cards jerseys from the 60's, and also the same stripes added to the sleeves. The road jersey has the "St. Louis" script lettering from the current Saturday alternates on it, while those jerseys have had the lettering replaced with just the redbird logo on the left breast, very similar to the jerseys worn by the team in the late 20's. I also made an identical red version of the alternate for use both at home and on the road. For throwbacks, I picked what I thought were the three most iconic looking eras of past Cardinals jerseys, the 40's and 80's, and the BP jersey has the white "STL" hat logo.

 

Washington Nationals: The Nationals have a look that I feel is traditional, but I just don't like the cursive "W", as I think it looks too much like the Walgreen's "W" logo. That being the case, I have taken the rarely seen "Nationals" script lettering and put it on the home jerseys, while replacing the "W" on all hats with the also seldom seen "DC" logo and made them solid red. For alternates, I made a blue patriotic home jersey with the stars and stripes "DC" logo, as well as a blue, red billed hat with the same logo. A red road alternate has the "Washington" script logo on it and the BP jersey has the white "DC" hat logo.

 

Well, that's it for the National League. I invite your comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism. I will post the American League in a few days. Thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoys these!

1. D-Backs.png

2. Braves.png

3. Cubs.png

4. Reds.png

5. Rockies.png

6. Marlins.png

7. Dodgers.png

8. Brewers.png

9. Mets.png

10. Phillies.png

11. Pirates.png

12. Padres.png

13. Giants.png

14. Cardinals.png

15. Nationals.png

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We Are Cardinal Nation. Bleed Blue. Indiana's Game, Indiana's Team

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As I said in the description, the reason for the split colored pants is to show that the same jersey is worn both at home and on the road. If the jersey doesn't differ, then I felt there was no reason to show it twice in separate frames, as there are already so many jerseys with each team.

2281.gif187.gifgdm7egmgv3tsspc6f1gym7cwz.gif

We Are Cardinal Nation. Bleed Blue. Indiana's Game, Indiana's Team

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You already knocked out the whole NL? I'm impressed. As for the concepts, don't be afraid to get a little creative. Think about what you always wanted to see these teams do, and then put it on the screen. Just because something is "traditional" or "classic" doesn't mean you can't put a new spin on it. You did a good job on these, the Cardinals and Padres are my favorites, but as a whole these are a bit too safe for my tastes.

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Well, I'm a traditionalist and I believe that MLB jerseys should be fairly plain, and conservative, and I don't like anything too radical or un-conventional. (i.e. Arizona) But as far as what the majority of the teams are all wearing now, I really don't have a problem with the overall look of everybody's jerseys and I really like most of them as they are. Like I said in my opening description, this isn't really meant to be a total re-design of anything, rather than a set of minor adjustments or additions I think each team could use.

2281.gif187.gifgdm7egmgv3tsspc6f1gym7cwz.gif

We Are Cardinal Nation. Bleed Blue. Indiana's Game, Indiana's Team

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Brewers- could you make the set based on the new navy blue alt new blue,old yellow

Phillies- make the alt home the new home and add a blue jersey

Pirates- remove white from the black jersey to match the hat

Padres- limit the brown jerseys and possibly add a yellow jersey

Nationals- add nationals script to the blue alt

 

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I guess that version of a Brewers alternate would work, however considering how little yellow is used on that jersey, I don't know if it would show up as well. It's worth a try.

You're saying take the Phillies Sunday alternate and make that the primary in place of the pinstripes? I'm not against it, but I don't know if the majority of Phils Phans would agree to dropping the pinstripes.

I actually agree with you on the removal of white on the Pirates black alternate, considering it doesn't exist anywhere else there, or in their color scheme. But I'm guessing they did that just to make the logo and numbers stand out more.

As far as the Padres, I basically just kept the one throwback/alternate brown jersey they have now, and turned the blue "SD" jersey brown to match. I'm not so crazy on a Padres yellow jersey because with that shade of yellow, I think it would look too much like those God awful mustard monstrosities of 1978!

I had thought about making a blue or red alternate jersey for Washington with the "Nationals" script, but I thought that the stars and stripes jersey was just way more awesome, and considering the fact that they play in the nation's capital, it just seems appropriate.  

2281.gif187.gifgdm7egmgv3tsspc6f1gym7cwz.gif

We Are Cardinal Nation. Bleed Blue. Indiana's Game, Indiana's Team

9857qg.jpg

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