Rays seem ready to dump Devil

[Swiss]

My God!!!

Those uniforms are pretty awful!!!

Help, there is a massive murder against my good taste!!!

[McCall]

50 pages and a year's worth of discussion and this is what the MLB creative department shows up with. Ridiculous...another disappointment.

As with most of these kinds of things, let's not put the blame solely on the MLB Creative Dept. Yes, they had a hand in it, but this is what the Rays' ownership wanted.

I have it on pretty good authority that the owners wanted to appeal to the many Yankees fans in the Tampa community by going Navy and by having more simplistic uniforms.

If this is true, then they should have just went with something like this. Sales would have been TREMENDOUS!!

Steinbrenner would have a heart attack.

Wait, why do I think these uniforms wouldn't work?

[TFoA]

If this is true, then they should have just went with something like this. Sales would have been TREMENDOUS!!

If they had done that, that would've been hilarious. Just because that would've caused the biggest scandal in MLB history, and at the same time it would've got more fans in the building, probably thinking "We can't see our Yanks; this is the next best thing!"

[Survival79]

PANTONE, how do these colors compare to other teams in your database? Are any of them unique to the Rays?

[TruColor]

PANTONE, how do these colors compare to other teams in your database? Are any of them unique to the Rays?

I'll take a look when I can (I'm going through a MASSIVE redesign of my Color Values database right now), but they might be unique. If, you look solely at the Pantone values themselves.

I think newly-designed-San Diego Chargers when I see these colors (just looking at the colors, not the Pantones). Or, Denver Nuggets' alts.

[BallWonk]

50 pages and a year's worth of discussion and this is what the MLB creative department shows up with. Ridiculous...another disappointment.

As with most of these kinds of things, let's not put the blame solely on the MLB Creative Dept. Yes, they had a hand in it, but this is what the Rays' ownership wanted.

I have it on pretty good authority that the owners wanted to appeal to the many Yankees fans in the Tampa community by going Navy and by having more simplistic uniforms.

And let's not forget that for most of baseball history, many teams wore nearly identical uniforms. Yet I don't think anyone mistook the Yanks for the Nats back in the day.

If I had to wager, I'd guess that MLB's Creative Dept. probably improved this design by imposing at least some modicum of don't-look-too-much-like-the-Yankees discipline on the process.

I just don't see the grounds for calling these terrible or even bad uniforms. They're not good, not by any stretch, but the defining characteristic here is blandness, not badness. The worst element is the cap, yet ironically that's the one part of the uniform that marks the greatest upgrade over the previous uniforms.

And if the ownership's intent was as Pantone reports, then you have to conclude that this is a resoundingly successful design from the point of view of the designers delivering to their mandate. I wasn't joking when I said earlier that with this redesign, from now on when the Yankees come to town it will look like all the people sitting in front of you at the Top are Rays fans. If that's what the owners wanted, then let's not blame the designers for achieving the goal they were given. It's worth remembering that any design is only as good as the client's worst decision.

[chaspa]

How did they achieve that goal?

All they did was use navy. Not even the same navy as the Yankees.

The uniforms are completely different, the colors are completely different, the fonts are completely different.

An almost the same navy hat is all they accomplished. That's not following a mandate in my book. If they had used pinstripes, maybe.

[Gothamite]

I just don't see the grounds for calling these terrible or even bad uniforms. They're not good, not by any stretch, but the defining characteristic here is blandness, not badness. The worst element is the cap, yet ironically that's the one part of the uniform that marks the greatest upgrade over the previous uniforms.

I'd agree with you, except that they're trying to straddle the two meanings of "Rays." The result is muddy, serving neither.

That itself makes it bad design in my book.

[powersurge]

Two tweaks, and the Devil Rays first uniforms would have been damned nice looking. This is their second sartorial giant step backwards. Look for new new "Rays" uniforms in 2011.Well, at least Jesus is happy with the name change...

Yeah....when they open up the 2011 season playing in Las Vegas.

Not a chance in hell until 2027.

wanna bet?

[powersurge]

50 pages and a year's worth of discussion and this is what the MLB creative department shows up with. Ridiculous...another disappointment.

As with most of these kinds of things, let's not put the blame solely on the MLB Creative Dept. Yes, they had a hand in it, but this is what the Rays' ownership wanted.

I have it on pretty good authority that the owners wanted to appeal to the many Yankees fans in the Tampa community by going Navy and by having more simplistic uniforms.

If this is true, then they should have just went with something like this. Sales would have been TREMENDOUS!!

Steinbrenner would have a heart attack.

Wait, why do I think these uniforms wouldn't work?

Puh-lease! NO MORE PIN STRIPES! They are over utilized as it is now....no need to perpetuate it further. (Especially not with a sub-par franchise)

[CubsFanBudMan]

I wasn't joking when I said earlier that with this redesign, from now on when the Yankees come to town it will look like all the people sitting in front of you at the Trop are Rays fans.

I think this is valid to a point. Midnight navy or Cleveland navy, it will look a lot better to see a sea of blue caps and other merchandise when that's one of your colors. Of course, the Red Sox fans now will likely turn to their red gear for games in St. Pete.

These blackouts and whiteouts and all-one-color days are impressive because of the statement they make. Having a pocket of green dwarfed by navy -- at home -- can't be a good thing.

Now how they fix the sounds coming out of said fans...

[TruColor]

How did they achieve that goal?

All they did was use navy. Not even the same navy as the Yankees.

The uniforms are completely different, the colors are completely different, the fonts are completely different.

An almost the same navy hat is all they accomplished. That's not following a mandate in my book. If they had used pinstripes, maybe.

This probably doesn't matter - because we're talking about caps in the stands anyway - but the Indians, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, et al all use the same Navy. At least, in print they do.

(for what it's worth)

[wheateater]

...it would've got more fans in the building, probably thinking "We can't see our Yanks; this is the next best thing!"

What, an underachieving team everyone else hates?

[So_Fla]

Two tweaks, and the Devil Rays first uniforms would have been damned nice looking. This is their second sartorial giant step backwards. Look for new new "Rays" uniforms in 2011.Well, at least Jesus is happy with the name change...

Yeah....when they open up the 2011 season playing in Las Vegas.

Not a chance in hell until 2027.

wanna bet?

I'll take that bet.

[Gothamite]

Hey So_Fla, if you're offering, I'll take that action.

No way they play out the full lease in that stadium. It's a millstone around the franchise's neck.

I don't know where they'll go - maybe to another city if things don't improve, maybe to Tampa, maybe even to another St. Petersburg location - but they'll have to buy their way out of the lease.

[powersurge]

Two tweaks, and the Devil Rays first uniforms would have been damned nice looking. This is their second sartorial giant step backwards. Look for new new "Rays" uniforms in 2011.Well, at least Jesus is happy with the name change...

Yeah....when they open up the 2011 season playing in Las Vegas.

Not a chance in hell until 2027.

wanna bet?

I'll take that bet.

Done. You owe me a beer in about ten years.

[Gothamite]

If that.

[So_Fla]

Hey So_Fla, if you're offering, I'll take that action.

No way they play out the full lease in that stadium. It's a millstone around the franchise's neck.

I don't know where they'll go - maybe to another city if things don't improve, maybe to Tampa, maybe even to another St. Petersburg location - but they'll have to buy their way out of the lease.

I doubt that they will be at The Trop in 10 years, maybe a new downtown park, but they won't be leaving the city of St. Petersburg until 2027. They are already talking about bulldozing The Trop already.

Just wager whatever you are willing to lose!

How about this:

I win, you wear a Rays cap for a month. You win, I wear a ball-in-glove logo Brew Crew (hate 'em) cap for a month.

[CubsFanBudMan]

I win, you wear a Rays cap for a month. You win, I wear a ball-in-glove logo Brew Crew (hate 'em) cap for a month.

That would be six uni changes from now (their ninth look overall). Who knows what colors they'd be wearing if you win in 20 years.

Sounds like an unfair bet to me. Might as well just make it the gradient cap. (And for the record, I think I fall in the "they'll stay in St. Pete" camp. Looks like their Al Lang plan is well in the works already. Good for them.)

[Survival79]

Here's an image gallery from the uniform unveiling. It looks like the Rays are going to use nameplates instead of direct-sewn lettering (can't really tell on the BP). Also, it looks like they'll be incorporating at least some yellow into the merchandise.