Tampa Bay Rays Fauxback

[JayLo1112]

Manta Ray? are you f****n serious? Its a devil ray hence the teams name: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Nope, he's right. It's Manta Ray...Devil Ray and Devil Fish are just nicknames.

[Quillz]

Manta Ray? are you f****n serious? Its a devil ray hence the teams name: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

"Devil Rays" is a nickname that is commonly applied to the manta ray, also known as the stingray or just a ray.

Tampa Bay's identity can work both ways... "Rays" as in the manta rays that are common in Tampa Bay (although I do believe the Rays finally retired the old manta ray logo, which is a shame), and then "Rays" as in rays of sunshine, which Florida has an abundance of.

[Lights Out]

Second crack at it. I decided to try to work the devil ray into the script, noticing how it could bend into the curve of the "B." Does it work? Also, I added a drop shadow to the number to make it match the script.

[CJworks]

I'm not liking it too much; really cool concept, just a little harsh on the eyes. The devil ray covers up too much of the A to fit that well next to the B.

[aci]

Manta Ray? are you f****n serious? Its a devil ray hence the teams name: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

"Devil Rays" is a nickname that is commonly applied to the manta ray, also known as the stingray or just a ray.

Tampa Bay's identity can work both ways... "Rays" as in the manta rays that are common in Tampa Bay (although I do believe the Rays finally retired the old manta ray logo, which is a shame), and then "Rays" as in rays of sunshine, which Florida has an abundance of.

The manta ray is nicknamed the Devil Ray, but a stingray is a different species altogether.

As far as the actual concept goes, I like the gradient and think it could work with plain white pants and socks that match the sleeves. The manta ray needs to be moved, though... as was said, it blocks too much of the 'a' in Tampa.

[The_Admiral]

How much consideration do you give to how these sorts of uniforms would look on humans, or how they'd be produced for them?

Wow. I guess the prevailing opinion here is that nothing except plain white and grey uniforms with block letter scripts looks nice on humans. As for production, the Rays were able to have a gradient script for many years. It's not that much of a stretch to create a gradient uniform.

What I meant is that what looks cool on a monitor doesn't always translate to tangible design. Part of the reason the Rays discontinued gradients was reproduction, if I'm not mistaken, especially with embroidered caps. This is all way beyond the scope of this board (with a few cool exceptions), but it could wind up being prohibitively expensive to produce gradient caps and shirts. I thought I asked a fair question.

[Lights Out]

My bad. I misunderstood your question, I guess. Nowadays, though, I think it'd be easier to produce gradient caps. I mean, New Era makes caps with plaid and other pattern crowns, so a gradient wouldn't be too much of a stretch. As for gradient uniforms, if hockey, basketball, and football can have gradient uniforms, I would assume gradient baseball uniforms could be produced.

[The_Admiral]

It probably could be done, but I will note that all three of those gradients are much simpler than an angled yellow to blue. I like the look of that gradient itself, I'm just not sure how well it lends itself to an entire article of clothing rather than an element of a given article.

By the way, since you mentioned them, even "conservative" designs do things that seem like great ideas on baseball jersey templates but wind up looking terrible in real life. I'm reminded of The Great Colored Placket Craze of a few years ago.

[Matito]

Second crack at it. I decided to try to work the devil ray into the script, noticing how it could bend into the curve of the "B." Does it work? Also, I added a drop shadow to the number to make it match the script.

This one is much better than the first. Still not quite there, but better. For one, using the term "fauxback" on this concept is a bit misleading. A fauxback would imply that it is based on something from the past while incorporating some modern elements, whether it is to bring the "retro" design up to date while keeping the "retro" look, or to make the design fit modern templates and regulations. This is more like a jersey based on the current team identity template (loosely, at that, since the Rays don't use vests/separately-colored sleeves or "Tampa Bay" on the jerseys) while using the colors of a former identity.

I think the main thing that puts me off besides that is that the whole jersey is a gradient, which the (Devil) Rays never wore. Try making the jersey white and the script can be filled with the gradient, like the original Devil Rays jerseys were. As for the position of the ray patch, maybe try putting it underneath the script to the side, possibly under the "B" and "a" of "Bay."