MLB Mixtape Edition (Defunct Teams 1/3)

[coco1997]

For my next series, I was inspired by the NBA's new Mixtape uniform program which sees each team getting a new alternate that combines logos, colors and unique design elements from throughout their uniform history. I'll go division by division, starting with the AL West!

LOS ANGELES ANGELS of ANAHEIM:

The Angels design is a play on the Disney era Angels while adopting the logos and numbers of the '72-92 uniforms. 
 

HOUSTON ASTROS

 

The Astros design combines the scripts and logos from Houston's 1980-93 uniforms with the 2000-12 team's pinstripes and black base and utilizes a new tequila sunrise-style trim. 

 

SEATTLE MARINERS:

 

The M's set is based on the team's infamous Turn Ahead the Clock uniforms from 1998 while using logos and scripts from 1981-86. 

 

OAKLAND ATHLETICS:

 

I thought it might be fun to bring back the monochrome A's unis from the early '70s but paint them black. 

 

TEXAS RANGERS:

 

This one adopts the 1970s's Rangers colors and logo into a vest style design a la the 2004-08 team. (Fun fact, the Rangers actually wore a powder blue top with white pants for one game in 1975.)

 

C&C appreciated! A National League division will be up next. 

[jaytavo305]

Mariners in black and red definitely hurts... maybe you could tie in the modern look by using the colors? Astros look fantastic, I like the concept of this series, definitely excited

[Coiler]

I actually like the black and red Mariners-it's a nice change of pace from their historical uniforms. Also like the black As. Great work on all the uniforms.

[jgamarra2511]

10 hours ago, coco1997 said:

For my next series, I was inspired by the NBA's new Mixtape uniform program which sees each team getting a new alternate that combines logos, colors and unique design elements from throughout their uniform history. I'll go division by division, starting with the AL West!

LOS ANGELES ANGELS of ANAHEIM:

The Angels design is a play on the Disney era Angels while adopting the logos and numbers of the '72-92 uniforms. 
 

HOUSTON ASTROS

 

The Astros design combines the scripts and logos from Houston's 1980-93 uniforms with the 2000-12 team's pinstripes and black base and utilizes a new tequila sunrise-style trim. 

 

SEATTLE MARINERS:

 

The M's set is based on the team's infamous Turn Ahead the Clock uniforms from 1998 while using logos and scripts from 1981-86. 

 

OAKLAND ATHLETICS:

 

I thought it might be fun to bring back the monochrome A's unis from the early '70s but paint them black. 

 

TEXAS RANGERS:

 

This one adopts the 1970s's Rangers colors and logo into a vest style design a la the 2004-08 team. (Fun fact, the Rangers actually wore a powder blue top with white pants for one game in 1975.)

 

C&C appreciated! A National League division will be up next. 

Anaheim’s looks amazing.  

[Coiler]

Also I'm curious for how you'd handle franchises that have stuck with the same scheme for a long time (thinking of the New York teams). What are you going to do, go back to the 1900s New York Highlanders for the Yankees?

[coco1997]

On 10/28/2021 at 5:27 PM, jaytavo305 said:

Mariners in black and red definitely hurts... maybe you could tie in the modern look by using the colors? Astros look fantastic, I like the concept of this series, definitely excited

To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the Mariners' current colors, so I thought using throwbacks scripts and logos with those TATC colors would be an interesting way to create something new and different. 

 

On 10/28/2021 at 7:23 PM, Coiler said:

I actually like the black and red Mariners-it's a nice change of pace from their historical uniforms. Also like the black As. Great work on all the uniforms.

 

On 10/29/2021 at 2:10 AM, jgamarra2511 said:

Anaheim’s looks amazing.  

Thanks!

 

On 10/29/2021 at 4:23 AM, Coiler said:

Also I'm curious for how you'd handle franchises that have stuck with the same scheme for a long time (thinking of the New York teams). What are you going to do, go back to the 1900s New York Highlanders for the Yankees?

 

You'll just have to wait and see. I will say, you might be on to something with that Highlanders suggestion. 

 

Up today is the NL East!

ATLANTA BRAVES:

 

The Braves' honor both their roots in Boston as well as their early years in Atlanta with a pinstriped design. I also couldn't resist using the team's iconic feathered sleeves of the 1970s, which I modified to include a touch of gold from their current identity. 

 

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:

A modified version of the Phils' Saturday Night specials using powder blue and the team's 1950-59 script. 

 

NEW YORK METS:

 

The Mets combine elements of two memorable eras in team history, the racing striped team of the 1980s and the BFBS Mets of the late '90s-early 2000s. I also created a new drop shadowed version of the 1987 "New York" script for this design. 

 

MIAMI MARLINS:

For Miami, I wanted to emphasize the shade of hot orange that was criminally underused by the 2012-18 Fish. Of course, the pinstripes, teal and vest pay tribute to the Marlins original, best look. @Carolingian Steamroller had the brilliant idea to modify the current "M" logo so that the shadows are placed inside the "M" to mimic the shadows on the numbers.  

 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS:

 

The Nats pay tribute to the team from which they descended, the Montreal Expos. 

 

C&C appreciated! The AL Central is up next.

[lgbaseball8]

Fun series. Only critique is that multiple outlines gets muddy on wordmarks and numbers.

[coco1997]

14 hours ago, lgbaseball8 said:

Only critique is that multiple outlines gets muddy on wordmarks and numbers.

 

Thanks. What do you mean by this?

[Coiler]

Love the Orange Marlins and Expos-Nationals.

[Victormrey]

Great idea for a series! I'd say the most challenging part is to create a cohesive look fro each team using features which could dozens and dozens of years apart, but you've nailed it so far!

I sepcially love the designs for the Astros and the Braves.

When it comes to the Mariners, I like the design itself, but I'm not a fan of the scheme. What about a powder blue away uni mixing teal and mid-blue (instead of navy)?

[coco1997]

20 hours ago, Coiler said:

Love the Orange Marlins and Expos-Nationals.

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with how the Marlins turned out. 

 

3 hours ago, Victormrey said:

Great idea for a series! I'd say the most challenging part is to create a cohesive look fro each team using features which could dozens and dozens of years apart, but you've nailed it so far!

I sepcially love the designs for the Astros and the Braves.

When it comes to the Mariners, I like the design itself, but I'm not a fan of the scheme. What about a powder blue away uni mixing teal and mid-blue (instead of navy)?

 

Thank you! For the Mariners, is this close to what you had in mind?

 

SEATTLE MARINERS:

 

Up today we have the AL Central!

CHICAGO WHITE SOX:

 

There were a million different directions I could take for the Sox, but I ultimately decided to combine two uniforms that seem to be fan favorites: their 1917 throwbacks (considered by Todd Radom to be quite possibly the single greatest uniform in MLB history) and their sleeveless, pinstriped alternates from the early 2000s. 

 

DETROIT TIGERS:

 

For the Tigers, I created a sleek, mono navy design that uses the block "DETROIT" script from the 1984 championship team and also references the team's short-lived experiment with racing stripes from the strike-shortened '94 season. 

 

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS:

 

My first ever stab at a Guardians concept applies the Guardians logos and numbers to the sleeveless, red-dominant uniforms of the late 1960s Indians. 

 

MINNESOTA TWINS:

 

One of the wilder designs in the series, I combined the powder blue, sansabelt uniforms of the 1973-86 Twins with drop shadowed versions of the script, cap logo and pinstripes of the late '80-2000s club. 

 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

 

The Royals have maintained a fairly consistent identity over the decades, so I reached a bit further back in history to the days of the Kansas City Athletics while using the Royals' original, more purplish shade of blue and emphasizing gold a bit more. 

 

C&C appreciated as always! The NL Central is on deck. 

[jaytavo305]

I love that new Mariners look. For Cleveland and KC, is there historical significance to have the MLB logo on the jersey? In both examples of inspiration photos you provided I don't see that detail on the uniforms... I think it would look much better without it. Besides that, the new division looks pretty solid 

[jgamarra2511]

9 hours ago, coco1997 said:

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with how the Marlins turned out. 

 

 

Thank you! For the Mariners, is this close to what you had in mind?

 

SEATTLE MARINERS:

 

Up today we have the AL Central!

CHICAGO WHITE SOX:

 

There were a million different directions I could take for the Sox, but I ultimately decided to combine two uniforms that seem to be fan favorites: their 1917 throwbacks (considered by Todd Radom to be quite possibly the single greatest uniform in MLB history) and their sleeveless, pinstriped alternates from the early 2000s. 

 

DETROIT TIGERS:

 

For the Tigers, I created a sleek, mono navy design that uses the block "DETROIT" script from the 1984 championship team and also references the team's short-lived experiment with racing stripes from the strike-shortened '94 season. 

 

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS:

 

My first ever stab at a Guardians concept applies the Guardians logos and numbers to the sleeveless, red-dominant uniforms of the late 1960s Indians. 

 

MINNESOTA TWINS:

 

One of the wilder designs in the series, I combined the powder blue, sansabelt uniforms of the 1973-86 Twins with drop shadowed versions of the script, cap logo and pinstripes of the late '80-2000s club. 

 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

 

The Royals have maintained a fairly consistent identity over the decades, so I reached a bit further back in history to the days of the Kansas City Athletics while using the Royals' original, more purplish shade of blue and emphasizing gold a bit more. 

 

C&C appreciated as always! The NL Central is on deck. 

Twins is absolutely perfect! They NEED to go to these as primaries immediately!

[coco1997]

17 hours ago, jaytavo305 said:

For Cleveland and KC, is there historical significance to have the MLB logo on the jersey? In both examples of inspiration photos you provided I don't see that detail on the uniforms... I think it would look much better without it. Besides that, the new division looks pretty solid 

 

You bet there is!

 

The Royals actually had the logo on their sleeves:
 

 

Here are the Guardians and Royals without the MLB logo:

 

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS:

 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

[jaytavo305]

I prefer it without, but I would stick to the historical accuracy! The designs themselves look good. 

[Coiler]

Love the Star Spangled Sox and Gold Royals in particular.

[Section30]

That Twins uni is great

[coco1997]

On 11/1/2021 at 12:46 AM, jgamarra2511 said:

Twins is absolutely perfect! They NEED to go to these as primaries immediately!

 

On 11/1/2021 at 12:07 PM, jaytavo305 said:

I prefer it without, but I would stick to the historical accuracy! The designs themselves look good. 

 

20 hours ago, Coiler said:

Love the Star Spangled Sox and Gold Royals in particular.

 

32 minutes ago, Section30 said:

That Twins uni is great

Thanks! I wasn't sure how the Twins would be received. Glad people like it.

 

Up today is the NL Central!

CHICAGO CUBS:

The Cubs get a mono blue treatment with light blue pinstripes, sort of an inversion of the 1978-81 road unis. The unique, centered jersey numbers were a feature of the team's 1972 road unis, and the sleeve patch is from 1994-96. 

MILWAUKEE BREWERS:

I had to bring back the Brewers' '70s-80s baby blue look which I paired with the "Motre Bame" scripts and numbers of the mid-90s team and the sleeve stripes of the Seattle Pilots and '70-71 Brewers. 
 

CINCINNATI REDS:

For Cincinnati, I went with a sleeveless, pinstriped mono navy design (akin to the Reds' 1909-11 unis) along with the team's original Old English "C" logo and a non-drop shadowed version of their current numbers.
 

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS:

The Cards have looked essentially the same for the past 90 years, so I brought back the t-bar piping of their 1940s-50s uniforms as well as the cap logo from that same era. The overall design of the jersey is meant to evoke the navy batting practice jerseys of the early 1980s. I probably would have gone with a powder blue jersey but that would've been too similar to their current alternates. 

 

PITTSBURGH PIRATES:

For Pittsburgh, I combined the unique, triple pinstriped design of the late '70s "We Are Family" Buccos with the red-tinged look of the late '90s-early 2000s squad. 
 

C&C appreciated.  The AL East is next!

[Coiler]

Like the Cyan Pinstripe Cubs and especially the Blue Reds, but have noticed that you've turned the Cardinals into a generic blue-and-red team... :D

[coco1997]

On 11/3/2021 at 3:46 AM, Coiler said:

Like the Cyan Pinstripe Cubs and especially the Blue Reds, but have noticed that you've turned the Cardinals into a generic blue-and-red team...

 

Thanks! And fair point about the Cardinals. Hard to create something really different when they've worn the same colors their whole existence. 

 

Let's move on to the AL East!

TAMPA BAY RAYS:

I think I managed to cover every era in the Rays' uniform history with this one. The general pullover design comes from their current fauxbacks, with a late '90s gradient version of their 2001-04 jersey script and standard block numbers. Dark purple and lime green replace the fauxback's navy and baby blue. 
 

BOSTON RED SOX:

The Red Sox have looked essentially the same for most of their existence, so I decided to use their distinctive giant red sock jersey logo from 1908 on a navy pullover design inspired by their '80s batting practice jerseys. The block letter cap logo is from 1933-35 and goes pretty well with the block letters in the sock. 
 

TORONTO BLUE JAYS:

The Jays are back in black (for black's sake) with a pullover design based on their 1977-88 unis using their 1997-2002 primary logo on the cap and chest. 

 

NEW YORK YANKEES:

As predicted/suggested by @Coiler,  I went all the way back to the New York Highlanders of the early 1900s for my Yankees inspiration. The gray letters and numbers with white trim are meant to evoke the Yankees' current spring training jerseys. 

 

BALTIMORE ORIOLES:

 

For the O's, I settled on a sleeveless, mono black design using the logo of the original 1901 Orioles and hosiery of the late '60s O's. The orange front paneled cap was worn briefly from 1975-76. 

 

C&C appreciated! The NL West will be up soon.