An Alternate Universe's MLB

[aci]

That Florida script is epic- the D-Rays one is good, but the Florida one just blows everything else out of the water. I'm also loving the 'cut-out D' with the Ray inside.

I'm not really feeling the 'DR ray' one, and in all honesty, I don't think it's necessary when you have two other awesome logos to choose from.

p.s. You used their colour scheme a whole hell of a lot better than the actual team did.

[CJworks]

Oh my...

Absolutely beautiful. I can't point out anything that I dislike about this one, excellent work.

[Brave-Bird 08]

everything is awesome, but i dont care for the secondary DR logo

[kbaker19]

I think there needs to be an F logo somewhere since the D-Backs have an A logo.

[JH42XCC]

I could do without the 'DR-Ray' logo, but the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays (or should I say Florida Devil Rays) alternate universe concept looks fantastic.

[Generic]

The Blue Jays just look stunning, great work. The Yankees, Red Sox and Devil Rays look really great aswell. Can't wait for more!

[robbman21]

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles began life in 1882, joined the American League in 1892, and became known as the ?Orioles? in 1900 after taking their name from the state bird of Maryland. The Orioles are the most successful American League team, winning 10 world championships which is second only to the St. Louis Cardinals? 27 World Series titles. The modern era for the Orioles really gets started in 1964, when the O?s made a trade for swift of foot shortstop Luis Aparicio, who would go on to steal 57 bases that season and who?s name would become synonymous with lopsided trades. That same year saw the emergence of 19 yr old pitching sensation Wally Bunker, who posted a 19-5 record with a 2.69 ERA while leading the O?s to the American League pennant, where they knocked-off the Cardinals to win their 7th World Series title and first since 1946. Bunker would win MVP of the Series. In 1966 the O?s moved into their brand-new Orioles Park, a then state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium which they would share for the next 18 years with the football Vikings, before the football club bolted for Minnesota. The O?s new park also hosted the MLB all-star game that season. The following year the O?s again won the American League and faced-off against the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, where Bunker would not only win his 2nd MVP award, but pitched 3 complete game victories in the series while only allowing 3 runs total, and the O?s grabbed their 2nd World Championship in 4 seasons. 1968 would be known as ?The Year of the Pitcher?, and pitcher Mike Cuellar was the best of them all, posting a gaudy 1.12 ERA (a record for the ?live ball? era of baseball)and claiming both the AL Cy Young award as well as the AL MVP. Advancing back to the World Series that year, Gibson and the O?s dueled Denny McClain and the Miami Marlins to a 7 game pitching duel that was decided on an error by O?s outfielder Curt Blefary which allowed the Marlins to win the series. Despite the loss, Cuellar pitched 3 complete games and set World Series records for strikeouts (35) and k?s in one game with 17 in Game 1. Cuellar again won the Cy Young in 1970 and Boog Powell would win AL MVP in 1971, however the Orioles dominance would wane during the decade of the 70?s. The O?s got hot again in 1981, but missed the playoffs in the strike-shortened season despite posting the best overall record in the AL East that season. They finished 2nd in both ?splits? of the season. Before 1982 began, the buzz around spring training was a rookie shortstop that was coming up to make his debut in 1982: Cal Ripken, Jr. Just as Aparicio had done years earlier, the young shortstop energized the O?s as they went on to win the American League and defeat the Minnesota Twins in the World Series for their 9th World Championship. Ripken was named American League Rookie of the Year that same season. The Orioles returned to the World Series in dramatic fashion in 1985 when Ripken?s walkoff home run defeated the Royals in game 5 of the ALCS, however they would fall in the World Series to the Washington Nationals in 7 games on a historically controversial bad call. Again the Orioles won the American League in 1987, but again fell in 7 games in the World Series, this time to the San Francisco Giants in a series that saw the home team win every game. It would be 9 years before the Orioles would return to the playoffs, but a few of the 80?s stars remained including Ripken, brother Billy Ripken, and Eddie Murray to help the O?s knock off the Angels in the ALDS in 1996. The O?s would fall to the Indians in 7 games in the ALCS. The eyes of the entire nation were on the Orioles in 1998 as first baseman Rafael Palmeiro challenged Roger Maris? single-season home run record, eventually helping to repopularize baseball after the beating the game took in the wake of the 1994 player?s strike. Despite the slugging, the Orioles were only a mediocre team until the decade of the 2000?s began. The O?s would win the AL East in 2000,?01,?02,and in 2004 won 105 games to have the best record in baseball. After downing the A?s in a 7 game ALCS, the Orioles had the misfortune of being swept in the World Series by the Chicago Cubs, who also ended the ?Curse of the Goat? on their home field. The O?s and A?s would rematch in the ALCS in 2005, but this time it was the A?s advancing to the Series. In 2006 the Orioles moved into their brand-new Orioles Park, and despite winning only 83 games in the regular season, the O?s downed the Angels in the ALDS and the Blue Jays in a seven game ALCS to advance back to the World Series against the heavily favored Miami Marlins. However the O?s upset the Marlins in 5 games and claimed their 10th World Championship.

The Reality The Baltimore Orioles of the last decade have been a far cry from the successes of the St Louis Cardinals. A once proud franchise, at the beginning of the 2000?s the Orioles had the all-time best winning percentage among all MLB clubs during the modern era. Though management currently seems lost and clueless on how to run a professional franchise, the O?s have won 7 American League pennants and 3 World Series titles in their history. The Orioles were once cross-town rivals of the Cardinals, then known as the St Louis Browns until 1953, once even losing to the Cards in the 1944 World Series. The O?s Camden Yards help usher in an era of retro ballparks that still are prominent today, including the Cards 4yr old Busch Stadium. Fernando Tatis ? a former Oriole ? forever became a footnote in the record books when he slugged 2 grand slams in the same inning as a Cardinal in 1999.

Thoughts This one was a pretty easy pairing for me, as the Cardinals? history and identity needed to go to another team with a bird moniker, which left Baltimore and Toronto. Since Toronto has a recognizable skyline and matched-up well with the Mets, Baltimore fell right into place. I took Baltimore?s current birds, the look and colors, and morphed them into the Cardinals? birds to get the look seen here. I also changed the bat color from yellow(the color of the Card?s beaks) to this tan color, which is also the color of the O?s beaks. The result is a more realistic looking bat almost by accident. After flirting with leaving the ?Orioles? jersey script as-is, I took the time and developed a new one based on the ?Cardinals? jersey script. This was made easier by knowing the same script would go to all jerseys. The ?BAL? cap logo was the trickiest part of the whole project, as I struggled to find the best initials to take. I considered ?BLT? but that could?ve opened the door to sandwich jokes, and I played around with a combination of ?B? and ?O? but nothing really popped. Finally after stepping away from it for a while I thought of the ?BAL? that appears here, and I?m very happy with the results. Lastly, I struggled with what to do with the shoes. Keeping them black made for a really sharp look, but was not true to the Cardinal?s identity as they?ve won red shoes for decades now, so I broke down and made the shoes orange.

[DJR]

love the "BAL" hat logo - great job on this one

[aci]

When you said 'BAL' hat logo, I set my expectations pretty low. You did a good job of making it classy enough to work for an MLB team.

The bird-on-bat logo translates pretty well to the O's, nicely done.

[JH42XCC]

I love this alternate reality Baltimore Orioles concept. Especially with the 'BAL' hat logo. Excellent work!

[NorthStar74]

Damn someone in MLB should hire this dude... I am amazed by the beautiful concepts in here.. wow great jersey look.. I'm impressed with the Baltimore look and the BAL logo.. wow great job!!

[illwauk]

Wow... this has got to be the best one yet! The Cardinals identity looks seamless on the O's and that black BAL hat is better than anything they use right now.

BTW... I'm real curious to see how you execute their Twins as our Brewers

[robbman21]

Wow guys thank you so much!! I was afraid the BAL cap logo wouldn't go over well at all...figured that most would think that it looked forced or just like something unlikely to see a major league team wearing. I appreciate all of the great words guys and hope that ya'll continue to enjoy the series. I may even get someone to embroider me one of those black caps lol

[illwauk]

Wow guys thank you so much!! I was afraid the BAL cap logo wouldn't go over well at all...figured that most would think that it looked forced or just like something unlikely to see a major league team wearing. I appreciate all of the great words guys and hope that ya'll continue to enjoy the series. I may even get someone to embroider me one of those black caps lol

Just the opposite, actually. It looks like one of those weird quirks that's been there so long that people have no problem overlooking its logical fallacies... like the Packers oval-G or the Canadiens crest.

[TCRagnar]

Very nice, I love everything about it, however, the second "O" in Orioles connects from the bottom of the letter rather than the top as a cursive "o" would do.

[Lights Out]

My one complaint is about the "BAL" cap logo - the line of the A doesn't line up with the center line of the B, so it looks awkward. Otherwise, this is a top-notch conversion, it looks like a uniform the O's would have been wearing all along if they were the Cardinals.

[robbman21]

Chicago White Sox Loveable Losers. That?s the moniker dubbed upon the Chicago White Sox for the past century, even though they?re not always losers. In fact, were it not for the Cubs successes in recent years, the town of Chicago would be looking at 194 combined consecutive years without a World Series crown, a streak that mercifully at 188. But even still, the Sox have always lived in the shadow of their crosstown rival, despite the fact that old Comisky, with the ivy on the brick outfield wall, the 7th inning stretch tradition, and fans on the rooftops across the street, is sold out every single game with rabid fans just looking for a good time?win or lose. The appeal of the White Sox spans far from Chicago where they?re easily one of the more popular teams in all of sports?a distinction they also share with their crosstown rivals. Though the Sox were the first team in the major leagues to win two World Series in 1907 and 1908, they?ve yet to win again, and in fact haven?t even advanced back to the World Series since 1945, a span of nearly 65 years! In fact, in an odd twist that has become baseball lore, the Cubs and White Sox faced-off in the 1918 World Series with the Cubs winning 4 games to 2, and then subsequently starting their streak of 86 years without another title. In the 1945 World Series, the White Sox faced off against the Miami Marlins and took 2 of the first three games in Miami before coming back to Comisky with a 2-1 lead. When a fan and his mule were denied entrance into the ballpark for Game 4, the White Sox lost and the fan was said to have placed a curse upon the team that they?d never return to another World Series. It?s come to be known as ?The Donkey?s Curse?. The Sox did have winning seasons the next two years afterwards, but then the losing set in?and hard. The White Sox were terrible for the next two decades, finally righting things in 1967 and being winners again in 1968 before becoming full-fledged contenders in 1969. In August of that year, the White Sox held a commanding 8 ½ game lead over the Baltimore Orioles and 9 ½ over the Toronto Blue Jays before the Jays got hot and went down in history as the ?Blazin? Blue Jays?. While the Sox faltered and wilted under pressure, the Jays won 39 of their last 50 games and the Sox finished 8 games out of first place?astonishing when considering how big of a lead they had with less than two months to play in the season. They followed 1969 with a couple of more winning seasons until officially being dubbed ?The Loveable Losers? during the mid 1970?s. In the latter part of the decade the White Sox were known for their hot starts and second-half collapses, probably due in part to the fact that Comisky had no lights(the last major league park to do so) and so because of this the Sox played all of their home games during the day and the Chicago heat. Finally by 1984 the White Sox were back to winning, and this time they shut the door on any late-season woons by sweeping key series at the Blue Jays and at the Orioles, and won an American League best 96 games. Harold Baines took home an MVP award and ?Bayno? as he was known became a household name. The White Sox seemed stacked from top to bottom with Baines, Carlton Fisk, Vance Law, Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle, and Greg Walker forming the best lineup in baseball. In the ALCS the Sox took a commanding 2-0 lead against the California Angels at Comisky before heading west. After losing Game 3, closer Ron Reed allowed a walkoff homerun in the bottom of the 9th inning to Reggie Jackson as the Angels evened the series at 2. In the 5th and deciding game, the Sox held a 3-0 lead after 6 and a 3-2 lead after 7 with Tom Seaver on the mound, but a routine grounder through 1B Greg Walker?s legs allowed the Angels to seize the lead and the series. The Sox would come back in 1989 to win the division again, but would fall again in the ALCS in 5 games. It would be 9 years before the White Sox returned to postseason play, but they were able to capture the AL Wild Card amid the hoopla of the Albert Belle/Rafael Palmeiro home run chase, however they were promptly swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Cleveland Indians. After four up-and-down seasons, the Sox returned to prominence in 2003 and came away with a division title. Once again facing Cleveland in the first round, the series went the distance but the Sox came away with the win in 5 games?the shutout in Game 5 was their first win in a postseason series since they advanced to the 1945 World Series. Facing the young Detroit Tigers in the ALCS the Sox took a commanding 3 games to 1 lead, which could have been a sweep had the Tigers not won game 1 in extra innings. After losing game 5 in Detroit the Sox headed back to Comisky with two chances to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1945. And then, baseball history was once again not on the side of the White Sox. Leading 3-0 in the top of the 8th inning with one out, Sox fan Steve Bartman got in the way of OF Carlos Lee attempting to catch a ball in foul territory, and though it?s debatable whether or not Lee could have actually made the catch, Steve Bartman would become a name in baseball legend for all of the wrong reasons. Bartman could have been spared just two batters later when SS Jose Valentin had a chance at an inning-ending double play, but the sure-handed Valentin booted the ball, and the Tigers exploded for 8 runs and forced a Game 7, which they also won despite the fact that the Sox sent 21 game winner Esteban Loaiza to the mound and TWICE held leads in the game, ending what seemed like a run of destiny for the White Sox. After contending again in ?04 and ?05, the Sox lost over 90 games in ?06 before coming back in ?07 and ?08 with back-to-back division crowns, the first time the Sox had appeared in the postseason in back-to-back years since 1906-1908. Despite the two division titles, the Sox were swept out of the playoffs in both years?2007 by the Florida Devil Rays and 2008 by the Kansas City Royals.

The Reality ? Besides sharing a home city, the White Sox and Cubs both shared in championship futility until the White Sox finally broke through in 2005. Since the Cubs made the playoffs in 2003, both teams have been respectable since, with both teams making the playoffs in both 2007 and 2008. The two play two interleague series? a season, alternating each between the North Side and the South Side. Both teams have long and colorful pasts as well, with the White Sox famous uniform experiments and the infamous ?Disco Demolition Night?, to the Cubs non-stop party atmosphere in Wrigleyville. Though Old Comisky was replaced with New Comisky in 1991, the Cubs are still hanging on to old Wrigley for better and for worse. Sammy Sosa, who at one time was on pace to go down in the books as the most beloved Cub ever, started his career with the Chicago White Sox.

Thoughts Far and away the easiest concept that I?ve done between the NFL and MLB series. I considered adding red to the color scheme so that it didn?t look like I made this concept in grayscale lol. Years ago, someone did an MLB revamp of every team when we were still on the old Fanhome boards, and they added red to the Sox scheme because at one time the Sox wore the red with black scheme. I?ve always thought that concept looked amazing and I almost brought it in for this, but then I would have broken my rules for only adding black or silver to a scheme, and so I balked on it. The sox in the alternate logo were originally black, but since these are the WHITE Sox I modified them to the appropriate look. I personally think the Cubs persona transfers quite well to the Sox, especially the main home and road unis, but the verdict is still out (in my opinion) on the alts?but I?d wear one lol. I?m sure if you look hard enough that New Era has made that Cubs cap in silver and black, and if not then either a high school team has it or a bootleg exists somewhere?just seems too obvious to not have ever been done.

[CJworks]

Wow, excellent job on both 'C' logos, they look spectacular, especially the C-Sox one. Geat work, once again.

[loogodude90]

Chicago White Sox Loveable Losers. That’s the moniker dubbed upon the Chicago White Sox for the past century, even though they’re not always losers. In fact, were it not for the Cubs successes in recent years, the town of Chicago would be looking at 194 combined consecutive years without a World Series crown, a streak that mercifully at 188. But even still, the Sox have always lived in the shadow of their crosstown rival, despite the fact that old Comisky, with the ivy on the brick outfield wall, the 7th inning stretch tradition, and fans on the rooftops across the street, is sold out every single game with rabid fans just looking for a good time…win or lose. The appeal of the White Sox spans far from Chicago where they’re easily one of the more popular teams in all of sports…a distinction they also share with their crosstown rivals. Though the Sox were the first team in the major leagues to win two World Series in 1907 and 1908, they’ve yet to win again, and in fact haven’t even advanced back to the World Series since 1945, a span of nearly 65 years! In fact, in an odd twist that has become baseball lore, the Cubs and White Sox faced-off in the 1918 World Series with the Cubs winning 4 games to 2, and then subsequently starting their streak of 86 years without another title. In the 1945 World Series, the White Sox faced off against the Miami Marlins and took 2 of the first three games in Miami before coming back to Comisky with a 2-1 lead. When a fan and his mule were denied entrance into the ballpark for Game 4, the White Sox lost and the fan was said to have placed a curse upon the team that they’d never return to another World Series. It’s come to be known as “The Donkey’s Curse”. The Sox did have winning seasons the next two years afterwards, but then the losing set in…and hard. The White Sox were terrible for the next two decades, finally righting things in 1967 and being winners again in 1968 before becoming full-fledged contenders in 1969. In August of that year, the White Sox held a commanding 8 ½ game lead over the Baltimore Orioles and 9 ½ over the Toronto Blue Jays before the Jays got hot and went down in history as the “Blazin’ Blue Jays”. While the Sox faltered and wilted under pressure, the Jays won 39 of their last 50 games and the Sox finished 8 games out of first place…astonishing when considering how big of a lead they had with less than two months to play in the season. They followed 1969 with a couple of more winning seasons until officially being dubbed “The Loveable Losers” during the mid 1970’s. In the latter part of the decade the White Sox were known for their hot starts and second-half collapses, probably due in part to the fact that Comisky had no lights(the last major league park to do so) and so because of this the Sox played all of their home games during the day and the Chicago heat. Finally by 1984 the White Sox were back to winning, and this time they shut the door on any late-season woons by sweeping key series at the Blue Jays and at the Orioles, and won an American League best 96 games. Harold Baines took home an MVP award and “Bayno” as he was known became a household name. The White Sox seemed stacked from top to bottom with Baines, Carlton Fisk, Vance Law, Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle, and Greg Walker forming the best lineup in baseball. In the ALCS the Sox took a commanding 2-0 lead against the California Angels at Comisky before heading west. After losing Game 3, closer Ron Reed allowed a walkoff homerun in the bottom of the 9th inning to Reggie Jackson as the Angels evened the series at 2. In the 5th and deciding game, the Sox held a 3-0 lead after 6 and a 3-2 lead after 7 with Tom Seaver on the mound, but a routine grounder through 1B Greg Walker’s legs allowed the Angels to seize the lead and the series. The Sox would come back in 1989 to win the division again, but would fall again in the ALCS in 5 games. It would be 9 years before the White Sox returned to postseason play, but they were able to capture the AL Wild Card amid the hoopla of the Albert Belle/Rafael Palmeiro home run chase, however they were promptly swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Cleveland Indians. After four up-and-down seasons, the Sox returned to prominence in 2003 and came away with a division title. Once again facing Cleveland in the first round, the series went the distance but the Sox came away with the win in 5 games…the shutout in Game 5 was their first win in a postseason series since they advanced to the 1945 World Series. Facing the young Detroit Tigers in the ALCS the Sox took a commanding 3 games to 1 lead, which could have been a sweep had the Tigers not won game 1 in extra innings. After losing game 5 in Detroit the Sox headed back to Comisky with two chances to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1945. And then, baseball history was once again not on the side of the White Sox. Leading 3-0 in the top of the 8th inning with one out, Sox fan Steve Bartman got in the way of OF Carlos Lee attempting to catch a ball in foul territory, and though it’s debatable whether or not Lee could have actually made the catch, Steve Bartman would become a name in baseball legend for all of the wrong reasons. Bartman could have been spared just two batters later when SS Jose Valentin had a chance at an inning-ending double play, but the sure-handed Valentin booted the ball, and the Tigers exploded for 8 runs and forced a Game 7, which they also won despite the fact that the Sox sent 21 game winner Esteban Loaiza to the mound and TWICE held leads in the game, ending what seemed like a run of destiny for the White Sox. After contending again in ’04 and ’05, the Sox lost over 90 games in ’06 before coming back in ’07 and ’08 with back-to-back division crowns, the first time the Sox had appeared in the postseason in back-to-back years since 1906-1908. Despite the two division titles, the Sox were swept out of the playoffs in both years…2007 by the Florida Devil Rays and 2008 by the Kansas City Royals.

The Reality – Besides sharing a home city, the White Sox and Cubs both shared in championship futility until the White Sox finally broke through in 2005. Since the Cubs made the playoffs in 2003, both teams have been respectable since, with both teams making the playoffs in both 2007 and 2008. The two play two interleague series’ a season, alternating each between the North Side and the South Side. Both teams have long and colorful pasts as well, with the White Sox famous uniform experiments and the infamous “Disco Demolition Night”, to the Cubs non-stop party atmosphere in Wrigleyville. Though Old Comisky was replaced with New Comisky in 1991, the Cubs are still hanging on to old Wrigley for better and for worse. Sammy Sosa, who at one time was on pace to go down in the books as the most beloved Cub ever, started his career with the Chicago White Sox.

Thoughts Far and away the easiest concept that I’ve done between the NFL and MLB series. I considered adding red to the color scheme so that it didn’t look like I made this concept in grayscale lol. Years ago, someone did an MLB revamp of every team when we were still on the old Fanhome boards, and they added red to the Sox scheme because at one time the Sox wore the red with black scheme. I’ve always thought that concept looked amazing and I almost brought it in for this, but then I would have broken my rules for only adding black or silver to a scheme, and so I balked on it. The sox in the alternate logo were originally black, but since these are the WHITE Sox I modified them to the appropriate look. I personally think the Cubs persona transfers quite well to the Sox, especially the main home and road unis, but the verdict is still out (in my opinion) on the alts…but I’d wear one lol. I’m sure if you look hard enough that New Era has made that Cubs cap in silver and black, and if not then either a high school team has it or a bootleg exists somewhere…just seems too obvious to not have ever been done.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I was watching the Cubs-White Sox game on TV yesterday and I was just thinking about how the teams would looks with the old color switcharoo. I love the C-Sox logo - good way to abriviate both city and team name, in one logo (can't think of any exisiting ones that do this). My only complaing is that you have one sock facing the wrong way on the last alternate logo - Fix this and you've got a winner.

[NorthStar74]

Bugger, that C-Sox logo is wonderful.. wow great work!!!