MLB 2024 Uniform/Logo Changes

[GhostOfNormMacdonald]

 I love art deco. I'm glad at least one team is embracing it 

[Marlins93]

13 hours ago, CLEstones said:

 

I think we were all anticipating something really, really dreadful, something really off the wall with wacky colors and in your face elements... but these weren't.  These were quite subdued and actually made sense with the city and the team.  I think there are a few things a lot of us would have done differently... but compared to some of the other City Connects, some of the NBA City Connects, and some of the other uniforms Nike has come up with, in general,  I think most of us are happy with only having 1 or 2 bold elements, and the rest being subtle.

 

 

Sure. I mean, they don't hurt the eyes like the Phillies ones do, but that's a low bar to trip over. I still think it's reasonable to take issue with how lazy the CLE wordmark is. Frankly, they'd have been better off just keeping it as "Cleveland." 

 

I just can't embrace a design concept that revolves around a city's airport code plastered there in enormous letters.

[adsarebad]

On 5/14/2024 at 8:01 PM, CLEstones said:

 

 

I actually think Guardians is an infinitely better name than Indians.  But that's just me.

Why? What is wrong with Indians?

 

How can "Guardians of traffic" be taken seriously? That is a joke.

[adsarebad]

15 hours ago, CLEstones said:

 

I agree with just about all of this.  I thnk they should have carried over the block C from the previous version of the uniform, and make that block font the standard for numbers, NoB, and anywhere the block text was needed/wanted.  The script should have been different -- it reminds of the Flintstones for some reason, and I dont know why.  I would have liked something a lot more classic, wavy, and script, to compliment and contrast the block C font.  They could have fixed the bloated look of the previous Jndians and Cleveland scripts.

 

I would have loved to see the City Connect go one step further, and provide a unique color palette.  I get so sick of seeing so many red/white/navy teams.  I know it's a sensitive topic in 2024 America, but the colors are just so played out, so common, so dull.  First and foremost, they could have take a dark/forest green color, which not only would have matched the seats and the outfield walls in Progressive Field, but the truss bridge is also a dark green.  Not to mention, one of Cleveland's nicknames is "The Forest City."  It almost makes TOO much sense.

 

Second, I would have like to see them add orange.  The dark green/orange color scheme is rare, but wherever it pops up, it looks phenomenal (Miami).  It would also have played incredibly well off of "the rust belt" and Cleveland's industrial heritage and renaissance. 

 

Lastly, the sand/stone color that the statues are made of, would have been the perfect ROAD+Sunday's Best uniform color.  I think one of the best aesthetics in all of sports, are when baseball teams use varying shades of light gray and tan for their road uniforms.  Instead, we are just 1 of 983453 teams with R/W/B (with gray) uniforms.

 

When it comes to the logo package, don't get me started.  Those Guardians statues have some incredible detail and artistic inspiration, from the wings on the pylons, to the 2 different kinds of helmets they wear, to the wings above their ears, to the different design patterns on the cloaks of the statues... it could have been one of the best logo packages in all of sports.  Instead... it's probably the worst.

 

I get why they didnt want to have a hard deviation... the reaction to retiring Chief Wahoo and changing the nickname, has bordered on insanity.  Even after 3-4 years... the amount of crying and bitching people still do, is insane.  Their delusions have made them believe that the entire history of the team is gone and that the memories we all made in 90's as the "Indians" are now deleted from our consciousness, all because the name changed.

But they are.

 

Those people are right.  I understand them.

It's a completely new team, new name, new logo.

Why is it not a completely different team? You tell me please.

[Bmac]

4 hours ago, adsarebad said:

But they are.

 

Those people are right.  I understand them.

It's a completely new team, new name, new logo.

Why is it not a completely different team? You tell me please.

Because it literally isn't a completely different team. They didn't start a new franchise or relocate or anything, they changed names. When a woman changes her last name at marriage, she's still the same woman.

 

Get over it.

[McCall]

4 hours ago, adsarebad said:

But they are.

 

Those people are right.  I understand them.

It's a completely new team, new name, new logo.

Why is it not a completely different team? You tell me please.

"Don't Speak".

- No Doubt.

[CLEstones]

4 hours ago, adsarebad said:

But they are.

 

Those people are right.  I understand them.

It's a completely new team, new name, new logo.

Why is it not a completely different team? You tell me please.

 

You are the worst kind of people.  The memories are the ones you made with your dad, or your son, or your friends... it had nothing to do with the name of the team on the field.  People like you are pathetic, on every level, and there is no changing that.  There is nothing that will ever get through to people like you, who choose to be miserable and want to drag everyone around them with them.

[CLEstones]

11 hours ago, Marlins93 said:

 

Sure. I mean, they don't hurt the eyes like the Phillies ones do, but that's a low bar to trip over. I still think it's reasonable to take issue with how lazy the CLE wordmark is. Frankly, they'd have been better off just keeping it as "Cleveland." 

 

I just can't embrace a design concept that revolves around a city's airport code plastered there in enormous letters.

 

Oh I agree 100%.  I would have preferred "The Land," if it was up to me.  I think airport call letters are played out and unoriginal.  As I said in my OP, there are some things a lot of us would change... but I cant express the existential dread that most of the fanbase was anticipating when these were rumored.

[tBBP]

52 minutes ago, McCall said:

"Don't Speak".

- No Doubt.

 

Well played, Gwen n' em. 

[Marlins93]

2 hours ago, CLEstones said:

 

I think airport call letters are played out and unoriginal. 

And this is my main point. And that's not a subtle design element here.

 

Anyway, I'm just completely over City Connect in general. There was a moment of promise when the Marlins and the White Sox released theirs, but since then most of the new additions have either been "mid at best" or "nuke from orbit bad." I'd categorize the Cleveland ones as being "mid at best" just because Nike is having difficulty being more creative than an airport code for some teams.

 

I'd be much happier if City Connect were scrapped and teams started focusing on throwbacks again. My impression is that throwback events are less common now that everyone has to wear the CCs, which are just a Nike cash grab.

[tBBP]

3 minutes ago, Marlins93 said:

And this is my main point. And that's not a subtle design element here.

 

Anyway, I'm just completely over City Connect in general. There was a moment of promise when the Marlins and the White Sox released theirs, but since then most of the new additions have either been "mid at best" or "nuke from orbit bad." I'd categorize the Cleveland ones as being "mid at best" just because Nike is having difficulty being more creative than an airport code for some teams.

 

I'd be much happier if City Connect were scrapped and teams started focusing on throwbacks again. My impression is that throwback events are less common now that everyone has to wear the CCs, which are just a Nike cash grab.

 

To the first point: I feel you on that. But, while that is true, I will say that a small number of these CCs have turned out pretty nice. Two or three would actually suffice as permanent brands--inasmuch as anything is permanent in this current era of sports branding/merchandising. And speaking of that...

 

...To your second point, these CCs--as well as all the other alternates Nike has churned out and will continue to churn out--aren't going anywhere. And if you wish to understand some of the business reasons behind why that is, I will refer you, and anyone else, interested, to the video linked in this thread (oddly enough, from one of the best baseball YouTube channels out there), that really digs behind the scenes at the sheer amount of capital Nike has poured into all of this--and as such, is reaping dividends from alongside the three leagues whose uniforms their swoosh adorns.

 

 

 

[coco1997]

20 minutes ago, Marlins93 said:

And this is my main point. And that's not a subtle design element here.

 

Anyway, I'm just completely over City Connect in general. There was a moment of promise when the Marlins and the White Sox released theirs, but since then most of the new additions have either been "mid at best" or "nuke from orbit bad." I'd categorize the Cleveland ones as being "mid at best" just because Nike is having difficulty being more creative than an airport code for some teams.

City Connect seemed to peak in 2022 when we got the Nationals, Astros, Royals, Rockies, Angels, Brewers and Padres. All decent-to-great designs that made great use of color and didn't look remotely like one another, unlike the onslaught of black and navy we've been getting since 2023. 

I suppose Nike could stick the landing with the next three teams on the schedule, but I won't hold my breath. 

[Marlins93]

18 minutes ago, tBBP said:

.To your second point, these CCs--as well as all the other alternates Nike has churned out and will continue to churn out--aren't going anywhere. And if you wish to understand some of the business reasons behind why that is, I will refer you, and anyone else, interested, to the video linked in this thread (oddly enough, from one of the best baseball YouTube channels out there), that really digs behind the scenes at the sheer amount of capital Nike has poured into all of this--and as such, is reaping dividends from alongside the three leagues whose uniforms their swoosh adorns.

 

Oh I'm well aware, although I appreciate this comment. I'm still frustrated with what Nike has done and I've grown to despise them as a company. It's easy for me not to buy their products, especially since all of the "new" Marlins merch I buy is a throwback anyway. I haven't purchased a single product from the 2018 rebranding yet.

[Marlins93]

10 minutes ago, coco1997 said:

City Connect seemed to peak in 2022 when we got the Nationals, Astros, Royals, Rockies, Angels, Brewers and Padres. All decent-to-great designs that made great use of color and didn't look remotely like one another, unlike the onslaught of black and navy we've been getting since 2023. 

I suppose Nike could stick the landing with the next three teams on the schedule, but I won't hold my breath. 

 

I know some like them, but I do not like the San Diego and Milwaukee versions. Those are in the "bad" category for me. But I would say the Angels one is probably top three for me. 

 

City Connect started really going off the rails for me in 2023, so I think I agree with your overall point. This is when the designs started to get really, really lazy. Atlanta and Seattle basically with fauxbacks. The excessive use of black and/or charcoal elsewhere. More three-letter laziness. And some flat-out bad designs that are either hideous or just don't fit the city identity well.

 

Again, some good/interesting ones in the mix, but I'm soured on this on the whole, I'd just rather it go away entirely.

[Sec19Row53]

34 minutes ago, Marlins93 said:

 

I know some like them, but I do not like the San Diego and Milwaukee versions. Those are in the "bad" category for me. But I would say the Angels one is probably top three for me. 

 

City Connect started really going off the rails for me in 2023, so I think I agree with your overall point. This is when the designs started to get really, really lazy. Atlanta and Seattle basically with fauxbacks. The excessive use of black and/or charcoal elsewhere. More three-letter laziness. And some flat-out bad designs that are either hideous or just don't fit the city identity well.

 

Again, some good/interesting ones in the mix, but I'm soured on this on the whole, I'd just rather it go away entirely.

Anecdotally, those two are beloved where they were released. That might be the only opinion that matters.

I know we argue uniform aesthetics here, and I'm NOT going down the path of '[insert city name] is different, you have to live here to understand', but it's worth noting.

[Marlins93]

14 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Anecdotally, those two are beloved where they were released. That might be the only opinion that matters.

I know we argue uniform aesthetics here, and I'm NOT going down the path of '[insert city name] is different, you have to live here to understand', but it's worth noting.

I respect this opinion. I'm just speaking from the perspective of a fan of a different team (with a universally-praised CC and one I also like), looking at the 20+ others around the league in terms of general design aesthetics.

 

But I don't think I need to be from Milwaukee to think that the three-letter airport code emblazoned on the cap in big letters is lazy and hideous. (yes, I know about the area code too and find that equally lazy/dumb).

 

I'd warm up to some of these designs of they expunged some of the trite/lazy elements. The Marlins CC is great because the hat logo is something rather unique and kind of historically-inspired. I think everyone was fearful that Nike would do the obvious and incorporate 305 very loudly. I'm glad they resisted that, but they've really gone heavy into the airport code thing, which I will never understand.

[tBBP]

1 hour ago, Marlins93 said:

 

Oh I'm well aware, although I appreciate this comment. I'm still frustrated with what Nike has done and I've grown to despise them as a company. It's easy for me not to buy their products, especially since all of the "new" Marlins merch I buy is a throwback anyway. I haven't purchased a single product from the 2018 rebranding yet.

 

I'm right there with you on that. Aside from team jerseys (which even now I'm hesitant to want to spend $ on unless it's a jersey or team I really like), I haven't bought a single Nike-related item in well over a decade. (Part of that is because I've been Team UA for about as long as UA has existed, going back to my time in the military--regarding sports training/workout wear, that is, not team sports stuff.) I cannot justify the price point of this stuff anymore, which is why if I do need something new, I either hit the racks at Burlington or wait 'til the stuff goes on sale at an outlet store somewhere.

[adsarebad]

20 hours ago, GhostOfNormMacdonald said:

 I love art deco. I'm glad at least one team is embracing it 

There was a team that did the same a while back....... you also love that?

 

 

 

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[Marlins93]

If not for the orange, I'd say I like those unis more than what the Marlins are wearing now.

[SFGiants58]

11 hours ago, adsarebad said:

How can "Guardians of traffic" be taken seriously? That is a joke.

 

I mean, they're very cool art deco statues and are among the best of Cleveland's landmarks. It beats the hell out of crap names like Commodores and Rockers (insert rant about Jann Wenner here), while also not referencing the Spiders (worst team ever, albeit through shady circumstances).

 

An Art Deco-period font would've helped the brand immensely (e.g. non-bold Futura, proper Gill Sans, etc.).