MLB 2022 Uniform/Logo Changes

[adsarebad]

15 hours ago, dont care said:

It connected to the team. The marathon runs right past the stadium, they were the first event in Boston after the marathon bombing, and you have David ortiz’ iconic speech before the game. The marathon is probably the thing the team connects most with the city.

Nothing else says Boston more than a running event? There are no other things in Boston that people know and love more than another sporting event?

 

And if that really was the case, would you really want your CC jersey to be connected to, and remind you of  a terror attack?

 

The Yankees should have the twin towers on their CC jerseys?

No thanks, you got this whole thing wrong.

[McCall]

1 hour ago, adsarebad said:

That is sad stuff indeed  

How is it sad?

[Old School Fool]

2 hours ago, adsarebad said:

boston is known for blue and yellow?

 

1 hour ago, adsarebad said:

Nothing else says Boston more than a running event? There are no other things in Boston that people know and love more than another sporting event?

 

And if that really was the case, would you really want your CC jersey to be connected to, and remind you of  a terror attack?

 

The Yankees should have the twin towers on their CC jerseys?

No thanks, you got this whole thing wrong.

 

You don't have to like the design, I know I don't like the design but the explanation is there and it is valid. The uniform doesn't have anything to do with the bombing specifically. Nobody said that man, they just mentioned one reason the city is so attached to the marathon. Also, teams already tribute 9/11 as it is, in fact, the Mets and Yankees wore FDNY and NYPD hats just last season.

 

[coco1997]

3 hours ago, adsarebad said:

Nothing else says Boston more than a running event? There are no other things in Boston that people know and love more than another sporting event?

 

And if that really was the case, would you really want your CC jersey to be connected to, and remind you of  a terror attack?

The Boston Marathon has taken place for nearly 130 years. You might feel differently but I don't think the fact that there was a terror attack one year should permanently taint any association with it. 

[gosioux76]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the suggestion that Boston's City Connect is the one that seems the least connected to the team has nothing to do with the theme or spiritual connection to the city and everything to do with visuals. As many of you has testified, there's indeed a solid link between the marathon, the Red Sox and the city of Boston that these uniforms speak to and apparently resonate with Bostonians. 

 

But at a surface level, the Boston uniform is the one out of the bunch that, visually speaking, doesn't immediately register as being representative of that specific team. The Chicago and L.A. looks, the Giants,  Astros, Royals, and even the Marlins, at first glance, are immediately recognizable as alternate uniforms of the teams they represent. The designs bear resemblance to the core brand. The Red Sox, and I'd say to a lesser degree the Nationals and D-Backs, can't say the same. 

 

That's not to say it's wrong. I presume there's no defined rulebook when it comes to determining the spirit of this program, so teams choose to implement it in their own ways. 

[Kg54mvp]

I’ve probably said this before, but city connect uniforms are just an annoying cash grab.

 

Teams represent the cities enough already. When I think of Boston, I think of the Red Sox, I think about Fenway. Teams already connect the community.

[Carolingian Steamroller]

12 hours ago, fouhy12 said:

As someone within the Boston media bubble, it was funny to come on here to see that City Connect uniform ranked so poorly. It's very well liked by people in the city. It may be garish, and it may not use team colors, but it nailed the CITY part. 

 

 That's something I noticed and I think there's something to that.

 

The connection with the city and the fanbase to feel represented.

[guest23]

1 hour ago, Kg54mvp said:

I’ve probably said this before, but city connect uniforms are just an annoying cash grab.

 

Teams represent the cities enough already. When I think of Boston, I think of the Red Sox, I think about Fenway. Teams already connect the community.

 

+1 on this. Just off the top of my head you can go back to the early 80's and magnum pi where mlb hats have been worn as the de facto fashion statement to align one's connection to a particular city/metro. How do you show a connection to a city more than the classic navy red sox cap already does???

[sitboaf]

1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

But at a surface level, the Boston uniform is the one out of the bunch that, visually speaking, doesn't immediately register as being representative of that specific team. The Chicago and L.A. looks, the Giants,  Astros, Royals, and even the Marlins, at first glance, are immediately recognizable as alternate uniforms of the teams they represent. The designs bear resemblance to the core brand. The Red Sox, and I'd say to a lesser degree the Nationals and D-Backs, can't say the same.

Good observation. There's a wide variation in approaches, for sure.

To me, succeeding at your City Connect lies in how well your uniform reflects the community, regardless of whether it looks recognizable as part of the regular brand. In other words, this is a chance to attach a secondary brand to your club. A city brand. Not a team brand. Whenever I see a comment here in New England like, "Boo! It doesn't look like a Red Sox uniform!" I say, "Good, Because it's supposed to reflect Boston."

Houston, Miami, SF, and KC landed in a middle ground, with city/history features AND recognizable brand elements. I can certainly understand that. But to me, the ChiSox and Angels failed, making delightful alts, while misreading the assignment. And the Dodgers? Were they trying at all? Their recent additions of black have at least helped draw a distinction, but to use your MLB-issued blank check to make essentially another Cactus League uniform?  Just why?

[Discrim]

11 hours ago, adsarebad said:

boston is known for blue and yellow?

They're the colors of the Boston Athletic Association, who organizes the marathon iirc.

[Pharos04]

Yeah I’m from Boston and I can’t stand the blue/yellow. It honestly feels like a massive attempt at cashing in on the feelings people have about the Marathon and the attack. It feels empty. When I think of Boston one of the last things that comes to mind is people running from Hopkinton to Boston.

 

Boston has much more historical and city-related concepts they could have pulled from. The entire center of the beginnings of the Revolution and the Sons of Liberty? Or something based around the USS Constitution that was built here. Hell they could’ve chosen to go off script that, since they are named for Boston, they could’ve gone with a Pine Tree motif to represent New England as a whole. Hell the MBTA is the first subway in the US if you want to get obscure with something the city has going for it. A uniform incorporating the 4 colored lines would be a visual nightmare but at least feel a bit more “connection” to the city. 
 

I see designs that some of the other teams (no not the Dodgers) and it makes me sad at what could’ve been. Highlighter yellow and powder blue do not make me think of Boston in any way. (And yes I’m aware of the colors of the Boston flag. It’s a bad flag)

[adsarebad]

9 hours ago, Discrim said:

They're the colors of the Boston Athletic Association, who organizes the marathon iirc.

So the answer  is no, the city of Boston is not known for blue and yellow.

 

 

[adsarebad]

16 hours ago, coco1997 said:

The Boston Marathon has taken place for nearly 130 years. You might feel differently but I don't think the fact that there was a terror attack one year should permanently taint any association with it. 

But the other poster said that was why they made the CC unis like that.

Ortiz speech and so on.

[adsarebad]

20 hours ago, McCall said:

How is it sad?

I assume by branding the poster means more money. I am not sure.

 

But Anaheim Angels sounds better than Los Angeles Angels.

 

And Angeles means angels..... so it's  Angels Angels.... great!

 

And LA already have a team. People in LA are Dodger fans.

So what exactly are they doing, how can this help the team in any way?

 

 

[MJD7]

Out of all the City Connect uniforms so far, Boston’s is an interesting case. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’d say it’s among my favorites, as the bright blue & yellow is refreshing among a sea of navy & red.

 

However, I simply cannot bring myself to divide that from the context that it’s supposedly a Red Sox uniform. @Kg54mvp & @guest23 hit the nail on the head, in that the Red Sox are about as representative of Boston as possible, simply as they are. Maybe I’m biased in already being a baseball fan, but my immediate association with Boston is the Red Sox & Fenway Park. 
 

As much as I like the City Connect aesthetically, I don’t think it will ever feel like the Red Sox to me, which is unfortunate.

 

17 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the suggestion that Boston's City Connect is the one that seems the least connected to the team has nothing to do with the theme or spiritual connection to the city and everything to do with visuals. As many of you has testified, there's indeed a solid link between the marathon, the Red Sox and the city of Boston that these uniforms speak to and apparently resonate with Bostonians. 

 

But at a surface level, the Boston uniform is the one out of the bunch that, visually speaking, doesn't immediately register as being representative of that specific team. The Chicago and L.A. looks, the Giants,  Astros, Royals, and even the Marlins, at first glance, are immediately recognizable as alternate uniforms of the teams they represent. The designs bear resemblance to the core brand. The Red Sox, and I'd say to a lesser degree the Nationals and D-Backs, can't say the same. 

 

That's not to say it's wrong. I presume there's no defined rulebook when it comes to determining the spirit of this program, so teams choose to implement it in their own ways. 

This is a great analysis. Although I don’t like the implementation of the City program into MLB, I think it works best when the uniform still has some resemblance to the team’s main branding. While the White Sox & Astros, two of my favorites out of the program, nearly look like they could be regular alternates, the Red Sox doesn’t look like it’s part of the same team at all. The disconnect between the two is made that much stronger because the Red Sox main brand is already so iconic & inherently associated with the city of Boston on its own.

 

15 hours ago, sitboaf said:

Good observation. There's a wide variation in approaches, for sure.

To me, succeeding at your City Connect lies in how well your uniform reflects the community, regardless of whether it looks recognizable as part of the regular brand. In other words, this is a chance to attach a secondary brand to your club. A city brand. Not a team brand. Whenever I see a comment here in New England like, "Boo! It doesn't look like a Red Sox uniform!" I say, "Good, Because it's supposed to reflect Boston."

Houston, Miami, SF, and KC landed in a middle ground, with city/history features AND recognizable brand elements. I can certainly understand that. But to me, the ChiSox and Angels failed, making delightful alts, while misreading the assignment. And the Dodgers? Were they trying at all? Their recent additions of black have at least helped draw a distinction, but to use your MLB-issued blank check to make essentially another Cactus League uniform?  Just why?

While I understand your point of view, and it’s certainly a compelling idea to have a “secondary brand” that solely focuses on the city, I don’t think it works for me, personally. With the Red Sox example, to me their classic home jersey reflects Boston more than any City Connect ever could. I like the Marathon jersey aesthetically, but I’d say “secondary brand” just reads to me as “competing brand,” diluting the Red Sox traditional identity. 
 

If they have to do City jerseys, I much prefer the “middle ground” approach, where teams recognize iconic aspects of their respective city while also still fitting in with the rest of the pre-established brand (I think the White Sox & Angels both succeed at fitting into this camp as well). 

[dont care]

2 hours ago, adsarebad said:

So the answer  is no, the city of Boston is not known for blue and yellow.

 

 

[Digby]

On 2022-06-09 at 6:18 AM, adsarebad said:

Nothing else says Boston more than a running event? There are no other things in Boston that people know and love more than another sporting event?

 

 

It's the oldest annual marathon and one of (if not the) most prestigious in the world. Calling the Boston Marathon "a running event" is like calling the Super Bowl "a Sunday game in a park". 

 

I have no love for the Boston City Connects, I think they're garish and unnecessary and the Red Sox should always look like the Red Sox, not gimmicks. But doubting the Marathon and its importance to the city (and I'm not talking about the bombing) frankly betrays a lot of ignorance.

 

15 hours ago, Pharos04 said:

The entire center of the beginnings of the Revolution and the Sons of Liberty? Or something based around the USS Constitution that was built here. Hell they could’ve chosen to go off script that, since they are named for Boston, they could’ve gone with a Pine Tree motif to represent New England as a whole.

 

Already got two other Boston-area sports teams mining that. Again, hate the whole CC concept, but can at least appreciate that these acknowledge that more things have happened in the city since the Revolutionary War. (Though, what does it say about Boston that the 120-year-old event passes for "modern".)

[Digby]

20 hours ago, sitboaf said:

To me, succeeding at your City Connect lies in how well your uniform reflects the community, regardless of whether it looks recognizable as part of the regular brand. In other words, this is a chance to attach a secondary brand to your club. A city brand. Not a team brand.

 

To this point, it must be noted that the Marathon gear that everyone wears around Boston every April has been manufactured by Adidas for the past 25 years. The City Connect jerseys -- and more importantly, the beanies and t-shirts and all the other associated merch -- gives Nike their opening for an unofficial slice of that pie.

 

 

[MJWalker45]

16 hours ago, Pharos04 said:

Boston has much more historical and city-related concepts they could have pulled from. The entire center of the beginnings of the Revolution and the Sons of Liberty? Or something based around the USS Constitution that was built here. Hell they could’ve chosen to go off script that, since they are named for Boston, they could’ve gone with a Pine Tree motif to represent New England as a whole. Hell the MBTA is the first subway in the US if you want to get obscure with something the city has going for it. A uniform incorporating the 4 colored lines would be a visual nightmare but at least feel a bit more “connection” to the city. 

 

6 minutes ago, Digby said:

Already got two other Boston-area sports teams mining that. Again, hate the whole CC concept, but can at least appreciate that these acknowledge that more things have happened in the city since the Revolutionary War. (Though, what does it say about Boston that the 120-year-old event passes for "modern".)

As many USA themed events MLB does during the year, taking a Red Sox jersey and using it to do the same would have gotten lost in amongst all of the other red, white and blue uniforms in MLB. This was a better direction to go since the idea is to stand out from the regular uniforms for the team. 

[SSmith48]

I've always associated the Ortiz speech uniforms with the Patriot Day/Boston Marathon commemoration for the Red Sox. I wish they weren't dropped, design-wise they are fantastic, and it is what I immediately connect to those events. I don't hate the current yellow/blue set though. I think it was a clearer design connection to the event and unique, but obviously the fanbase doesn't (understandably) like it. 

 

Also, the new 4th of July holiday caps just leaked, and holy cow maybe we can just start settling for a patch or something each year. These should never see the field. I'm usually ok with whatever they release for holidays, but these aren't it.