2008 MLB changes in action

[Armadillo]

The Phillies are wearing green caps tonight. Any reason why?

They've gone green.

It's kind of cool what they've done, but I'm sure there are better ways to announce it than wearing a green cap.

It's not like too many people will see them (at least in Philadelphia) because everyone not at the Phillies game is watching the Flyers.

The Phils are just now getting into the idea of using ketchup/mustard dispensers and recycling glass? Wow. The Metrodome hasn't had ketchup packets as long as I've been going to games there, which has been since 1987.

That press release read like a communique straight out of Central Planning. Sweet Baby Jesus on a Whole Wheat G*damned Cracker, this "green movement" is getting more and more indoctrinating by the day. Turn your damn lights out when you leave a room, people!!!

Oh, and Phillies: welcome to the corporate bandwagon. Now we all know just how much you care-diddly-are about the environment.

Now to stay on topic, the only team in MLB that should be wearing green hats plays in Oakland, not Philadelphia. Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

[BBTV]

There are many who would say that the A's should be wearing blue and white, not green.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

Yes, the Astros on Earth Day earlier this year, and pictured earlier in this thread.

Otherwise the White Sox come to mind. In (maybe) 2003 they only wore a throwback cap because the players didn't like how the jerseys were cut.

No offense to the planet, but I'm not a fan of this odd fad. As I said earlier, soon everyone will be all green and it will ring hollow. Sell those caps!

(And this late to the party trend -- Nationals 42s, Phillies green caps, several NBA teams that wear green "in the vicinity" of March 17 -- is worse. If teams aren't home on July 4 should they wear the flag caps on July 5? Or 11th? Should Toronto wear the Canada jerseys a week late?)

[Gothamite]

Now to stay on topic, the only team in MLB that should be wearing green hats plays in Oakland, not Philadelphia. Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

Well, there's the silly soldier dress-up game the Padres play, complete with green caps....

[CC97]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

The Blue Jays wore red caps (and usually red jerseys too) annually on July 1st from 1996-2003

[RyanB06]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

The Blue Jays wore red caps (and usually red jerseys too) annually on July 1st from 1996-2003

And the Red Sox did it last year after Red Auerbach died, complete with green jerseys to boot.

[VandyDelphia Mike]

They're fitted, too.

Moyer seems to be destined to never wear a red cap when he starts at Citizens Bank Park. Nothing but day games and now this special night in his home appearances.

[Armadillo]

Wow. I stand in awe of your uniform knowledge, gentlemen (/ladies?). After reading this site for the last few years, I should've known that my question would get a few replies. Well played.

[McCall]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

Yes, the Astros on Earth Day earlier this year, and pictured earlier in this thread.

Otherwise the White Sox come to mind. In (maybe) 2003 they only wore a throwback cap because the players didn't like how the jerseys were cut.

No offense to the planet, but I'm not a fan of this odd fad. As I said earlier, soon everyone will be all green and it will ring hollow. Sell those caps!

(And this late to the party trend -- Nationals 42s, Phillies green caps, several NBA teams that wear green "in the vicinity" of March 17 -- is worse. If teams aren't home on July 4 should they wear the flag caps on July 5? Or 11th? Should Toronto wear the Canada jerseys a week late?)

Every team, whether at home or on the road, wear the Flag Patch on their caps on July 4th, as well as Memorial Day, if I'm not mistaken. Feel free to point it out if I am.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

Yes, the Astros on Earth Day earlier this year, and pictured earlier in this thread.

Otherwise the White Sox come to mind. In (maybe) 2003 they only wore a throwback cap because the players didn't like how the jerseys were cut.

No offense to the planet, but I'm not a fan of this odd fad. As I said earlier, soon everyone will be all green and it will ring hollow. Sell those caps!

(And this late to the party trend -- Nationals 42s, Phillies green caps, several NBA teams that wear green "in the vicinity" of March 17 -- is worse. If teams aren't home on July 4 should they wear the flag caps on July 5? Or 11th? Should Toronto wear the Canada jerseys a week late?)

Every team, whether at home or on the road, wear the Flag Patch on their caps on July 4th, as well as Memorial Day, if I'm not mistaken. Feel free to point it out if I am.

You are correct. What I was referencing was the teams that celebrate something on the road on the actual date (as part of a league mandate or otherwise), then celebrate the holiday again once they have a home game.

[SilverNRed]

I strongly agree with you on that. I think all home uniforms should be solid white or beige and all road uniforms should be grey or powder blue for some teams (Royals,Blue Jays,and Phillies perhaps.) It's high time that every team with alternate jerseys(nearly the entire major league teams) ditch them all.

Road Unis: Gray, powder blue or beige/sand (for those teams with gold-related schemes).

Alternates: You can't outlaw them since they provide variety to a teams's look (not to mention a few bucks in merchandise sales), but I believe the league(s) should limit how many times these can be worn so they're really ALTERNATES... I mean, baseball season is SOOOO LOOOOOONG that from time to time it's nice to give teams the chance to present different looks to their fans... Just don't over-do it.

I'll go ahead and agree with everything you said, but I'll even take it a step further. With the arrival of HDTV, sports look better than ever and more colorful uniforms are the future. So not only would I argue against outlawing alternates, I'd say they're necessary. And like you said, the season is LONG so the variety is good for the fans.

As for the road unis, I'd hope that more teams take on beige/sand and that we get some new colors. The graphite that the Blue Jays were set with heading into 2004 would have looked incredible. I know there are slight variations in "road gray" from team to team but I'd like to see some more significant variations, especially with darker grays. There are also teams that could definitely pull off a dark pants/dark jersey combo -- all-black looks for the Pirates and Orioles come to mind.

I love baseball and I love its history/tradition, but I have no idea why anyone thinks all-white versus all-gray is necessary for every game all year long.

[CC97]

Has there ever been another case where the color of the ENTIRE HAT has been changed for one game during the regular season?

Yes, the Astros on Earth Day earlier this year, and pictured earlier in this thread.

Otherwise the White Sox come to mind. In (maybe) 2003 they only wore a throwback cap because the players didn't like how the jerseys were cut.

No offense to the planet, but I'm not a fan of this odd fad. As I said earlier, soon everyone will be all green and it will ring hollow. Sell those caps!

(And this late to the party trend -- Nationals 42s, Phillies green caps, several NBA teams that wear green "in the vicinity" of March 17 -- is worse. If teams aren't home on July 4 should they wear the flag caps on July 5? Or 11th? Should Toronto wear the Canada jerseys a week late?)

Every team, whether at home or on the road, wear the Flag Patch on their caps on July 4th, as well as Memorial Day, if I'm not mistaken. Feel free to point it out if I am.

You are correct, I should also note that all teams (including Toronto) also wear the US Flag on their caps on September 11th in addition to the aforementioned July 4th and Memorial Day.

[uniguy22]

So apparently Arizona changed its shoulder patch to include eyes and made the tongue from black to red.

[ltravisjr]

I'll go ahead and agree with everything you said, but I'll even take it a step further. With the arrival of HDTV, sports look better than ever and more colorful uniforms are the future. So not only would I argue against outlawing alternates, I'd say they're necessary. And like you said, the season is LONG so the variety is good for the fans.

This is a good point. The A's started the color uniform revolution in response to the influence of color television. It stands to reason teams will choose to take advantage of HDTV in a similar manner.

LT

[Gothamite]

Interesting idea, but I don't think that's really supportable.

Team colors continue to be driven by merchandising, not television. Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing teams like the Marlins ditch their very television-friendly teal in favor of black, or the A's adding cash-register black to their television-inspired green and gold.

[Avalancho]

I had hoped that the Padres sand unis would entice teams into experimenting with different colors for their roads'... Unfortunately that hasn't happened yet.

Not to beat a dead horse but the biggest disappontment in that regard was Tampa Bay: One of the newer teams trying to distance themselves from a not-so-fortunate past, they adopt a scheme which IMO fits perfectly with a powder blue road uniform (especially considering how plain their new designs are)... Still, as someone said earlier, they didn't have the guts and decide to play it safe...

Oh well, I'll keep waiting (hoping?) for some team brave enough to pull the trigger... (Royals???)

[njmeadowlanders]

Not a change, but the Mets are (if I'm not mistaken) in their ROAD black alternates for the first time this season @ Arizona tonight.

[SilverNRed]

Interesting idea, but I don't think that's really supportable.

Team colors continue to be driven by merchandising, not television. Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing teams like the Marlins ditch their very television-friendly teal in favor of black, or the A's adding cash-register black to their television-inspired green and gold.

I don't think merchandising and television are that separate. Most fans see their teams on TV more often than they do in person. And the way a team looks on TV will do a lot to decide if you, the fan, want to wear their stuff (though, admittedly, not as much as their win-loss record). And there have been lots of fans on this board who will not like new uniforms when they're unveiled but decide they like them better once they see them in person. The coming of HDTV bridges that gap since watching a game in HD is more like looking through a window than watching a traditional TV.

I don't know what percentage of homes actually have HDTV by now but I know it's still catching on. It'll be interesting to see what teams take advantage of it in the coming years.

As for what teams like the Marlins and A's have done lately, can we chalk some of that up to just plain stupidity? How else can you explain the Rays dropping some really unique jerseys in favor of the mundane stuff they wear now? They could've easily slid some extra yellow or light blue in there. Then you have what the Buffao Bills and Buffalo Sabres switched to in the last few years. A lot of teams just don't know what they're doing.

[M59]

Interesting idea, but I don't think that's really supportable.

Team colors continue to be driven by merchandising, not television. Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing teams like the Marlins ditch their very television-friendly teal in favor of black, or the A's adding cash-register black to their television-inspired green and gold.

I don't think merchandising and television are that separate. Most fans see their teams on TV more often than they do in person. And the way a team looks on TV will do a lot to decide if you, the fan, want to wear their stuff (though, admittedly, not as much as their win-loss record). And there have been lots of fans on this board who will not like new uniforms when they're unveiled but decide they like them better once they see them in person. The coming of HDTV bridges that gap since watching a game in HD is more like looking through a window than watching a traditional TV.

I don't know what percentage of homes actually have HDTV by now but I know it's still catching on. It'll be interesting to see what teams take advantage of it in the coming years.

As for what teams like the Marlins and A's have done lately, can we chalk some of that up to just plain stupidity? How else can you explain the Rays dropping some really unique jerseys in favor of the mundane stuff they wear now? They could've easily slid some extra yellow or light blue in there. Then you have what the Buffao Bills and Buffalo Sabres switched to in the last few years. A lot of teams just don't know what they're doing.

Regardless of whether we agree with the Rays' new uniform design (and I hate it less having seen it worn than I did as a design) we have to remember that their ownership was looking for a COMPLETE BREAK with the franchise's past. I still say a front number and an alternate jersey would move the set from a C- to a B- grade.

[oakland ehs]

Fashion statement: Fans attending Sunday's "Turn Back the Clock" day will get a lesson in baseball fashion. The A's will wear white sleeveless jerseys with "OAKLAND" across the front, as the team did in 1968, its first year on the West Coast.

Other notable parts of the uniform: green stirrups with gold stripes, all-green caps with solely "A," not "A's," for the players and all-white caps with "A" for manager Bob Geren and his coaches. The all-yellow helmets unquestionably will get your attention.