MLB 2019-20 Fix 'Em Up: Minnesota Twins (Three Takes)

[MilSox]

 

 

8 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the Project 32 Angels - both versions:

 

Sorry to cross-pollinate the C&C, but I would love to see the bottom home and roads with a red crown-navy brim combo.

Your red and gold version couldn't possibly be more perfect for what you were going for.

[SFGiants58]

On 3/2/2020 at 1:15 PM, MJD7 said:

The Diamondbacks look great! I actually prefer the all-Sedona red alt, something about the black brim & undersleeves just doesn’t look right to me. The gray road uni is definitely superior to the sand in this case, in my opinion.

 

As for the Part II, you really knocked this one out of the park. The shades you’ve chosen are absolutely beautiful, they work perfectly together. It really does look like a Blue Jays/Astros/Brewers/Padres type modernization, as you implied. I would be happy to see this more magenta-tinted Arizona set and a more bluish-purple Rockies set coexist in the league, as it solves my main issue with Arizona going back to purple. My only suggestion would be to use the home jersey’s “A” colorization for the turquoise alt, but replacing the turquoise with cream. Any time the main part of the “A” is the darkest color, as opposed to the first outline, something about the distribution always just looks off to me. 

 

The Pirates look great. I would’ve never noticed the flaws in the cursive script, but you’ve definitely fixed them in your version. I still prefer yellow/black/yellow for the striping distribution, but that’s a minor quibble.

 

I can’t wait to see the Twins!

 

Thanks! I'm glad you liked them. The Diamondbacks with the creme-based turquoise jersey is pretty good, but I like purple-heavy a bit more.

 

 

On 3/2/2020 at 7:04 PM, NicDB said:

Sorry to cross-pollinate the C&C, but I would love to see the bottom home and roads with a red crown-navy brim combo.

Your red and gold version couldn't possibly be more perfect for what you were going for.

 

Thanks! That idea works pretty well.

 

 

I apologize for the extended delay. I was wrapping up my quarter at school, getting ready for a new quarter, and adjusting to working at home. It's a tough time for all of us, one I hope we can get through while remaining safe and healthy. Anyway, now it's time to debut the Twins trifecta!

 

MINNESOTA TWINS, PT. Beta - Crash Site Analysis

 

When the Twins underwent their update in 2010 (for Target Field), things went awry. While the team did fantastic work updating the 1987-2009 home uniform, while also maintaining a '60s throwback, they kind of screwed up by making the road uniform an odd mish-mash of both the home and road designs. Then things got more mixed up during the 2011 season, in which the Twins wore the throwbacks as full-time home uniforms as part of their memorial for Harmon Killebrew. Heck, the navy jerseys (soon to be the "Minnesota" jersey alone) kept the placket-style trim of the previous shirts. 

 

Inconsistencies grew further with the post-2014 All-Star Game (which looked beautiful) redesign. Pinstripes left the home uniform in favor of gold drop shadow and a navy-heavy lettering scheme (making the red and gold look orange). There was even an (inconsistently-applied) alternate cap with gold trim. A red alternate in 2016 with gold trim only made the gold-free road uniform more out-of-place. This left them with five jerseys, all with notably different styles. Then, the popular '60s throwback fell out of the set in favor of a navy jersey that double-outlined the wonky script (ugh). Now, with the addition of powder blue, the Twins have six jerseys with remarkable inconsistencies between them.

 

When thinking of albums to compare it to, I decided to branch out a bit. The state of the Twins' identity is not dissimilar to this awkward attempt at experimentation:

 

 

It's a band trying to figure out where to go after blowing their initial load on the debut album (Damned, Damned, Damned), only to find that nobody (save Brian James) knows how to write new material yet. A few good ideas, but an overall disappointing, disjointed package. 

 

How do the Twins escape this mess? Simple: pick one through-line in the identity and stick with it throughout the set. We have three variations present here. The initial version opts to modernize the '87-'09 aesthetic, while the second version takes the "Kasota Gold" approach to an appropriate conclusion. Finally, we'll have my take, one that starts with the '60s design and gives it a proper modernization alongside a few twists. 

 

Let's give it a look today!

[SFGiants58]

PART 1 - The '87 Experience

Let's take that 2010-2014 home uniform and base the set around it. The clean-up performed on the wordmark font, as well as the removal of nameplates, really elevated that specific design. However, I figured that we might want to expand that update, bringing it more in line with the uniforms worn during the team's two titles (1987 and 1991), where the "TC" was just a patch. The "m" cap returns, albeit tweaked to fit with the 2010 font update.

 

 

Sleeves now bear the "TC," which is a contrast-colored version of my Project 32 design. The primary logo also gets a tweak, to be a bit cleaner and to better reflect the shape of the state (straight line on the left, not jagged to accommodate Minnie - thanks @scottyeagle). 

 

 

The uniforms follow the '87-'09 pattern, albeit with the tweaks as mentioned earlier, to use the "m" cap and the "TC" sleeve. The road uniform now features a matching "Minnesota" wordmark. NOB's have body-colored outlines, so they stand out more without (ugh) nameplates.

 

 

The alternates include a navy jersey with the "m" logo on the front and placket trim. It also has a contrast-colored bill cap with the "TC" and the primary as a sleeve patch. The other uniform is a '60s throwback with a more accurate renditioning of the wonky script:

 

 

@Gothamite was right in that the original wasn't as awful as the Cooperstown Collection rendering made it out to be.

 

 

The jacket features simple striping and the "Minnesota" wordmark.

 

 

A big update like this would have been welcome in 2010, keeping the brand of the past 22 years intact while making it fit with modern designs.

[SFGiants58]

PT. II - Kasota Konundrum

The "Kasota Gold" addition's poor execution brought the set down for me. This set aims to fix the problems. 

 

Instead of keeping the now out-of-place wordmark around, we now have an underlined version of my Project 32 "Twins" script. All of the letterings are red with navy outlines and gold shadowing. The primary logo now reflects this. The "TC" now uses a gold "T" with a navy outline, to keep the "C" as the darker part/maintain a navy outline throughout. I also modified the Project 32 roundel to fit the design.

 

 

The uniforms are a happy balance between the 2010-14 and 2015-present looks. Pinstripes remain at home, while the road now features thicker three-layer striping. The primary logo is also on each uniform's sleeve. Caps now have a white-outlined "TC," while the non-pinstriped road has sock stripes.

 

 

The alternates include a red jersey (with an appropriate cap) and a navy shirt. That outfit uses contrast-colored scripts, and front numbers since shadowing was an issue on the design.

 

 

The second set of alternates feature a Mets-like "snow white" uniform (with the red cap) and a road pinstripe fauxback from Project 32 (adjusted to fit here, with the "M" now having a contrast-colored underline). 

 

 

The main jacket has trim stripes, while the alternate now features contrast-colored sleeves.

 

 

"Kasota Gold" could have been an excellent addition to the Twins' identity, setting them apart from the navy/red hegemony in an inventive way. Of course, it needed the proper execution and not the half-assed mess the Twins produced.

[SFGiants58]

PT III - Creme Creativity

 

This concept owes a lot to my work with the Carolina Twins, balancing the navy and red throughout the set in an inventive way. It pays tribute to the '60s uniform, while also injecting some contrasts. Creme replaces white throughout the identity, almost giving the team an "AL Giants" look. The primary features a little injection of light blue since I like it as an accent color. The secondary is the contrast-colored "TC" update, while the tertiary remains the Project 32 roundel (modified slightly). Rockwell Bold remains the wordmark font, to tie in with the "C" in the secondary.

 

Edit: I've replaced the blue shade with 284C. Here are the originals (Logo Sheet, Home & Road, Alts 1, Alts 2, and Jackets 1 and 2)

 

 

The home and road looks stick close to tradition, albeit with the twist of the contrast-colored front numbers and NoB's. Both scripts now feature the '59-'60 Senators' tail, alongside the primary on the sleeve. Creme is the base for the home uniform.

 

 

The red and navy alternates are wearable both at home and on the road. A red cap comes with the red jersey, while the navy shirt has the roundel on the sleeve. Sock stripes are on all pants that have no pinstripes.

 

 

With the second set of alternates, I got creative with the powder set. It's now just a powder jersey, featuring the red cap (for throwback-ish reasons, even though they never paired the red-crowned hat with the road uniform) and the "TC" on the chest. The road pinstripe design is my Project 32 one again, but with appropriate updates (off-white replacing white). 

 

 

The primary jacket uses simple striping and the "Minnesota" script (a la the '60s-'80s design). The alternate is a minor re-skin of PT. II's jacket.

 

 

This edition of the Twins now looks distinct from the other navy/red teams, while also fitting in with franchise history/the environs of Target Field.

 

C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

Up next, they changed nothing this offseason, but are worth doing over anyway. It's the Miami Marlins!

 

[sky1324]

I had somehow completely forgotten about this series, but I went through it again and it just further reinforces that you are the absolute king when it comes to baseball. You seem to know exactly what teams need to do in order to fix their problems while keeping everything fresh and unique. I love all three Twins designs, but my favorite is probably the cream set. Incorporating powder blue into the logo through the river is really clever and it works really well with the set as whole. Wonderful work, as always!

[The_Admiral]

That Kandinsky-style cover art doesn't fit the Damned at all, it looks like it was rejected art for Boys Don't Cry

[MJD7]

There’s a lot to talk about here, so I’ll get right into it!

 

I’ve never been a fan of the ‘87-‘09 set (which I’m sure is unpopular, especially among Twins fans), so I’m a bit biased against this one. The updates you’ve made to it are nice though, especially matching the road wordmark to the home. I’m not a fan of the outlines for the “TC” though. Even if removing it makes the red “C” a bit hard to see on a navy background, there’s something essential about it to the Twins for me. The outline kind of muddles things up too much.

 

You also did the best you could in trying to keep the Kasota Gold. For this set, I would definitely make the snow-white uniform the primary home, albeit with a navy cap, as pinstripes with a dropshadow wordmark is just a bit busy. If you want to keep the outline around the “TC” for this set, I would maybe go with a white T, a gold C, and a red outline for the primary cap? The red cap would then have a navy outline. I feel like it makes the letters more visible when they are the two lightest colors, with the dark outline sort of “blending” into the background. Another small thing, I would make the wordmark on the red jersey navy with a white outline, but that’s down to personal preference. 

 

The creme set is definitely my favorite, as it’s able to capture the essence of the 2014 ASG jerseys, which I loved. The primaries and alternates are perfect. I’m not a huge fan of the powder blue alternate though, I would maybe go with a shade more accurate to the team’s actual powder blue alternate, if you’re set on using it at all.

 

Overall though, I’d be happy if any of these were the Twins’ uniform set. They’d definitely be better than the mishmashed mess of an identity they have now!

[Section30]

That cream Twins set may be my favorite Twins concept ever. Cream works so good with the team and helps separate them from the other RWB teams and it also represents the limestone around Target Field better than the Kasota Gold IMO. The powder blue and M-StP alternates are great as well.

[Eastport76]

3 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

PT III - Creme Creativity

 

This concept owes a lot to my work with the Carolina Twins, balancing the navy and red throughout the set in an inventive way. It pays tribute to the '60s uniform, while also injecting some contrasts. Creme replaces white throughout the identity, almost giving the team an "AL Giants" look. The primary features a little injection of light blue since I like it as an accent color. The secondary is the contrast-colored "TC" update, while the tertiary remains the Project 32 roundel (modified slightly). Rockwell Bold remains the wordmark font, to tie in with the "C" in the secondary.

 

 

The home and road looks stick close to tradition, albeit with the twist of the contrast-colored front numbers and NoB's. Both scripts now feature the '59-'60 Senators' tail, alongside the primary on the sleeve. Creme is the base for the home uniform.

 

 

The red and navy alternates are wearable both at home and on the road. A red cap comes with the red jersey, while the navy shirt has the roundel on the sleeve. Sock stripes are on all pants that have no pinstripes.

 

 

With the second set of alternates, I got creative with the powder set. It's now just a powder jersey, featuring the red cap (for throwback-ish reasons, even though they never paired the red-crowned hat with the road uniform) and the "TC" on the chest. The road pinstripe design is my Project 32 one again, but with appropriate updates (off-white replacing white). 

 

 

The primary jacket uses simple striping and the "Minnesota" script (a la the '60s-'80s design). The alternate is a minor re-skin of PT. II's jacket.

 

 

This edition of the Twins now looks distinct from the other navy/red teams, while also fitting in with franchise history/the environs of Target Field.

 

C+C is appreciated, as always!

 

Up next, they changed nothing this offseason, but are worth doing over anyway. It's the Miami Marlins!

it’s...just amazing. My only nitpick is the red alternate. I don’t think if Twins must had a red jersey and of course, even they don’t need a red jersey!  But, it’s still a great concept, man! Maybe you can use the powder blue more? Like, stripes?  

[Silence of the Rams]

Couple of things, one of which i will DM you for. The other thing is, As your username pretty much says what your favorite team to do on this thread, Please don't change the Giants too much please

[coco1997]

I really like that powder blue alternate, but unfortunately I think it clashes with the cream colored pants. If the pants were plain white, it'd look great. I also wish there was a way to incorporate powder blue into the cap design. 

 

For the Kasota gold set, I agree with @MJD7 that the non-pinstriped home uniform should be the primary home set, as the pinstripes with drop shadowed scripts is too busy looking. Also, I don't know if this would look any good, but what if you flipped the trim colors on the red alternate's script? Gold outline with navy drop shadows? 

 

Overall I like the Metrodome set, and the alternate with the "M" logo is coincidentally very similar to a concept I have planned for an upcoming series. 

 

Looking forward to the Marlins! 

[Walter Sobchak]

My ideal Twins set is an updated version of what they wore their first decade in Minnesota, so I really like your third concept. I like the Senators script tail and want the Twins to use it. Have you ever thought about using the Senators sock stripes for the Twins? I think it would look good and would go well with embracing a little bit of their time in Washington like the script tail.

[Eastport76]

Speaking of more, I had a suggestion for your upcoming Marlins concept; I found out the Marlins’ colours are pretty confusing; they supposed be match to Miami Vice scheme but their “pink” is actually red! It’s starting to annoying me. 
Instead of pink, why don’t try magenta? It’s a pretty unique colour.  Or you can back to 90s’ teal scheme, your opinion. 

[MilSox]

I'm glad my instinct was right about the Angels. If they want to make navy more than a trim color again that's exactly the route they should go. It evokes their traditional look, but keeps them a red-dominant team which I think is important to their brand. Thanks for the mock up.

 

Also, I love the way you incorporated the halo into the socks. That might be my favorite part of the concept.

 

As far as your Twins concepts... your TC mark is absolutely gorgeous and feels uniquely theirs. I would absolutely be on board if it were real.

 

I wonder, could we see your third option with red scripts and numbers (except for the red jersey, obviously)? I feel like that might strike a perfect blend of the Met and Metrodome era looks.

[bcon_731]

always felt arizona had solid logos and decent color palette when they first started but that loll from 2007-2016 was kinda meh. 

[RJL518]

Thank you very much, SFGIants58. 

You just gave me some work to do for OOTP!

Being laid off cuz of you know what, I have lots of time on my hands.

Take a look at your glorious work actually in action!

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=287025

[SFGiants58]

On 3/30/2020 at 12:50 PM, the admiral said:

That Kandinsky-style cover art doesn't fit the Damned at all, it looks like it was rejected art for Boys Don't Cry

 

Pretty much. It looks strange compared to the rest of the album covers. However, it fits with the "odd one out" album. Also, have you seen how Captain Sensible (on far left) sometimes dresses?

 

 

Brian James' absence really helped The Damned ascend as most eclectic of the '70s British punk bands.

 

On 3/30/2020 at 12:16 PM, QCS said:

I had somehow completely forgotten about this series, but I went through it again and it just further reinforces that you are the absolute king when it comes to baseball. You seem to know exactly what teams need to do in order to fix their problems while keeping everything fresh and unique. I love all three Twins designs, but my favorite is probably the cream set. Incorporating powder blue into the logo through the river is really clever and it works really well with the set as whole. Wonderful work, as always!

 

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. 

 

On 3/30/2020 at 2:25 PM, MJD7 said:

There’s a lot to talk about here, so I’ll get right into it!

 

I’ve never been a fan of the ‘87-‘09 set (which I’m sure is unpopular, especially among Twins fans), so I’m a bit biased against this one. The updates you’ve made to it are nice though, especially matching the road wordmark to the home. I’m not a fan of the outlines for the “TC” though. Even if removing it makes the red “C” a bit hard to see on a navy background, there’s something essential about it to the Twins for me. The outline kind of muddles things up too much.

 

Thanks. I can see that, but I like how the outlines blend into the contrasting letters and set them apart from the white background. 

 

On 3/30/2020 at 2:25 PM, MJD7 said:

You also did the best you could in trying to keep the Kasota Gold. For this set, I would definitely make the snow-white uniform the primary home, albeit with a navy cap, as pinstripes with a dropshadow wordmark is just a bit busy. If you want to keep the outline around the “TC” for this set, I would maybe go with a white T, a gold C, and a red outline for the primary cap? The red cap would then have a navy outline. I feel like it makes the letters more visible when they are the two lightest colors, with the dark outline sort of “blending” into the background. Another small thing, I would make the wordmark on the red jersey navy with a white outline, but that’s down to personal preference. 

 

Thanks. I definitely agree that the home was too busy, as the Mets can certainly show that shadows and pinstripes don't mix.

 

 

I've got a tweak in an update down below. Also, with the cap logo, I didn't want to use the gold outline. The whole design revolves around gold not touching red, so that both shades stand out more.

 

 

It's OK on the red, but gross on the blue. 

 

On 3/30/2020 at 2:25 PM, MJD7 said:

The creme set is definitely my favorite, as it’s able to capture the essence of the 2014 ASG jerseys, which I loved. The primaries and alternates are perfect. I’m not a huge fan of the powder blue alternate though, I would maybe go with a shade more accurate to the team’s actual powder blue alternate, if you’re set on using it at all.

 

Overall though, I’d be happy if any of these were the Twins’ uniform set. They’d definitely be better than the mishmashed mess of an identity they have now!

 

Thanks! I've updated it to match the historically-accurate shade (284 C).

 

23 hours ago, Section30 said:

That cream Twins set may be my favorite Twins concept ever. Cream works so good with the team and helps separate them from the other RWB teams and it also represents the limestone around Target Field better than the Kasota Gold IMO. The powder blue and M-StP alternates are great as well.

 

Thanks!

 

22 hours ago, Eastport76 said:

it’s...just amazing. My only nitpick is the red alternate. I don’t think if Twins must had a red jersey and of course, even they don’t need a red jersey!  But, it’s still a great concept, man! Maybe you can use the powder blue more? Like, stripes?  

 

Thanks! I like the red jersey (for color contrasts). I thought about more powder, but I prefer using it only a tiny bit on the logo and the one alternate.

 

22 hours ago, Silence of the Rams said:

Couple of things, one of which i will DM you for. The other thing is, As your username pretty much says what your favorite team to do on this thread, Please don't change the Giants too much please

 

I don't think the Giants are in the cue. My Project 32 concept is pretty much what I'd keep.

 

19 hours ago, coco1997 said:

I really like that powder blue alternate, but unfortunately I think it clashes with the cream colored pants. If the pants were plain white, it'd look great. I also wish there was a way to incorporate powder blue into the cap design. 

 

For the Kasota gold set, I agree with @MJD7 that the non-pinstriped home uniform should be the primary home set, as the pinstripes with drop shadowed scripts is too busy looking. Also, I don't know if this would look any good, but what if you flipped the trim colors on the red alternate's script? Gold outline with navy drop shadows? 

 

Overall I like the Metrodome set, and the alternate with the "M" logo is coincidentally very similar to a concept I have planned for an upcoming series. 

 

Looking forward to the Marlins! 

 

Thanks! I don't see much of a pants clash between powder (which I've since darkened) and creme. As for powder in the caps, I'm not as keen on that. 

 

 

On 3/31/2020 at 2:33 PM, Walter Sobchak said:

My ideal Twins set is an updated version of what they wore their first decade in Minnesota, so I really like your third concept. I like the Senators script tail and want the Twins to use it. Have you ever thought about using the Senators sock stripes for the Twins? I think it would look good and would go well with embracing a little bit of their time in Washington like the tail script.

 

Thanks! I thought about those stripes, but since I have outlines throughout the set, I figured I wouldn't do it. I did it back in 2013.

 

 

 

On 3/31/2020 at 6:48 PM, NicDB said:

I'm glad my instinct was right about the Angels. If they want to make navy more than a trim color again that's exactly the route they should go. It evokes their traditional look, but keeps them a red-dominant team which I think is important to their brand. Thanks for the mock up.

 

Also, I love the way you incorporated the halo into the socks. That might be my favorite part of the concept.

 

Thanks! I think you had fantastic instincts with it. I have considered implementing a "Los Angeles" wordmark and an interlocking "LA," bits I have from my olden days.

 

  

 

I'm a Lucasfilm-tier self recycler!

 

On 3/31/2020 at 6:48 PM, NicDB said:

As far as your Twins concepts... your TC mark is absolutely gorgeous and feels uniquely theirs. I would absolutely be on board if it were real.

 

I wonder, could we see your third option with red scripts and numbers (except for the red jersey, obviously)? I feel like that might strike a perfect blend of the Met and Metrodome era looks.

 

Oh, indeed! The red scripts edition looks fantastic.

 

 

On 4/1/2020 at 12:11 PM, RJL518 said:

Thank you very much, SFGIants58. 

You just gave me some work to do for OOTP!

Being laid off cuz of you know what, I have lots of time on my hands.

Take a look at your glorious work actually in action!

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=287025

 

Thanks! I'm sorry about that, I wish you the best.

[SFGiants58]

Here's the Kasota Gold update, with shadows added to the navy alternate and jacket, a snow white home uniform, and drop shadow-free pinstripe alterantes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's much more cohesive/less busy.

[RJL518]

The "Los Angeles" Wordmark for your Angels.

Not easy to find on the net when I did your Angels Project 32 earlier in my thread on OOTP.

Can you A) enlarge that wordmark and b) change the coloring to your original Angels colors of navy and red as well as the red and gold?