Mets uniform changes

[Brian E]

Dump the snow-white home alt and THEN it's perfect.

Dump either one and it'd be perfect. Or make them both either bright white or cream, but not one of each, and it'd be perfect. Or make them both cream, then dump the pinstripes, and it'd be perfect.

The bottom lines for the Mets are:

1. If you'd just simplify a bit, you have several basically perfect uniforms already in hand, but until you pick one and stick with it, you'll remain the ugliest team in baseball; and

2. You know what's uglier and stupider than a blue team randomly splashing a bunch of black on its uniforms? Mismatched home uniforms in two different, clashing shades of white. I mean, fer crikeysake, it's white. It's the equivalent of a chef who can't decide which kind of white bread he prefers, Wonder sandwich bread or store-brand hamburger buns, so he makes a sandwich with one slice of each. A team that can't even get the color white right is a team that will not soon be winning any pennants.

Which actually raises bottom line number 3 for the Mets:

3. You know you're a crap team when people can use the phrase "Even the Nats ..." about you. In this case, even the Nats are able to wear a consistent shade of white.

I still think this is an unfair criticism when you consider that the Phillies have the same home/alt combo of white/cream.

[TruColor]

Dump the snow-white home alt and THEN it's perfect.

Dump either one and it'd be perfect. Or make them both either bright white or cream, but not one of each, and it'd be perfect. Or make them both cream, then dump the pinstripes, and it'd be perfect.

The bottom lines for the Mets are:

1. If you'd just simplify a bit, you have several basically perfect uniforms already in hand, but until you pick one and stick with it, you'll remain the ugliest team in baseball; and

2. You know what's uglier and stupider than a blue team randomly splashing a bunch of black on its uniforms? Mismatched home uniforms in two different, clashing shades of white. I mean, fer crikeysake, it's white. It's the equivalent of a chef who can't decide which kind of white bread he prefers, Wonder sandwich bread or store-brand hamburger buns, so he makes a sandwich with one slice of each. A team that can't even get the color white right is a team that will not soon be winning any pennants.

Which actually raises bottom line number 3 for the Mets:

3. You know you're a crap team when people can use the phrase "Even the Nats ..." about you. In this case, even the Nats are able to wear a consistent shade of white.

I still think this is an unfair criticism when you consider that the Phillies have the same home/alt combo of white/cream.

And the Indians.

[BallWonk]

I still think this is an unfair criticism when you consider that the Phillies have the same home/alt combo of white/cream.

No, it's not an unfair criticism. It's just a criticism that also applies to several other teams. Key differences would include the fact that this thread is not about the Phillies or the Indians, and also that the Mets have uniforms that are closer to perfect, if they would just stop screwing them up like this, than either Cleveland or Philly.

[McCall]

I say snow whites as home, cream pinstripes as Sunday or Friday or day game or whatever special type of alt uniform, grays as is, and a blue alternate with orange piping and orange 'NY' trimmed in white on left chest.

And of course, black removed from everything. Blue cap is the only one needed.

And BW, I believe a white uniform and a cream uniform CAN coexist within a team's uniform set. It's not as if some players are wearing one uniform and some the other. They all wear one or they all wear the other. So I don't see how there can be a clash issue. Plus, the cream would have pinstripes so it's not as if it's the exact same uniform with just a slightly different tint. The creams would appear more as a throwback, like Philly and Cleveland, which do work.

[BallWonk]

And BW, I believe a white uniform and a cream uniform CAN coexist within a team's uniform set. It's not as if some players are wearing one uniform and some the other. They all wear one or they all wear the other. So I don't see how there can be a clash issue. Plus, the cream would have pinstripes so it's not as if it's the exact same uniform with just a slightly different tint. The creams would appear more as a throwback, like Philly and Cleveland, which do work.

Yes, I'm overstating my case (more than) somewhat, and no, Philly and Cleveland do not work. The whole we-don't-know-what-shade-of-white-we-wear-at-home thing is ridiculous in Cleveland and Philly too.

I'm all for creaming up a throwback jersey to give it a patina of old-fashionedness, even if no uniforms were anywhere near as yellow back in the day as the cream uniforms worn by the Giants and other current cream-uniform wearers. The cream fabric looks good, and it communicates what the team is trying to communicate, even if it's not actually authentic.

But what the Mets are doing cannot be compared to a throwback. What, exactly, are the Mets throwbacking to? These are just their regular home jerseys. If a team wears its regular home whites two days in a row, is the second day a "throwback" to yesterday? That's what the Mets are doing. If the Mets want to qualify for the Cleveland/Philly "throwback" excuse, then they need to get the black drop shadows off the cream pinstripes and make them true copies of the 1960s unis. But that's not what they are; they're just regular home whites in a shade that doesn't match their other regular home whites. And that really is just as ridiculous as randomly throwing a bunch of black into your uniforms even though black isn't actually one of your team colors at the time. This is that, but with white, and screwing up the color white really is pretty sad.

[JH42XCC]

You might as well file this under "Probably not gonna happen again", but I'd love to see the Mets wear these for once.

[schtee]

Props to Brian E for a great mock-up.

I've looked at old Mets photos and I don't think their home color could ever be called 'cream.' Casey and the boys look like they are wearing white, might just be the hazy glow of nostalgia and the richness of flannel with felt lettering.

Anyhoo, I've done my own mock-up of the jerseys, along with what David Wright might look like in them, here:

http://sheahey.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-look-good-while-losing.html

[schtee]

Again, I could be quite wrong, but here is further photographic indication that the 1960s Mets never wore cream-colored jerseys.

[f-ing palko]

Think THIS color in regards to the Mets' Cream unis:

Mr Donovan, could you put this next to the Mets' grey uniform color (maybe also their white) for context?

It's probably just my screen, or my eyes, but New York Mets flannel looks decidedly grey.

[SilverNRed]

No argument from me that the execution of using black has been terrible. But since they added it, they've had an unmistakably unique identity in a sport that could really use more of those. One only needs to take a quick glance at the tv and know that it's the Mets... you really couldn't say that before. Also, being from the Midwest, I tend to free associate the royal blue cap and royal blue pinstripe combo with the Cubs (as I'm sure a lot of other people do thanks to WGN).

You're the first person I've seen that says adding the black made the Mets look more unique, and I couldn't agree less. Since adding the black, it's become the dominant color in their uniforms. The Rockies, Marlins, Blue Jays, White Sox, and Giants all have black as their dominant color. The Mets were the only baseball team with royal blue and orange as their colors. They were one of the only teams in pro sports with those colors.

And the Mets' black looks an awful lot like the Yankees' midnight blue, which is extra sad for a team that wants to be unique and separate from the Yankees and may even drop their pinstripes to (theoretically) achieve this.

I think the Mets going from "blue and orange" to "black with a little blue and a little orange" has been a complete debacle in every respect. Really sad for a franchise whose original threads were so inspired.

[powersurge]

No argument from me that the execution of using black has been terrible. But since they added it, they've had an unmistakably unique identity in a sport that could really use more of those. One only needs to take a quick glance at the tv and know that it's the Mets... you really couldn't say that before. Also, being from the Midwest, I tend to free associate the royal blue cap and royal blue pinstripe combo with the Cubs (as I'm sure a lot of other people do thanks to WGN).

You're the first person I've seen that says adding the black made the Mets look more unique, and I couldn't agree less. Since adding the black, it's become the dominant color in their uniforms. The Rockies, Marlins, Blue Jays, White Sox, and Giants all have black as their dominant color. The Mets were the only baseball team with royal blue and orange as their colors. They were one of the only teams in pro sports with those colors.

And the Mets' black looks an awful lot like the Yankees' midnight blue, which is extra sad for a team that wants to be unique and separate from the Yankees and may even drop their pinstripes to (theoretically) achieve this.

I think the Mets going from "blue and orange" to "black with a little blue and a little orange" has been a complete debacle in every respect. Really sad for a franchise whose original threads were so inspired.

Agreed.

I don't think the impetus for the addition of the black had anything to do with 'improving upon' their current look at the time in any way. It was simply to sell more merchandise, just like all of the other teams around baseball and other sports who were sneaking black into their color scheme to sell more jerseys. The KC Royals and the Cincinnati Reds were also guilty parties involved in that travesty. Thankfully BOTH came to their senses; the Royals eliminating black all together and the Reds keeping it merely as an accent color.

I'm hoping the Mets follow the path of the Royals and come to their senses as well.

[New_Member]

I hope the Mets don't add cream. It's never been part of their identity and adding it now would make as much sense as the gimmicky "throwback" elements Wilpon put into CitiField.

It seems like the Mets brass doesn't understand the fans' wishes. There is no need for addition or a new twist, we just want some subtraction. The Mets uniforms as they now stand are basically perfect; they just need to remove all traces of black (cleats aside). That means no shadow, no black hat and no black jerseys. The Mets should keep their pinstripe and grey unis otherwise untouched. They have a better number font now than they did in the 60s and 70s and the thin white outline that they had in the early 90s was no good. The names on the back of the jerseys should stay.

I don't really care what they do with the plain white jerseys, as long as they are secondary to the primary pinstripes (which means the pinstripes should be on the field most of the time). If they want to mess with them fine. The plain whites are probably too similar to the pinstripes anyway. An alt jersey like the ones they wore against the Giants this year wouldn't bother me. illwauk says that the Mets are not easily distinguishable from the Cubs or other blue teams. Having more orange in the plain whites can be a way to to that (I wouldn't mind seeing a home alternate cap with an orange brim).

[Bouj]

Again, I could be quite wrong, but here is further photographic indication that the 1960s Mets never wore cream-colored jerseys.

To be fair, most flannels weren't really what we would consider "white". The flannels tinted more towards cream, whether they were supposed to be or not. Go look at the old Yanks flannels and their current jerseys. The Yankees have always worn "white" pinstripes, but "white" flannels were shaded darker than "white" doubleknits.

[TruColor]

Think THIS color in regards to the Mets' Cream unis:

Mr Donovan, could you put this next to the Mets' grey uniform color (maybe also their white) for context?

It's probably just my screen, or my eyes, but New York Mets flannel looks decidedly grey.

Here are color swatches representing the Mets' textile colors for their home Whites, alt. Cream/Flannels, and road Grays:

Keep in mind that these represent the official color specs, but what is actually produced and worn on the field might not exactly match.

[M59]

I'm consistently on record as hating both pinstripes and drop shadows, so I'd shed no tears if the Mets were to eliminate both.

Something I think the black haters miss--with both the Mets and Royals black sets--is that black coupled with blue looks pretty darned good. If I was allowed to get my hands on the Mets set, I'd:

1) Ditch the pinstripes and drop shadows altogether

2) Add a blue alternate jersey at home with script, etc in orange/black/white

3) Have a black alternate on the road with script, etc in blue/orange/white

4) Strongly consider an orange alternate, with script, etc in blue/black/white

5) All these uniforms--except the blue alternate--would have Mets' blue piping on the placket, sleeves and pants. The blue alternate would have orange piping on the jersey. I could even live with substituting the jersey body color for the black trim on the blue and orange alternates. But I'd still keep a black hat with a blue bill.

[METDVLS]

You know what is stupid? Idiots arguing about what looks good instead of talking about the team! The Yankees are in the playoffs looking for title 27 and we are all reading AND writing about what looks good. That is the difference between Mets fans and those darn Yankees fans!

Guys, in the 60's wool jerseys were WHITE! Polyester jerseys and better laundry techniques allowed for SNOW white and true wool white went bye bye with the wool! Merry Christmas! THERE WERE NO CREAM COLOR JERSEYS BACK THEN, JUST WHITE, A DIRTY WHITE, BUT STILL WHITE! NOT CREAM, NOT OFF WHITE, WHITE!

As for the bLack jerseys and shadows, Paul Lucas and Howie Rose kiss my @ss. Get over it. If the Mets get rid of the black fine, I'll live with it, if not, don't cry about it like a bunch democrats.

GOD! YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID. GO ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM. YOU CAN PUT ANY UNIFORM ON THEM. IF THEY DON'T PLAY WELL AND WIN, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THEY WEAR. THEY WILL STILL LOOK LIKE CR#P!

GUYS GET A LIFE!

[BBTV]

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[TBGKon]

You know what is stupid? Idiots arguing about what looks good instead of talking about the team! The Yankees are in the playoffs looking for title 27 and we are all reading AND writing about what looks good. That is the difference between Mets fans and those darn Yankees fans!

Guys, in the 60's wool jerseys were WHITE! Polyester jerseys and better laundry techniques allowed for SNOW white and true wool white went bye bye with the wool! Merry Christmas! THERE WERE NO CREAM COLOR JERSEYS BACK THEN, JUST WHITE, A DIRTY WHITE, BUT STILL WHITE! NOT CREAM, NOT OFF WHITE, WHITE!

As for the bLack jerseys and shadows, Paul Lucas and Howie Rose kiss my @ss. Get over it. If the Mets get rid of the black fine, I'll live with it, if not, don't cry about it like a bunch democrats.

GOD! YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID. GO ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM. YOU CAN PUT ANY UNIFORM ON THEM. IF THEY DON'T PLAY WELL AND WIN, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THEY WEAR. THEY WILL STILL LOOK LIKE CR#P!

GUYS GET A LIFE!

Apparently you do not understand the concept that started these forums...

[oldschoolvikings]

You know what is stupid? Idiots arguing about what looks good instead of talking about the team! The Yankees are in the playoffs looking for title 27 and we are all reading AND writing about what looks good. That is the difference between Mets fans and those darn Yankees fans!

Guys, in the 60's wool jerseys were WHITE! Polyester jerseys and better laundry techniques allowed for SNOW white and true wool white went bye bye with the wool! Merry Christmas! THERE WERE NO CREAM COLOR JERSEYS BACK THEN, JUST WHITE, A DIRTY WHITE, BUT STILL WHITE! NOT CREAM, NOT OFF WHITE, WHITE!

As for the bLack jerseys and shadows, Paul Lucas and Howie Rose kiss my @ss. Get over it. If the Mets get rid of the black fine, I'll live with it, if not, don't cry about it like a bunch democrats.

GOD! YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID. GO ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM. YOU CAN PUT ANY UNIFORM ON THEM. IF THEY DON'T PLAY WELL AND WIN, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THEY WEAR. THEY WILL STILL LOOK LIKE CR#P!

GUYS GET A LIFE!

Dude... did you just crap your pants?

[METDVLS]

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Don't tell me what I understand and don't understand. I collect baseball jerseys, I enjoy reading about what is happening and what has happened, but grown men critquing what other men are wearing and complaining about a color combos and designs...most people would agree, those people have no life.