Nationals Uniforms to be Unveiled

[BallWonk]

The NY (either one, pick 'em) doesn't match the block font, which doesn't match the script font.

... In comparison, the Nationals' uniform holds together better. They at least use the same font on both home and road uniforms. None of it matches with the Yankees.

My first reaction to the Nationals unis when they leaked a week ago was the same as the consensus here about the hodgepodge thing. And I also happen to dislike the pretzel-W on its own. The Senators of the pretzel-W era were losers with bad attendance. It was a crummy team, and as much as my fellow Washingtonians whine about the terrible injustice of the team's move to Texas, as Montreal has learned, that's what you get when a city can't muster five-digit crowds for its team. Plus it looks too much like the Ws in the Walt Disney and Walgreen's logos. Maybe if it didn't have the little stump on the left I'd dislike it less, but probably not.

Anyway, before I digressed, my point was that after thinking about various Major League uniforms, the stylistic dissonance didn't bother me at all. Do the Dodgers have terrible uniforms because they have a block LA on the cap and a script Dodgers on the shirt? St. Louis' STL caps are pretty blocky, but their shirts have a script Cardinals. Do their uniforms suck too? The Royals also have a non-script KC and a script Royals. And you correctly point out that the Yanks can't even agree on how to draw the same NY logo, much less match their caps, shirts, and numbers.

On the other hand, many recent teams have perfectly integrated designs from cap to socks. Teams like the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, and Phillies, all of whom happen to be quite ugly. In fact, the correct response to anyone who demands that all elements of a uniform reflect a single design is "2004 Blue Jays."

So while I don't much like the pretzel-W, I can't sustain any principled objection to mixing the pretzel-W and the block script. Sometimes mixing elements is great, sometimes it's not. And although sometimes consistent design is great, quite often it just means the uniform is uniformly bad.

[JamesCraven]

"Teams like the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, and Phillies, all of whom happen to be quite ugly."

Agreed with Blue Jays and devil rays, but disagree with Phillies. It's more of a traditional style, one that they replaced an ugly, hideous 1970's design (and the only uniform to be worn in a World Championship year BTW).

[BallWonk]

I'm gathering that I'm not the only one here who has seen this, but someone tell me why the Nationals are going with a "Established 1905" theme???

Seems to me that they're combining histories with the Twins, and kicking in the teeth of Expos Nation.

Perhaps for the same reason the caps don't match the wordmark really don't match the numbers? Where did they come up with those, anyway? Dallas #s in DC!?! It makes no sense, capitan!

Those block numbers look very similar to the font the Expos used. Might the Nationals have simply kept the Expos numbers in shape and added gold bevels?

[sj32]

I'm gathering that I'm not the only one here who has seen this, but someone tell me why the Nationals are going with a "Established 1905" theme???

Seems to me that they're combining histories with the Twins, and kicking in the teeth of Expos Nation.

Perhaps for the same reason the caps don't match the wordmark really don't match the numbers? Where did they come up with those, anyway? Dallas #s in DC!?! It makes no sense, capitan!

Those block numbers look very similar to the font the Expos used. Might the Nationals have simply kept the Expos numbers in shape and added gold bevels?

Nope - the Expos' numbers were a straight "Varsity" font (the style worn by the Yankees, Braves & Tigers), they didn't have the "Dallas" serifs.

[BallWonk]

Those block numbers look very similar to the font the Expos used. Might the Nationals have simply kept the Expos numbers in shape and added gold bevels?

Nope - the Expos' numbers were a straight "Varsity" font (the style worn by the Yankees, Braves & Tigers), they didn't have the "Dallas" serifs.

I'm sure you're right, but I'm confused:

Vlad's 27 looks a lot like Mario's 27 to me, at least serif-wise. What am I missing?

(Note that although these are both practice jerseys, all the photos I can find of either team's uniforms over the last few years use the same number fonts as those shown here. These were just the best photos of the same number I could find in a few seconds of searching.)

[sj32]

Look at the number "2" on this picture of Roger Staubach.

Notice at the start (top) of the "2" that there is a serif. The Cowboys had similar serifs on 3s, 5s, 6s and 9s. The Nationals have a similar serif on their numbers.

[TruColor]

...and here they are - in both home and road versions:

[BallWonk]

...and here they are - in both home and road versions:

Thanks. I knew there had to be something I was missing.

BTW, Pantone, are you behind the Modesto's new look? If so, my compliments. The logo really sells the name for me. And if so, did they commission logos for their other names in case they won the fan votes?

[pcgd]

I personally don't like the gold on the red on either the numbers or the front. I love the gold on the blue, but the gold and the red seem to clash a bit. Perhaps a darker red would have solved this issue, and it may very well look much better in thread.

[TruColor]

I re-colored the numbers to show what they look like in PANTONE Textile colors:

...and, here they are in Robison-Anton (thread) colors:

The Robison-Anton colors pretty closely mimic the Pantone solid colors, but there's a big difference in the Textiles; most notably with the Gold.

And no - I didn't have anything to do with the Modesto Nuts new look...I just like minor league baseball logos...

[M59]

I'm sworn to secrecy (!), but the higher-ups apparently really pushed for the pretzel "W".

Nothin' could be done about it...

Pantone:

Can you tell us who is to blame for the goofy, non-matching Dallas Cowboys numbers they're putting on the jerseys?????

[TruColor]

Well, they were the designer's idea, but I like them personally...and not just because I consider the designer a friend...

[BallWonk]

Well, they were the designer's idea, but I like them personally...and not just because I consider the designer a friend...

I don't mind the letter font as such. But carrying the gold bevelling into the numbers (and, it seems, names) just doesn't work for me. First off, it makes the numbers slightly harder to read. Since the purpose of the numbers is to allow fans to identify players at a great distance, this is a Bad Thing. Second, and to my mind worse, it distracts from the beautiful Nationals and Washington wordmarks. A simple, one-color number would allow those terrific arched scripts to dominate the uniform. But with the bevelling and the outlines, the numbers assume equal prominance to, and even slightly outweigh, the script.

So on their own the numbers are terrific. But on the uniform, they don't succeed as numbers and they lessen the impact of the shirt script. I'd have preferred to see simple, one-color numbers and names, say in the style of an Interstate sign. Blue at home, red on the road.

[NatsFan2004]

Apologies if this is a double-post, but since some people hadn't seen the real away uniforms, here's a couple of shots I took today at the team store:

And the back of the home jersey:

[The_Admiral]

Too much red and too much blue. Lose the beveling, it makes it hard to read, and have red names on grey and blues names on white to break up the monotony. They look too much like the Angels.

[DEAD!]

That gold seems to ruin everything.

[jkrdevil]

The should go mostly with blue because the mosly red make them look like the Angels. Plus the mostly blue looks better.

[VandyDelphia Mike]

In looking at the posted pictures, does anyone know why the MLB logo above the player name is blue & gold, as opposed to blue and red?

[gosioux76]

I'd venture a guess that the gold beveling was added specifically to set them apart from the Angels' uniforms.

I don't mind it personally, but I'd agree with whoever said blue should be the overall dominant color.

I also wouldn't doubt that in coming years, similar to what some expansion franchises have done in the past, the Nationals would make significant tweaks to this while maintaining some basic elements like the logo and typefaces.

But i'm just an educated guesser.

[TruColor]

I've been putting off doing this for a couple of weeks, but here are the Nationals' uniforms - home and road - in solid colors and textile colors - in all their glory:

Home Uniforms - Solid Colors:

Road Uniforms - Solid Colors:

Home Uniforms - Textile Colors:

Road Uniforms - Textile Colors:

As far as the color scheme for the MLB Batter logo - my only guess is that they wanted some sort of reference for the Gold on the caps. Since there isn't any other than the batter logo.