The CBL: 16/32 Updates

[thesieve22]

Hi all, have visited these boards for several years as a guest and thought it was time to join the fun. I want to share a project I've worked for around four years now, the Continental Baseball League. This is a 32 team league that exists in a world with no MLB. I've simmed its history through OOTP so I'll share a bit about each team as they're revealed. As for the uniforms, each team has a home white and road grey. Teams are limited to four jerseys, usually one home and one road alternate. The league logo is two interlocking pennants representing the American and Union Conferences. The conference logos are simply the respective pennants with a wordmark. 

 

Here are the league special event logos. The fourth of July hats (which I will be doing) feature a plastic front logo, similar to the side patches for many of the MLB all star games. This year, the CBL all-star game will be held in Chicago. 

I've also posted a map of the teams locations, which I'll update as I move along. The map was done without state lines or google maps, so I might be a little off with the placement of some cities.

Excited to share this with everyone, still a fairly new designer so any C&C is more than welcome.  One final note, all cities and team names are set. 

[JerseyJimmy]

personally I think you could easily come up with a first responders day logo that doesn't incorporate a hate symbol. or you could just have a 9/11 memorial logo. I don't think that would be very hard.

[thesieve22]

Completely fair, I've removed the logo. I should've done more research and realized that wasn't a good idea from the start

[thesieve22]

Here's the first team, the Cincinnati Emperors. The Emperors joined the CBL in 1989, and have been a middle of the pack team, with only seven playoff appearances and no championships. Their logo is a "C" modeled after a Roman soldier's helmet. Thanks to @MJD7 for the jersey template,  @JayJaxon for the full body,  and @rsaline for the batting helmet template. C&C welcome

[Blindsay]

Good job on Cincy! Are we going to get Stadiums for this, as this is in OOTP?

[thesieve22]

Thank you! I don’t plan on doing stadiums at the moment, but may come back to it if all goes well

[thesieve22]

Staying in Ohio for team #2, the Cleveland Greys, named after the grey fox. The logo is a "G" hidden in a fox paw print. I used pinstripes for all three uniforms, with the road being a darker grey than the rest of the league, similar to the diamondbacks a few years ago. The all black alt can be worn at home or on the road, inspired heavily by the white sox city connect. Cleveland is one of the original 10 teams, but despite their long history have only won three Hanson Cups, the last coming in 1960.

[thesieve22]

On to the next with the Baltimore Keys. Named after Francis Scott Key, I wanted to take this a different route than the Fredericksburg Keys. The wordmark features an actual key, but the base of the key is in the shape of Fort McHenry, located in Baltimore and where Key got the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner. The cross in the middle of the key is taken from the Maryland Flag. For the uniforms, the sleeves feature the Baltimore skyline with the pattern of the Maryland flag. As for the team, Baltimore joined the league in 1938, and are still looking for their first Hanson Cup. They have never made the finals, and have only five playoff appearances.

[thesieve22]

On to New York and team #4, the New York Aces. One of the league's original teams, the Aces got their name from the local newspaper after posting a team ERA of 2.13 in 1914. Currently, the Aces are hoping this will be their year after four straight 90+ win seasons with no playoff success. The blue and orange come from the flag of NYC. The orange alt and orange panel hat were added in 2010 and have become a favorite among the fans. Both alts can be worn either at home or on the road, the choice is left up to the starting pitcher.

[Bomba Tomba]

The outline between the n and the y on the logo provides too little separation, the logo would look like a blob from afar.

 

Why not make it thiccer? Or maybe have the n and y be different colors (like blue and orange on a white background, white and orange on a blue background etc.)

[thesieve22]

19 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

The outline between the n and the y on the logo provides too little separation, the logo would look like a blob from afar.

 

Why not make it thiccer? Or maybe have the n and y be different colors (like blue and orange on a white background, white and orange on a blue background etc.)

Thanks for the feedback. Here's a couple of different options, all with more separation. A) same as the original with a thicker outline. B & C) different color letters. Any preferences?

[thesieve22]

In the meantime, another CBL original with the defending champion Kansas City Colts. The Colts are on of the hottest teams in the league over the past four years, with two Hanson Cups and four 96+ win seasons. All time, KC has 9 Cups and 33 playoff appearances. I tried to keep it classy for KC, with only sleeve piping and no stripes on the socks. 

 

As CBL champions, the Colts wore special uniforms for opening day, with a champions patch and gold replacing the normal yellow. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by thesieve22
Updated logo and colors

[Bomba Tomba]

4 hours ago, thesieve22 said:

Thanks for the feedback. Here's a couple of different options, all with more separation. A) same as the original with a thicker outline. B & C) different color letters. Any preferences?

Personally I'd go with C, with the y becoming blue on a white background, and the n becoming blue on an orange background

[thesieve22]

I've got an update for NY in the works, I should post that either today or tomorrow. The Tampa Bay Tropics are up next, and I'll be the first to admit I went a little crazy here. All the hats are the "Taco Bell" hats, and the home alt is all teal. The Tropics joined the CBL in 1995, and had a string of good seasons in the mid 2000's, winning their only championship in '06. They're currently on the back end of a rebuild, and hope to reach playoff contention in the near future. As always, C&C welcome, let me know if I went too crazy with this one.

[Lumbergh]

Tampa looks really good.

[ThisIsFine]

All of these teams look good so far, I especially like the Tropics! Any chance of a rundown of championship matchups?

[DCarp1231]

Only nitpick so far-

 

It’s just Frederick Keys. Fredericksburg is the Nationals.

 

Everything looks great!

[thesieve22]

I'm finally back! Very sorry for the long delay between posts, it was a crazy busy week.

On 7/9/2023 at 6:43 PM, ThisIsFine said:

All of these teams look good so far, I especially like the Tropics! Any chance of a rundown of championship matchups?

Thanks! I can definitely do that, I will probably make a very basic one with just the city names until I'm finished, as I don't want to reveal all the logos yet.

On 7/13/2023 at 3:51 PM, DCarp1231 said:

Only nitpick so far-

 

It’s just Frederick Keys. Fredericksburg is the Nationals.

 

Everything looks great!

Good catch, I feel like an idiot as I googled their logo before making Baltimore.

 

And finally, here's the long ago promised NY update with the two color logo, which does give me a slight Dominican Republic feel. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by thesieve22
Socks updated from double orange, wordmark centered

[thesieve22]

And to make up for the lost time, here's the Dallas Rattlers. They joined the league in 1951, but it wasn't until 2017 when they won their first and only championship. The Rattlers are one of only two teams to not use white, as they opted for sand color home uniform. As of the moment, they are also the only team with a throwback, which dates back to the 1920-33 Dallas Outlaws, a independent pro ball team. 

[Bomba Tomba]

Digging the NY update, and the Rattlers too