MLB 2024 Uniform/Logo Changes

[kolob]

In a vacuum, I didn't hate the jerseys. They were loud, colorful and ... distinct. And, generally speaking ASG have been kind of expected to be such.

 

Contextually, speaking though ... it was a mess. Sure, they were trying to lean into the whole Texas thing, but the jerseys appropriate for a "older franchise" like Boston, Philly, NY, etc. Plus, I absolutely HATE overly busy hats. I am sure they sell well enough to warrant them being made.

 

But, baseball should lean more into tradition than any other sport. Count me in the "players should wear their team jerseys in the ASG" camp. But, with that said, I am also not against the template we got in LA or a hat that keeps things simple with a small ASG distinction. 

 

 

[officeglenn]

MLB will consider whether to return to club uniforms in All-Star Game | TSN

 

Quote

“I’m aware of the sentiment on this issue,” [MLB Commissioner Rob] Manfred told the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday. "I think where my head is on it, it’s something we’re going to have a conversation about coming out of the All-Star Game. We've got a lot of uniform things going on. And, obviously, the conversations have to involve the players first and foremost but Nike, some of our partners. But I am aware of the sentiment, and I do know why people kind of like that tradition."

 

[coco1997]

I actually liked the unis from last night's game. Easily my favorite design since the matching uniforms thing started in 2020, not that that's a high bar to clear. 

 

It was the mismatched socks and accessories that all the players wear that ruined it. 

[Sport]

Lose the black pants and I wouldn't hate the NL tops for the Marlins. 

 

The AL was actually the worse of the two for me. The tan or khaki clashed with the bright reddish orange. Reminded me of some barnstorming uniforms from 100 years ago, which might've been the point, but they were far more irritating to my eyeballs than the NL. 

[MJD7]

1 hour ago, coco1997 said:

I actually liked the unis from last night's game. Easily my favorite design since the matching uniforms thing started in 2020, not that that's a high bar to clear. 

 

It was the mismatched socks and accessories that all the players wear that ruined it. 

 

13 minutes ago, Sport said:

The AL was actually the worse of the two for me. The tan or khaki clashed with the bright reddish orange. Reminded me of some barnstorming uniforms from 100 years ago, which might've been the point, but they were far more irritating to my eyeballs than the NL. 

Agreed on both counts. Overall I liked the uniforms last night, with the obvious caveat that the special uniforms ought to remain in the Derby.

 

I agree that the flourescent orange and the aqua blue definitely gave more Marlins vibes than Rangers, but I liked the khaki for the AL, and the NL overall looked really nice. I also couldn't escape a "Whataburger" association with the AL, which given the Texas connection I suppose makes sense.

 

If they had gone with maybe a burnt orange for the AL, and maybe more of a powder blue or royal blue for the NL, I'd say they'd be pretty near perfect. The batting helmets were pretty cool, too.

[Aardvark]

This is true

 

[jrodsep]

If MLB/Nike want to sell jerseys for the All Star game and the new fangled jerseys are atrocious, why don’t they put everyone in throwbacks?

 

1993 Marlins 

1986 Mets

1980 Phillies

1994 Expos or 2005 Nationals

1976 Braves

 

1984 Cubs

1990 Reds

1982 Brewers

1979 Pirates

 

2001 Diamondbacks

1984 Padres

1969 Giants

1993 Black Alt Rockies

 

Full Orange Orioles

1976 Red Sox

Fauxback Rays or 1998 Rays

1989 Blue Jays

 

Harmon Killebrew era Twins

1985 Royals

1984 Tigers

1910 White Sox

 

1989 Mariners

1998 Astros

1980’s California Angels

All Gold Athletics

Nolan Ryan era Rangers

[kolob]

15 hours ago, jrodsep said:

If MLB/Nike want to sell jerseys for the All Star game and the new fangled jerseys are atrocious, why don’t they put everyone in throwbacks?

 

1993 Marlins 

1986 Mets

1980 Phillies

1994 Expos or 2005 Nationals

1976 Braves

 

1984 Cubs

1990 Reds

1982 Brewers

1979 Pirates

 

2001 Diamondbacks

1984 Padres

1969 Giants

1993 Black Alt Rockies

 

Full Orange Orioles

1976 Red Sox

Fauxback Rays or 1998 Rays

1989 Blue Jays

 

Harmon Killebrew era Twins

1985 Royals

1984 Tigers

1910 White Sox

 

1989 Mariners

1998 Astros

1980’s California Angels

All Gold Athletics

Nolan Ryan era Rangers

 

I don't hate that idea. But, every year ... eh ... I don't know? I love the idea for an occasional game. Maybe even to a specific year with recent expansion teams in fauxbacks? Could be fun.

[TrueYankee26]

 

[Silent Wind of Doom]

On 7/9/2024 at 6:51 AM, Silent Wind of Doom said:

In this country, I think it's more that "West" is a nebulous concept.  Not because it's hard to figure out, but because of the nation's history and population distribution.

 

Early on, anything past the Appalachians was the untamed West and before that it was even closer.  Combine that with the specific sport we're talking about beginning in the East where Minnesota and Kansas City were among early Western cities.  Kansas City was always the one who tripped me up over this being the Gateway to the West but so far East and farther that way than the entirety of Texas by far.  In football it's still in the West.  In Hockey Chicago is still the West.  Meanwhile, the line that divides the US population in two is in Indiana.

"The West" has a wide definition based on historical, cultural, and population matters.  It "feels" different for each person based on their life experience and how they've come into contact with the idea.  As an East-Coaster who thinks of it with respect to old movies, Texas felt from my childhood like the Southwest/West based on its historical leaning on such iconography.  Although looking at MLB alignment, that really sucks for travel.

 

The truth, of course, its that it's so big that it straddles all the lines and falls in several different categories like @Dynasty said.

 

I just looked back at this and can't believe I accidentally typed "Kansas City" instead of "St. Louis" is the "Gateway to the West".  I can't believe our resident denizens of The Lou didn't kill me for that one.  

 

On 7/16/2024 at 8:06 AM, BBTV said:

I guess technically it's two missing lines (the southwest part of the star):  This version seemed unfinished to me due to how static it stands, though if the negative space is supposed to be a shooting star, then maybe I have to look at it differently:

 

 

This version looked OK to me since it was "moving" and I just assumed it was moving so fast that you couldn't see the back end.  But you don't get any kind of negative-space effect due to the tapers in the west and southwest lines.

 

On 7/16/2024 at 7:36 PM, Ark said:

I love this logo.

 

 

The older logo indeed conveys motion better due to the italicization.  I think it's a good logo for a lot of applications, probably chief among them being the primary logos of the time.

 

But we've discussed in the past how different logos work for different applications.  The multiple different Yankee NYs, the way the cap D looks too light and wispy on the Tigers' uniforms.  For a cap, the thicker and more balanced star just seems to work better.  It doesn't hurt that the colors also contrast far better, with the white outline in photos blending into the sand with the stitching seeming to fray so that the whole thing looks fuzzy and almost real-life pixelated.

 

I... sort of... nothing these logos.  I don't know if it's that the Astros were a complete non-entity to me during this period.  I have much more feeling for the Brewers look of the era, which I feel much better fit their team identity and are vastly underrated.  They feel more in common with the Brewers' last identity where they're dark and sorta drab for an indoor location.  And I can't believe I'm saying this considering I'm always on the receiving end of it, but the wordmarks feel dated rather than classic/retro.  Some touches such as the outline bleeding together in places and disappearing in others and such make it look janky and sorta not fully thought out.

 

I do think for the most part they did well with their AL identity, but I wish they'd kept the second open star as an alt somewhere, perhaps just a recolored version of their Texas outline patch.

 

On 7/16/2024 at 9:32 AM, M59 said:

Now I'm curious as to why the Cubs BP cap has the jersey logo rather than the standard cap logo...and why said logo is so small.

 

The difference of logo was called out when the site shared the whole set, but I have no idea why.  Perhaps all that negative space would have looked weird with the stripes going through them?

 

The size, though, seems in scale with their always smaller-looking logo.  

 

 

On 7/16/2024 at 8:01 PM, lahaye7 said:

Didn't think it was possible, but the ASG unis are comically bad.  The lassoing cowboys in the starting line up intros are a close second. 

 

On 7/16/2024 at 8:35 PM, SportsFan12 said:

These NL uniforms seem to utilize Miami’s color scheme in a far more interesting way than the Marlins do.

 

I just realized... this is a team that has spent the last twenty years flip-flopping between being a blue team and a red team... and they didn't just use that dichotomy to based the All-Star uniforms on.  It was right there.

 

On 7/17/2024 at 9:07 PM, jrodsep said:

If MLB/Nike want to sell jerseys for the All Star game and the new fangled jerseys are atrocious, why don’t they put everyone in throwbacks?

 

1993 Marlins 

1986 Mets

1980 Phillies

1994 Expos or 2005 Nationals

1976 Braves

 

1984 Cubs

1990 Reds

1982 Brewers

1979 Pirates

 

2001 Diamondbacks

1984 Padres

1969 Giants

1993 Black Alt Rockies

 

Full Orange Orioles

1976 Red Sox

Fauxback Rays or 1998 Rays

1989 Blue Jays

 

Harmon Killebrew era Twins

1985 Royals

1984 Tigers

1910 White Sox

 

1989 Mariners

1998 Astros

1980’s California Angels

All Gold Athletics

Nolan Ryan era Rangers

 

18 hours ago, kolob said:

I don't hate that idea. But, every year ... eh ... I don't know? I love the idea for an occasional game. Maybe even to a specific year with recent expansion teams in fauxbacks? Could be fun.

 

Base it on the time the ballpark was built/the inception of the host franchise/the host's most iconic identity or era.  Deadball throwbacks at Fenway, 60's at Dodger Stadium, 90's at Chase.

[PlayGloria]

23 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

 

I just looked back at this and can't believe I accidentally typed "Kansas City" instead of "St. Louis" is the "Gateway to the West".  I can't believe our resident denizens of The Lou didn't kill me for that one.  

 

 

I actually remember this post and I just thought, eh, whatever. We've lost football teams, fortune 500 companies, etc...  we could lose the Arch too and be okay 

While your at it, send "The Lou" to KC as well.

[leopard88]

29 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

Base it on the time the ballpark was built/the inception of the host franchise/the host's most iconic identity or era.  Deadball throwbacks at Fenway, 60's at Dodger Stadium, 90's at Chase.

 

I really like this idea.

[kolob]

2 hours ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

Base it on the time the ballpark was built/the inception of the host franchise/the host's most iconic identity or era.  Deadball throwbacks at Fenway, 60's at Dodger Stadium, 90's at Chase.

 

Okay, that sounds fun. 

[MJD7]

On 7/17/2024 at 9:07 PM, jrodsep said:

If MLB/Nike want to sell jerseys for the All Star game and the new fangled jerseys are atrocious, why don’t they put everyone in throwbacks?

 

1993 Marlins 

1986 Mets

1980 Phillies

1994 Expos or 2005 Nationals

1976 Braves

 

1984 Cubs

1990 Reds

1982 Brewers

1979 Pirates

 

2001 Diamondbacks

1984 Padres

1969 Giants

1993 Black Alt Rockies

 

Full Orange Orioles

1976 Red Sox

Fauxback Rays or 1998 Rays

1989 Blue Jays

 

Harmon Killebrew era Twins

1985 Royals

1984 Tigers

1910 White Sox

 

1989 Mariners

1998 Astros

1980’s California Angels

All Gold Athletics

Nolan Ryan era Rangers

I’ve tried a similar idea in the past, but if I’m being honest, the City Connect program almost certainly blows a throwback program out of the water in terms of sales, and certainly in terms of wider cultural impact.
 

Throwbacks, or even throwback-inspired original designs like I’ve done, simply wouldn’t merit the same amount of attention & marketing, nor would they get the general public as excited. Plus, teams get to sell throwbacks anyway without having to wear them. 

 

Overall, I really think City Connect Round 1 was ultimately a success. I’d be fine with most of them sticking around as permanent alternates. Whether Nike can keep that up with successive installments remains to be seen, although I can’t say I’m optimistic, given the NBA’s track record.

[SportsFan12]

Is there a rule that City Connect has to be worn on Friday or Saturday? Seems like 80% of the league does it at this point.

[damnyoutuesday]

4 minutes ago, SportsFan12 said:

Is there a rule that City Connect has to be worn on Friday or Saturday? Seems like 80% of the league does it at this point.

https://uniformlineup.com

 

Short answer: no

 

[CaliforniaGlowin]

4 hours ago, SportsFan12 said:

Is there a rule that City Connect has to be worn on Friday or Saturday? Seems like 80% of the league does it at this point.

I guess that's when the most fans show up to maximize the cash grab?

[hormone]

I reported that’s week the pirates were messing around with a new combo, but didn’t wear it. Tonight they are. BP hat, black alt, black cc pants. Yesterday was cc hat, cc jersey, home pants. I think we are seeing them mix and match quite a bit since their cc is actually their colors and it hearkens to the we are family mix match.

 

 

[Maz]

I'd prefer this with the regular black cap (the 79 tribute BP cap just feels too busy). That said, while I'm sure I'm in the minority, I like this look a lot.

[SportsFan12]

The Pirates are really trying to open the floodgates.