MLB 2023 Uniform/Logo Changes

[McCall]

32 minutes ago, Bucs007 said:

Is it not implied? The Braves never classified their 70s throwbacks as alternates in the style book. Heck, until a few seasons ago, they weren’t even an annual thing. To me, that’s not an alternate, whether specified or not. We agree on that (I think).

 

OK, we see Schiller suggesting they created the throwback look for the CC unis because they’re now prohibited from wearing the 70s throwbacks due to the 4+1 rule. That seems to suggest that anything—even a throwback worn for a single game or series—counts against the 4+1 rule, and couldn’t be worn if you’ve already got 4 uniforms in your style guide (which the Braves do).
 

But hey, maybe my reading comprehension is garbage and I’m missing something here. I’d love to see the throwbacks for Hank Aaron weekend later in the season (and maybe we will!), but it sure seems like the City Connects are a replacement for those unis. Anyways, moving on…

No. It's not implied. The Braves wore their throwbacks for multiple games, even if they were never technically designated as an alternate. Therefore, they would not fall under the "one game use". When you see teams wearing Negro League throwbacks, they're not counted as an alternate. Merely throwbacks for THAT game.

 

Maybe they will use these in games where they would've worn those specific throwbacks. But the tweet above does not seem to preclude the use of throwbacks for one game.

[dont care]

34 minutes ago, McCall said:

No. It's not implied. The Braves wore their throwbacks for multiple games, even if they were never technically designated as an alternate. Therefore, they would not fall under the "one game use". When you see teams wearing Negro League throwbacks, they're not counted as an alternate. Merely throwbacks for THAT game.

 

Maybe they will use these in games where they would've worn those specific throwbacks. But the tweet above does not seem to preclude the use of throwbacks for one game.

Well if you didn’t need that, the Red Sox, white sox and Mets were prohibited from wearing st Patrick’s alts for the first time in 20 years because of the 4+1 rule.

[coco1997]

Have any other teams' throwbacks been sacrificed as a result of the 4+1 rule? If so, it makes me wonder if other teams' City Connects will be throwback in nature a la the Braves' design as a way to try to sort of skirt around the new rule. 

[Sport]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:52 AM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

Which was an awesome look; the Reds are the only team who looked good in vests, whether in the 1950s or the 1990s.

 

 

 

 

 

Yow.  The white pinstriped hats are beautiful, even better than the plain-white-crowned hats of the late 1950s.

 

Nevertheless, I do agree that simply restoring the pre-1972 look would have been the a great move after the disease of pullovers and beltless pants was excised from baseball.

 

 

To each their own. I think they look silly. I lived through those years and I have no fondness for them. Furthermore, the hats dirtied fast and they looked weird on fans, especially with all the variants in pinstripes from hat to hat and manufacturer to manufacturer. It's so much simpler and looks better to just use a red hat. 

 

When those uniforms were at the plate they wore red helmets, which looked a lot better. It was a sturdier, more balanced look. The red lid on top gives a nice button to the white vest and a better ratio of colors while the white hats just feel like so much white. 

 

[damnyoutuesday]

1 hour ago, coco1997 said:

Have any other teams' throwbacks been sacrificed as a result of the 4+1 rule? If so, it makes me wonder if other teams' City Connects will be throwback in nature a la the Braves' design as a way to try to sort of skirt around the new rule. 

I have a feeling the Twins' city connect will be powder blue and throwback-esque due to the amount of powder blue still being used in social media graphics

[DCarp1231]

Picture posted by MASN on social media could be a potential look at the Orioles city connect set for a May unveiling

 

”Coming soon to a team store near you” was the caption

 

[TrueYankee26]

6 hours ago, namefornamesake said:

 

Woooh boy, they better get ready for jokes every time a Marlin gets plunked by a pitch. 

Protection from being relevant in MLB in a non-pandemic season which has been working the last 20 years

[mafiaman]

9 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said:

Protection from being relevant in MLB in a non-pandemic season which has been working the last 20 years

It’ll be fine, Derek Jeter will get it turned around this…oh, wait, never mind…

[TBGKon]

3 hours ago, McCall said:

No. It's not implied. The Braves wore their throwbacks for multiple games, even if they were never technically designated as an alternate. Therefore, they would not fall under the "one game use". When you see teams wearing Negro League throwbacks, they're not counted as an alternate. Merely throwbacks for THAT game.

 

Maybe they will use these in games where they would've worn those specific throwbacks. But the tweet above does not seem to preclude the use of throwbacks for one game.

I believe under pre 2023 rules, the throwback could be worn no more than 5 times as this is what the Rays have done with the Devil Rays throwbacks.  Moving forward from 2023 onward, the Devil Rays throwback is an official alternate on the books and will be worn Opening Day and every Friday home game (14 games in 2023)

[Bill0813]

1 hour ago, DCarp1231 said:

Picture posted by MASN on social media could be a potential look at the Orioles city connect set for a May unveiling

 

”Coming soon to a team store near you” was the caption

 

Charm City is pretty much a given with Baltimore.  In the same post, they have this hoodie with roses, but that has to be for the ladies and not part of the city connect

[WSU151]

1 hour ago, DCarp1231 said:

Picture posted by MASN on social media could be a potential look at the Orioles city connect set for a May unveiling

 

”Coming soon to a team store near you” was the caption

 

 

That shirt’s already on Fanatics as a “Nike Local Legend” series shirt. Not City Connect.  

 

https://www.fanatics.com/mlb/baltimore-orioles/baltimore-orioles-nike-local-legend-t-shirt-orange/o-1232+t-92667406+p-37100113597+z-9-3777517226?_ref=p-DLP:m-GRID:i-r0c2:po-2

 

[MJD7]

Catching up on the Braves’ City Connect:

It’s fine, if not a little uninspired. It’s a safe move, for sure, but considering what could have been, it might not have been the worst choice. 

 

Pretty much all of the minor changes they made compared to the throwbacks are upgrades to me, though: the “standalone” A looks nice on the chest, I’m glad they went with the uppercase A on the hat to match, and the pants striping is unique and interesting. I don’t buy for a second that the sleeve design is a crown, as NikeSpeak™ would try to have me believe, but it’s a nice workaround if they wanted to keep the idea of the feather.

 

It seems to me that, even if they could have kept the throwbacks around for a handful of games, that they really wanted to have it as a mainstay in their rotation, and that the only way to do that without dropping any of their other jerseys would be to use the City Connect for it. I imagine a team like the Yankees might go this route & avoid leaning into the “City” aspect of the program (even though that’s kind of supposed to be the whole point).

[Bmac]

4 hours ago, WSU151 said:

 

That shirt’s already on Fanatics as a “Nike Local Legend” series shirt. Not City Connect.  

 

https://www.fanatics.com/mlb/baltimore-orioles/baltimore-orioles-nike-local-legend-t-shirt-orange/o-1232+t-92667406+p-37100113597+z-9-3777517226?_ref=p-DLP:m-GRID:i-r0c2:po-2

 

Yeah, each team has something similar. They're not based on City Connect, but some do seem to carry on the same visual language of certain City Connect uniforms. (White Sox, Astros)

 

 

 

 

Here's the rest of them.

[Bmac]

9 hours ago, aawagner011 said:

I thought I saw somewhere that the 4+1 rule meant since a uniform was a permanent feature in a club’s wardrobe, they get the full treatment from manufacturers with jerseys, caps (think 59FIFTY, 9TWENTY, and snapbacks), player tees, hoodies, etc. Basically a full line of merchandise. Whereas a special event jersey (throwback or Negro League for a single series) doesn’t get quite the same treatment from manufacturers. Maybe I’m off, but I swear I saw that somewhere. This might be their solution to have merchandise year round with that retro theme. I would not be shocked to still see the throwbacks for a game or two.

 

Correct. This is a huge point actually. I can tell you from my time working in sports retail and for a professional baseball team that these kinds of merchandising rules can really impact how a team approaches their brand and retail strategy. I assume that's especially the case now more than ever with all the extra special uniforms and the Nike uniform limits.

 

Any uniform included in the 4+1 set is considered part of the Authentic Collection, and therefore is eligible to have matching Authentic Collection on-field and retail products.

 

We've already seen City Connect uniforms paired with matching on-field apparel (player jackets, hoodies, shirts, etc.) in the dugout and in the shop. One-off throwbacks aren't eligible for this option, but anything retained under this 4+1 system will be. Thus the Devil Rays throwbacks sticking around. The Rays can sell on-field Authentic Collection merchandise with that throwback branding, as opposed to having to stick to the Cooperstown Collection line for throwback merchandise. I suspect this is why Seattle dropped gray instead of the awful cream Sunday alternates; this way they can continue to sell blue + yellow Authentic Collection merchandise. In response to the Braves, it sounds like this might be similar reasoning. Utilizing the City Connect uniform as a retro inspired design gives them an avenue to sell Authentic Collection merchandise in royal blue + red without having to sacrifice a different uniform.

[aawagner011]

12 minutes ago, Bmac said:

 

Correct. This is a huge point actually. I can tell you from my time working in sports retail and for a professional baseball team that these kinds of merchandising rules can really impact how a team approaches their brand and retail strategy. I assume that's especially the case now more than ever with all the extra special uniforms and the Nike uniform limits.

 

Any uniform included in the 4+1 set is considered part of the Authentic Collection, and therefore is eligible to have matching Authentic Collection on-field and retail products.

 

We've already seen City Connect uniforms paired with matching on-field apparel (player jackets, hoodies, shirts, etc.) in the dugout and in the shop. One-off throwbacks aren't eligible for this option, but anything retained under this 4+1 system will be. Thus the Devil Rays throwbacks sticking around. The Rays can sell on-field Authentic Collection merchandise with that throwback branding, as opposed to having to stick to the Cooperstown Collection line for throwback merchandise. I suspect this is why Seattle dropped gray instead of the awful cream Sunday alternates; this way they can continue to sell blue + yellow Authentic Collection merchandise. In response to the Braves, it sounds like this might be similar reasoning. Utilizing the City Connect uniform as a retro inspired design gives them an avenue to sell Authentic Collection merchandise in royal blue + red without having to sacrifice a different uniform.

Very good information. Thanks man!

[BBTV]

Yankees asking to remove numbers from manager and coaches. Long overdue.  
 

https://theathletic.com/4360660/2023/03/30/yankees-uniform-numbers-mlb/

[dont care]

5 minutes ago, BBTV said:

Yankees asking to remove numbers from manager and coaches. Long overdue.  
 

https://theathletic.com/4360660/2023/03/30/yankees-uniform-numbers-mlb/

But how am I suppose to know the fat old man with grey hair coming out of the dug out to kick dirt at the ump aft blowing another call is suppose to be the manager unless I can read the number on his back which I memorized including the 1st 3rd bullpen and hitting coaches numbers too.

[TBGKon]

1 hour ago, BBTV said:

Yankees asking to remove numbers from manager and coaches. Long overdue.  
 

https://theathletic.com/4360660/2023/03/30/yankees-uniform-numbers-mlb/

Most of them wear pullovers or jackets anyways....might as well release the numbers.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

1 hour ago, BBTV said:

Yankees asking to remove numbers from manager and coaches. Long overdue.  
 

https://theathletic.com/4360660/2023/03/30/yankees-uniform-numbers-mlb/

 

F no!  There aren't enough curse words available to sufficiently condemn this idea.  Shame on the Yankees, of all teams, for advancing such an anti-historical proposition.  It's one more reason to be glad that I retired upon the introduction of the abomination of interleague play after the 1996 season.  The only current aspect of Major League Baseball that I follow is the uniforms; so this absurd idea (along with the unsightly practice of players not showing any sock) still has the power to irk me. 

 

The article mentions that "Very few players want higher numbers typically associated with NFL offensive tackles, hockey defensemen[,] or back-of-the-roster scrubs." So the obvious solution presents itself: give those undesireable numbers to the manager and the coaching staff. Problem solved.

 

It's definitely true that the Yankees have retired too damn many numbers.  Therefore the onus to remedy the problem that they themselves caused must be on them, not on all of Major League Baseball by means of an offensive practice that spits in the eye of history.

[FiddySicks]

Rookies to wear MLB debut patches

 

 

Two things: 

 

1) This is SUPER wack. Like, one of the lamest things I think I’ve ever seen  And you know this is just going to lead to more of this kind of crap. 

 

2) This is essentially just another jersey ad they’re cramming onto the uniforms.