Seattle Mariners

[Lights Out]

Not much to say about this concept. I basically brought back the old trident scripts and updated them, kept the current colors, and brought back the racing stripes that the Mariners wore in the '80s.

The alternate merits discussion, though. The Mariners have long had a reputation of being a Japanese-friendly organization. They're owned by a Japanese company, their biggest star (Ichiro) is Japanese, the Japanese media regularly reports on the Mariners like they were a local team, and the Mariners often hold Japanese fan nights at Safeco. I decided to mix the colors of the Mariners' past (blue and gold) with a tribute to their current status as a Japanese-friendly team. The kanji in the script means "sailor" (the closest word I could find to "mariner"). The sleeve patch is the uniform number in kanji - obviously, this would be different for every player. I also made the uniform sky blue in honor of the sky blue uniforms the Mariners used to wear in the '80s (I hesitate to call it powder blue as it's quite a few shades darker than that).

I still haven't decided on cap options. Comments thus far?

[cameroncrazie07]

I like the first two it looks cool how you combined two generations into a pretty nice jersey. Im not completley sold on the third one though, i like the idea, and I like your reasoning but theres just something making me not love it

[LetsGoOakland9]

I think they left the racing stripes in the 80's for a reason. And I hate that alternate, I dont want to be mean but there's no other way to put it. This is America

[Jimmy!]

I know the kanji says otherwise, but I look at those alternate unis and think, "Orix Blue Wave."

[Punch]

I think they left the racing stripes in the 80's for a reason. And I hate that alternate, I dont want to be mean but there's no other way to put it. This is America

Tell that to the Brewers, who have Spanish jerseys (see Cerveceros). I can think of a few other teams who also pay homage to their Latino fanbase by wearing Spanish wordmarks on their jerseys.

If Seattle were to adopt this Japanese uniform, it would be a good change. It would increase merchandising profits in Japan, which wouldn't be bad.

This is America, but having a different language displayed on a uniform does not change that. It is just a language, not a country. This is America, and America is a melting pot of languages and cultures.

[LetsGoOakland9]

yes, but those jerseys are still written in English characters and a casual fan who doesnt know Spanish could tell what team it is. These alternates look nothing like the primary jerseys, they dont even share the same colro scheme, and almost all fans watching wont be able to tell what it says.

also, lightsout, on a lot of your concepts the words and numbers are too squished together. You need to lower the front number and raise the NOB

[aci]

Even if a fan has no idea what it means, they should still be able to read the team name on the front of the jersey. That's the key difference between your alt and the Brewers' Spanish jerseys.

Is it being marketed to people on a different continent, a niche fanbase in North America, or the Mariners' fans in general? When I see it, I have to think the first two, and seeing as the third market will be the one that matters most, it would be bad judgment to wear it on the field.

[lancebridwell]

I would definitely not wear that third on the field, maybe sell it to Japanese fans, but otherwise, make it look like the other two, but just use kanji, and throw maybe the "M" on the sleeves.

[droozer]

yes, but those jerseys are still written in English characters and a casual fan who doesnt know Spanish could tell what team it is. These alternates look nothing like the primary jerseys, they dont even share the same colro scheme, and almost all fans watching wont be able to tell what it says.

I'm not sure if you're one to talk about reading or speaking ingrish.

[LetsGoOakland9]

yes, but those jerseys are still written in English characters and a casual fan who doesnt know Spanish could tell what team it is. These alternates look nothing like the primary jerseys, they dont even share the same colro scheme, and almost all fans watching wont be able to tell what it says.

I'm not sure if you're one to talk about reading or speaking ingrish.

thats called bad typing

[Lights Out]

Even if a fan has no idea what it means, they should still be able to read the team name on the front of the jersey. That's the key difference between your alt and the Brewers' Spanish jerseys.

So I guess that means you're against logos on the left or right breast, then, like the Yankees' or Tigers' home jerseys for example, because there's no team name there, right?

Is it being marketed to people on a different continent, a niche fanbase in North America, or the Mariners' fans in general? When I see it, I have to think the first two, and seeing as the third market will be the one that matters most, it would be bad judgment to wear it on the field.

But yet, the Mariners have no problem putting Nintendo ads in Japanese around the ballpark that few fans can read, or doing a Japanese Fans Night to honor such a "niche" fanbase. My alternate idea is the logical next step.

[gueman]

The downward facing trident is considered bad luck. Yea they used it in the past...and they sucked. Coincidence? Who knows, but why tempt fate.

[Lights Out]

Well, they suck now and still haven't won a World Series even with the compass rose logo. I don't believe in uni-related superstition anyway.

[lopernv]

I think you are all forgetting how global sports have become. Saying "This is America" is quite ignorant considering how much airplay North American sports get outside of their continent. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to see what team is playing when the Mariners are on the field because if you are an avid fan of the MLB, you know the players on their team, and if you are just a casual fan, you would be able to look at the scoreboard on the TV and figure it out yourself. That being said, I do not like the home and away but I somewhat like the alternate, although I agree the name on the back could be bigger.

[Buster]

I think they left the racing stripes in the 80's for a reason. And I hate that alternate, I dont want to be mean but there's no other way to put it. This is America

Thank you.

Stop the "Los" bad translation crap also.

[illwauk]

Eff what the xenophobic mouth-breathers think, that Japanese alt is gorgeous! I'd prefer it in teal (Northwest Green, whatever), but the overall idea is great.. especially with all the Mariners' ties to Japan. As it was mentioned earlier, MLB is rapidly becoming a global brand and I have no problem with alternate jerseys which reflect that.

[Chapeeko]

Nice bump.

[camly]

THESE ARE GREAT! Never liked the new logos but always thought the color scheme wes perfect for Seattle. LOVE IT!

[illwauk]

Nice bump.

It was linked in another thread, and if I haven't seen it, it's new to me!

[thespleenenator]

I like the away jerseys, but the Japanese and the Home jerseys look busy/empty respectively.