MLB Without Alternates (AL West 11/29)

[coco1997]

There's an old school mindset that argues baseball was better when every team had just one home and one road uniform. No softball tops, no "special event" jerseys, and certainly no City Connects. 

 

That got me thinking: What if we never left the old days?

 

In a way, the premise of this series is the antithesis of my previous Nike 4+1 project. For the most part (with a few exceptions), teams' home uniforms will go relatively unchanged. But there's no rule that says teams must wear gray (or powder blue) road uniforms, so this is where I'll be taking lots of creative liberty. You'll see elements of teams' actual road unis, alternates, throwbacks, and yes, even City Connects incorporated into these uniforms. I was also conscious of repeating the same-colored road unis within a given division and tried to avoid that wherever possible.

To keep things moving, I'll be posting division by division, starting today with the NL Central:

MILWAUKEE BREWERS:

 

Notes:
 
- It remains baffling that the Brewers' 2020 redesign didn't reintroduce a powder blue road set. Maybe the team already knew a powder blue-heavy City Connect was on the way? Regardless, I've addressed that glaring oversight here and also used the script from the team's alternate.

CINCINNATI REDS:

 

Notes:

 

- There were a ton of different directions I could have taken for the Reds--including pinstripes and vests--but I ultimately decided that red pants with a white top would be the most interesting home look for the Cincinnati Baseball Club, who were once known as the "Redlegs." 

- I removed the drop shadows from the home jersey and used black as sparingly as possible, reducing it to just the belt and details on Mr. Redlegs. 

- The mono-black away is heavily based on the Reds' City Connect design, which itself seems to be a nod to the team's early 1910's road look. 

 

CHICAGO CUBS:

 

Notes:

- Chicago's home uniform is pretty much perfect, so I didn't feel the need to change much. The away is where things get interesting, and this actually wound up being one of my favorite designs in the whole series. 

- The new road set is essentially the Cubs' City Connect, 1950s and 1980s' road jersey all rolled into one. The team's primary royal blue replaces the more navy shade of their actual City Connect, and the sky blue and Chicago flag-inspired cap were simply too good to lose. 

 

PITTSBURGH PIRATES:

 

Notes:

 

- The Pirates are back in vests at home. And when you have a uniform history as colorful as the Bucs', it would be a crime to put them in bland gray on the road, so the new away set pays homage to the team's '70s-early '80s (and City Connect) look while featuring their current script "Pittsburgh."

 

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS:

 

Notes:

 

- The Cards have one of the most timeless looks in all of professional sports, so there was no need to mess with much. The only changes are the "St. Louis" script as the new road mark and the addition of the team's City Connect sleeve patch to both jerseys. 

- I could have gone powder blue for the Cards' road, but it's a look that's never quite worked for me, and, given the NL Central is comprised of some of the oldest teams in MLB, I figured at least one club should rock the traditional gray. 

 

C&C appreciated! I should have the next division up soon. 

[GrayJ12]

That Cubs road uni is one of the best solutions for their middling road uniforms of the past three decades. The touches of the City Connect on that is absolutely wonderful.

[Coiler]

The Reds one looks gorgeous (they all look good but that especially)

[Apoll0]

Along with the new uniforms, I like that a lot of them have different hats, it's more fun and it gives a more unified look (especially the cubs road and the reds set).

[coco1997]

On 11/18/2024 at 11:21 AM, GrayJ12 said:

That Cubs road uni is one of the best solutions for their middling road uniforms of the past three decades. The touches of the City Connect on that is absolutely wonderful.

 

On 11/18/2024 at 1:45 PM, Coiler said:

The Reds one looks gorgeous (they all look good but that especially)

 

On 11/18/2024 at 7:12 PM, Apoll0 said:

Along with the new uniforms, I like that a lot of them have different hats, it's more fun and it gives a more unified look (especially the cubs road and the reds set).

Thank you!

Next up is the AL East:

NEW YORK YANKEES:


Notes:

- The Yankees’ iconic home pinstripes are of course untouched, but I decided to shake things up a bit and roll with a mono-navy look for the away set. The road also features the “YANKEES” wordmark the team used in the late 1920s.

- New York's primary logo is added to the road uni for a nice pop of color. 

TAMPA BAY RAYS:

Notes:
 

- In my opinion, the Rays have never had a truly “classic” look, their best probably being their now-retired fauxbacks. I therefore went all-in on that design while using sky blue and purple (the latter from the Devil Rays’ original primary logo) as the primary colors. 
- The original Devil Rays gradient is applied to the wordmark, and a faux gradient pattern is added to the sleeves and pants. I also kept the “Skyray” logo from the team’s City Connect, as it’s easily the single greatest logo the Rays have ever used. The gradient is applied to the Skyray, as well. 
 

BALTIMORE ORIOLES:

Notes:

- I kept the off-white home look from my 4+1 series for Baltimore, and I love the team's sleek all-black City Connects (before they got lame and switched to white pants) which, intentionally or not, evoke the original 1901 Orioles.
- The O's classic mid '50s-early '70s striped stirrups are used with both designs. 
 

BOSTON RED SOX:

Notes:
- Even with the Guardians’ unveiling their tweaked uniforms for 2025 last week, I’ve long felt the Red Sox should be the AL team with a red home cap + navy bill. This might give some hint of what I have planned for Cleveland.
- The piping is now consistent between the home and road unis.
 

TORONTO BLUE JAYS:

 

Notes:
 

- No need to change much here. The home set stays exactly the same, while the Jays' less saturated, original shade of powder blue becomes the team’s full-time road color. 

 

C&C appreciated! Back to the NL for the next division. 

[Victormrey]

What a great idea for a series!

I like that you kept the classic grey unis for teams like the Cards and the Rod Sox, as well as going for powder blue when it fits  So far, my favourite set is the Pirates'.

 

Keep it up!

[SnappiarDuke502]

Cardinals & Red Sox sets just feel right, and I'm loving all the subtle city connect elements mixed with the primary identities. 

[coco1997]

On 11/22/2024 at 10:57 AM, Victormrey said:

What a great idea for a series!

I like that you kept the classic grey unis for teams like the Cards and the Rod Sox, as well as going for powder blue when it fits  So far, my favourite set is the Pirates'.

 

Keep it up!

 

On 11/22/2024 at 11:59 AM, SnappiarDuke502 said:

Cardinals & Red Sox sets just feel right, and I'm loving all the subtle city connect elements mixed with the primary identities. 

Thank you!

Next up is the NL West!

LOS ANGELES DODGERS:

Notes:

 

- The reigning champs have maybe the greatest home uniforms in baseball, so those go unchanged.
- I could’ve stuck with gray for the away design (with white-trimmed script & numbers, my preferred Dodgers road look) but I decided to go with baby blue--complete with T-bars--as a nod to the team's Brooklyn heritage. 

 

SAN DIEGO PADRES:

Notes:

 

- Much as it pains me to lose San Diego's fantastic road pins, I really wanted sand as the road color for the D-Backs, who actually play in the desert.

- The away uses the Friars' excellent 2021-21 spring training jersey (which is far superior to their actual road jersey, in my opinion) and the team's gold front paneled cap from 2016-19 also returns. 

 

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS:

Notes:

 

- I’ve played around with the D-Backs’ color scheme quite a bit in the past, but for this series, I decided to stick with their actual colors of Sedona red, black and turquoise.

- Some minor tweaks to the home jersey. I dropped the black soutache and added some contrasting TV numbers. Both jerseys now also feature the diamond sleeve pattern from the team's 1998-2006 alternates.
- The sand-colored road with black wordmark and red numbers evokes the Snakes' City Connect.

 

COLORADO ROCKIES:

Notes:
 

- Colorado’s home set bring back the vests and takes influence from the Rockies' now-retired City Connects, with forest green replacing black as their secondary color. 
- The road is essentially an away version of the City Connect while keeping the team's standard block numbers and wordmark. I tried replacing green with purple for the road, but it wound up being a bit much. 

 

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS:

Notes:

- As I did with my 4+1 series, TV numbers are added to the Giants' home jersey.
- The solid black road uni features the team's 1994-99 road wordmark and Golden Gate Bridge sleeves (sans fog) from the team's now-retired City Connects.

C&C appreciated as always, and have a great weekend!

[Apoll0]

I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate the green with Rockies uniform for a while, I'm glad that you were able to do it well.

[coco1997]

On 11/22/2024 at 5:35 PM, Apoll0 said:

I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate the green with Rockies uniform for a while, I'm glad that you were able to do it well.

Thanks! Yeah, I could definitely live with purple and green as the Rockies' everyday look, though you'd probably need one of the colors brightened up a bit for better contrast.

Today's division is the AL Central!

 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

 

Notes:

- If any team not called the Blue Jays belongs in full powder blue, it’s the Royals. I thought it would be interesting to put KC back in vests like they wore from 2002-05, while keeping the contrasting TV numbers from their 2012-21 home alt.
- I’ve never really cared for any road wordmark Kansas City has had, their best probably being the original 1969-70 version. My redesign instead just uses the “KC” monogram (and trim) from the team’s 2014-21 alternates.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS:

 

Notes:

 

- Cleveland’s City Connect has the building blocks of a more interesting identity than what the team gave us in 2021. With that in mind, the home now uses the design’s more distinctive wine, navy & off-white color scheme and Art Deco-inspired numbers. 
- I stuck with the team's pre-2025 navy cap with red bill for the home, while keeping the new red-navy-red sleeve and collar trim and extending it to the pants, something the team should have done.
- The road is just the team’s City Connect with matching pants and red letters. I thought about applying the racing stripes to the home as well, but they looked weird on an off-white uniform. 

 

MINNESOTA TWINS:

 

Notes:

 

- Despite the Guardians’ recently unveiled tweaks (which I like, for the most part), I decided the Twins should be the team with a red crown + navy bill home cap in the AL Central.
- Minnesota in powder blue just feels right, so I made an exception here and allowed the Central to have two powder blue road teams. I maintained the separation of red and navy by adding a white stroke to the wordmark and numbers.
- The road features a tri-colored cap based on the team’s current home and ‘70s batting helmets.

 

CHICAGO WHITE SOX:

Notes:

 

- As a Sox fan, I’d be all for the team’s City Connects replacing their road grays full time. The only necessary change would be to swap out the “Southside” wordmark for their “Chicago” script, which is what I’ve done here.
- The Blackletter style City Connect numbers and sleeve stripes now extend to the home jersey, and both sets use actual white socks.

 

DETROIT TIGERS:

Notes:

- The Tigers’ look is more or less perfect, so I didn’t change a whole lot. Sleeve numbers like those worn by the team on the road throughout the '60s are added to the home, and the unnecessary white strokes are dropped from the road script and numbers.

C&C appreciated as always! 

[Paul Lucas]

This is such a great concept, nothing but iconic looks for each team! Great work, my friend!!!

[coco1997]

On 11/24/2024 at 1:29 PM, Paul Lucas said:

This is such a great concept, nothing but iconic looks for each team! Great work, my friend!!!

Thanks man! 

Starting the week with the NL East!

ATLANTA BRAVES:

 

Notes:

 

- Atlanta’s home is essentially the team’s City Connect in navy rather than royal blue, paired with an inverted gray road to produce a set resembling their 1972-75 uniforms.
- I decided to keep the Hank Aaron-inspired sleeve mountain peaks from the City Connect rather than bring back the feathers. As it is, I already dropped the tomahawks, I’m sure someone will soon come up with a reason why the feathers are offensive, and the mountain peaks are visually similar enough to the feathers, anyway.
 

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:

Notes:

- I don't think many would mind the Phillies going back to their ‘70s-80s burgundy and powder blue full time, so that’s what we get here.
- The road design is the Phils’ home alt/throwback with current “P” logo and numbers.

- Sleeve numbers are back on the home jersey, ad patches be damned.
 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS:


Notes:

 

- Over the years the Nats’ City Connects really grew on me, and I’ll be sad to see them gone next season. Seeing as I’ll take any opportunity to put an expansion team in something other than red and blue, my Washington set uses their City Connect colors of anthracite, cherry blossom pink and ivory.
- The home jersey uses the raglan sleeves from the team’s new home alt, while the road goes full anthracite and brings back the Nats’ original 2005-08 beveled wordmark, which almost certainly inspired the City Connect’s “WSH” and numbers.

 

NEW YORK METS:

Notes:

 

- The Mets have a perfect home uniform, so nothing changes here.
- I couldn’t decide whether to use their current arched style or 1987 script “New York” for the road, so I instead took a cue from the team’s City Connect and went with a big Tuscan “NYC.” The design also features subtle gray pinstripes, a la the Twins’ away unis.

 

MIAMI MARLINS:


Notes:

 

- The Marlins use the same Miami blue forward color balance from my Nike 4+1 series.
- Since the Fish love wearing black so much anyway, it made sense to pair their oft-worn alternate with matching pants for the road.
- The red billed home cap is a small nod to the team’s now-retired City Connect uniforms.
 
C&C appreciated! I'll finish things off with the AL West later this week. 

[cubbeblue88]

As usual, you’ve outdone yourself. The Cubs road uni is quite the magnificent sight to behold. Really would be awesome given they are replacing their current city connects in the coming season. Same goes for the Nats. The blossom jerseys were such a unique idea and would be awesome to incorporate into their regular routine. 
 

 

[coco1997]

On 11/28/2024 at 11:24 AM, cubbeblue88 said:

As usual, you’ve outdone yourself. The Cubs road uni is quite the magnificent sight to behold. Really would be awesome given they are replacing their current city connects in the coming season. Same goes for the Nats. The blossom jerseys were such a unique idea and would be awesome to incorporate into their regular routine. 

Thank you!

 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Finishing things up today with the most City Connect-influenced division, the AL West!
 

HOUSTON ASTROS:

Notes:

 

- Houston adopts the gradients, NASA-inspired wordmarks, cap logo and pant numbers from the team’s now-retired City Connect design, which would give their fairly pedestrian primary uniforms some much-needed personality.
- The road swaps out “SPACELAND” for “HOUSTON” and applies the gradient to the wordmark and numbers themselves.

 

TEXAS RANGERS:

Notes:

- This is likely a hot take, but I dig the Rangers’ City Connect and actually prefer some elements of it to the team’s everyday look. For this set, I used the City Connect’s “TX” and numbers and added front numbers to the home.
- I can go either way on the Rangers in powder blue, but since it’s already one of their alts anyway, I figured it was a good way to keep the Rangers out of gray. I also brought back the team’s mid-2000s vest look.

 

ANAHEIM ANGELS:

Notes:

 

- The Angels are a team whose look could use a freshening up of some sorts, and their City Connect, with its cream front paneled cap, surf shop-inspired asymmetrical sleeve stripes and added navy offers some great ideas.
- I kept the Halos in gray on the road, since they’re not a team that would really benefit from a mono-navy (or certainly mono-red) look. I did, however, bring back the navy cap with red bill the team used from 1961-96.

 

OAKLAND ATHLETICS:

Notes:

 

- Now that the A’s are officially homeless, “Oakland” doesn’t appear on either jersey.
- Both uniforms use the vests from the team’s first few seasons in Oakland, and the mono-gold away is effectively their 1969-71 road with updated logo. I also kept the McAuliffe-style numbers from those early uniforms.

 

SEATTLE MARINERS:

 

Notes:

 

- Like Anaheim, Seattle is long overdue for an identity refresh, and their City Connect's trident cap logo, beveled numbers, Pilots-inspired wordmarks and updated (but sadly unused) compass could provide some inspiration. 
- The road keeps the light-colored jersey + dark pants combo of the City Connect, albeit in the team's Northwest green and navy.

 

And that's a wrap! Thanks again to everyone who followed along and commented. Note: Several MLB teams have already announced new City Connect uniforms for the 2025 season. Should I see fit, I may revisit this series and incorporate elements of those forthcoming designs into my original designs.

[MJD7]

This series has been really nice. A lot of the aways especially clearly have a lot of City Connect inspiration, which works for the better. The Cubs road in particular is a standout. Nice work!

[Paul Lucas]

Enjoyed this very much. Really solid work, my brother!

[Apoll0]

An amazing set overall, all of them hits. My personal favorite sets are the Nationals and the Guardians, having something thats not blue and red is just more fun original, also making cream a full time color is way better and more unique.

[coco1997]

10 hours ago, MJD7 said:

This series has been really nice. A lot of the aways especially clearly have a lot of City Connect inspiration, which works for the better. The Cubs road in particular is a standout. Nice work!

 

7 hours ago, Paul Lucas said:

Enjoyed this very much. Really solid work, my brother!

 

3 hours ago, Apoll0 said:

An amazing set overall, all of them hits. My personal favorite sets are the Nationals and the Guardians, having something thats not blue and red is just more fun original, also making cream a full time color is way better and more unique.

Thanks, guys! @MJD7, as a Twins fan, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the Minnesota road set. 

[MJD7]

11 hours ago, coco1997 said:

Thanks, guys! @MJD7, as a Twins fan, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the Minnesota road set. 

I like it, if the Twins were ever to go powder blue on the road full-time, there's not much I'd really change with that. I'd just flip the designations of the hats, as I'd much prefer the white-panel cap at home than on the road. Either that, or I'd drop the red hat altogether. I like the Twins now being a more navy-centric team.