2012 MLB & Logo Changes

[Bouj]

I might be one of the very few who liked the black alternates the Astros had in 2000 and 2001. Anyone else like those?

Most definitely! I still think the black should be used on the road as an alt and the brick as the home alt.

Doesn't it kind of seem that they had two separate identities in mind when the Astros made their most recent change? Their current unis seem quite different from their Red Brick Hat and white Alt jerseys, but I can't help but think that the alternate red brick hat and jersey combo doesn't seem like an alt jersey but more like something completely different that they ended up not using. I'm not sure if I'm articulating what I'm trying to say very effectively, but usually a team's alt jersey seems to compliment their full time look as opposed to looking like a secondary comp. Its as if the ownership decided on the primarily black uni set and in the end decided to utilize the red brick set as the alt because it looked good. I just don't think it works at their alt jersey. Personally I think they made the correct choice but I can't help but think that they would have looked EXACTLY like the D-Backs if they had utilized the red brick color as their primary color.

Part of the problem is that they've made several changes over the course of the 11 years they've worn this color scheme. They were a black team with brick accents but now they are a brick team with black accents.

HOME PRIMARY

Pinstripes (2000-2011) - the only thing that changed was the front went from twill to chainstitching in 2002.

Worn for all weeknight home games.

HOME ALTERNATES

Black (2000-2001) - worn for Sunday home games.

White (2000-2001) - the Chest Star design. Worn for Saturday and weekday home games

Brick (2002-2011) - worn for Sunday home games.

White (2002-2011) - worn for Saturday and weekday home games.

ROAD GREY

Grey (2000-2011) - the only thing that changed was the front went from twill to chainstiching in 2002. It is SUPPOSED to be the primary, but they shied away from it because the red was the owner's favorite (under the "excuse" that the red road alt was the only one they had in COOLBASE).

Currently worn for all road day games and when there is a color clash for road night games.

ROAD ALTERNATES

Black (2000-2001) - I don't remember the official schedule for when they wore this, but I do remember that it was a specific day thing (I think it was Saturdays).

Brick (2000-2011) - the only things that changed were the front went from twill to chainstiching & front #'s were added in 2002. This became the de facto road jersey after June in 2006 & 2007 when they were the only COOLBASE jerseys the team had and they became the full-time road jersey in 2008.

Formerly worn for Sunday road games. Currently worn as the road jersey for night games when there is no color clash.

BATTING PRACTICE

Home (2000-2001) - brick (Astros on chest)

Road (2000-2001) - black (star on chest)

All (2002) - black (Astros)

All (2003-2006) - brick (Astros)

All (2007-2010) - brick (Astros)

All (2011) - brick (Astros)

[powersurge]

I might be one of the very few who liked the black alternates the Astros had in 2000 and 2001. Anyone else like those?

Most definitely! I still think the black should be used on the road as an alt and the brick as the home alt.

Doesn't it kind of seem that they had two separate identities in mind when the Astros made their most recent change? Their current unis seem quite different from their Red Brick Hat and white Alt jerseys, but I can't help but think that the alternate red brick hat and jersey combo doesn't seem like an alt jersey but more like something completely different that they ended up not using. I'm not sure if I'm articulating what I'm trying to say very effectively, but usually a team's alt jersey seems to compliment their full time look as opposed to looking like a secondary comp. Its as if the ownership decided on the primarily black uni set and in the end decided to utilize the red brick set as the alt because it looked good. I just don't think it works at their alt jersey. Personally I think they made the correct choice but I can't help but think that they would have looked EXACTLY like the D-Backs if they had utilized the red brick color as their primary color.

Part of the problem is that they've made several changes over the course of the 11 years they've worn this color scheme. They were a black team with brick accents but now they are a brick team with black accents.

HOME PRIMARY

Pinstripes (2000-2011) - the only thing that changed was the front went from twill to chainstitching in 2002.

Worn for all weeknight home games.

HOME ALTERNATES

Black (2000-2001) - worn for Sunday home games.

White (2000-2001) - the Chest Star design. Worn for Saturday and weekday home games

Brick (2002-2011) - worn for Sunday home games.

White (2002-2011) - worn for Saturday and weekday home games.

ROAD GREY

Grey (2000-2011) - the only thing that changed was the front went from twill to chainstiching in 2002. It is SUPPOSED to be the primary, but they shied away from it because the red was the owner's favorite (under the "excuse" that the red road alt was the only one they had in COOLBASE).

Currently worn for all road day games and when there is a color clash for road night games.

ROAD ALTERNATES

Black (2000-2001) - I don't remember the official schedule for when they wore this, but I do remember that it was a specific day thing (I think it was Saturdays).

Brick (2000-2011) - the only things that changed were the front went from twill to chainstiching & front #'s were added in 2002. This became the de facto road jersey after June in 2006 & 2007 when they were the only COOLBASE jerseys the team had and they became the full-time road jersey in 2008.

Formerly worn for Sunday road games. Currently worn as the road jersey for night games when there is no color clash.

BATTING PRACTICE

Home (2000-2001) - brick (Astros on chest)

Road (2000-2001) - black (star on chest)

All (2002) - black (Astros)

All (2003-2006) - brick (Astros)

All (2007-2010) - brick (Astros)

All (2011) - brick (Astros)

I should mention that I love their current look and think it can only be topped by the rainbow unis of the 80's. The navy and gold look was downright terrible in my opinion. The only problem I have right now with their identity is the alt white unis. I just don't think they belong as part of the entire identity. The all brick red jerseys seem to work fairly well, just not convinced on the alt whites.

[goalieboy82]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

[The Fonz]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

[cheo25]

I should mention that I love their current look and think it can only be topped by the rainbow unis of the 80's. The navy and gold look was downright terrible in my opinion. The only problem I have right now with their identity is the alt white unis. I just don't think they belong as part of the entire identity. The all brick red jerseys seem to work fairly well, just not convinced on the alt whites.

I respectfully disagree about the current look. It's like everything else connected to the Astros -- a freakin' mess (thanks, Ed Wade for taking a bad situation and making it worse in four very long years). They don't have a red helmet to go with the red caps. The new red cap/gray jersey look is fine until you get to the belt buckle where everything else is black. They still wear the red jersey too much, and the overuse has turned what was a relatively occasional good look is now a tired mismash of black, red and gray. If the Astros had stuck with black alt jerseys, I'd probably like the look better. I liked it when it first came out, mainly because of the gold lettering on the black top.

I never was that impressed with the navy and gold, and I think the Astros should go back to navy and orange. I'd love to see the shooting star come back. I'm hoping the leader of the new ownership group (after he hires a competent general manager) will change the colors back to navy and orange, though he's already told a Houston columnist the colors and logo will stay the same. I hope that's just status quo talk meant to keep the peace with Drayton McLane until the club is officially sold. On top of the fact that the current color scheme sucks is that the current logo is an equally uninspiring mark. It's the definition of generic.

[gothedistance]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

They are? What was being said?

[The Fonz]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

They are? What was being said?

he just commented that they are getting new jerseys in the ticker.

[loogodude90]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

They are? What was being said?

he just commented that they are getting new jerseys in the ticker.

That's sort of weird, considering they just changed their road uniforms to gray this season.

I don't get why so many teams (including other leagues) these days seem to do stuff like that - make a fairly noticeable yet pointless jersey or logo change one or two years before a major overhaul. What's the point? Is it just a way to make extra money? That's the only explanation I can think of.

[Gothamite]

In the Padres' case, I think it was a question of Majestic being unable to supply the tan road uniforms in CoolBase. So they switched to the standard gray.

It's not like this was a significant change that required any design work.

[loogodude90]

Yeah, it's not a significant change in terms of work required to do it, but obviously an extremely noticeable one. Enough to make fans go out and buy it.

I'm not sure why they wouldn't be able to create a tan coolbase jersey, though... considering they create it in all sorts of other colors.

[SilverNRed]

In the Padres' case, I think it was a question of Majestic being unable to supply the tan road uniforms in CoolBase. So they switched to the standard gray.

It's not like this was a significant change that required any design work.

I don't doubt that they would give a reason that lame, but it makes absolutely no sense that they couldn't produce CoolBase jerseys in tan.

[TheOldRoman]

Maybe a Padres fan can confirm, but I am about 99% sure they had coolbase road jerseys the last few years.

[BBTV]

IF that is true (about the coolbase), then I just don't understand it. When you sign the deal to be the exclusive outfitter, don't you have an obligation to figure things like this out? I have no idea how difficult it is so maybe I'm not being realistic, but it really seems that a small shop like Majestic just might not be cut out for a league-wide outfitting contract, considering all of the mistakes that they've made, their inability to make a gray coolbase for several years, their inability to get the Dodgers throwbacks put together in time, and now this. We shouldn't even be talking about a manufacturer, but here we are. I think it's different than in the other sports where new high-tech fabrics and cuts are coming out seemingly every year and forcing changes that are usually due to the manufacturer's technology. I don't think that this Coolbase stuff can really be compared to what we're seeing in the NFL and NBA. Closer to the NHL, with RBK's insistence that they can't do horizontal stripes on the Edge fabrics / templates.

[DrAwesomeberry]

Maybe a Padres fan can confirm, but I am about 99% sure they had coolbase road jerseys the last few years.

You are correct. Jersey Joe has them listed as Cool Base.

[Bouj]

Maybe a Padres fan can confirm, but I am about 99% sure they had coolbase road jerseys the last few years.

You are correct. Jersey Joe has them listed as Cool Base.

Henderon's guide, which has a full listing of when everyone went to COOLBASE (by team) says they Padres had the tan in COOLBASE for a little while before they ditched them. SD was a 100% COOLBASE team the last few years (I think in 2011 they have a couple of individual exceptions, like Mike Adams), so that wasn't the issue. It was an aesthetic choice.

And Lukas' mention was a link to an article in the SD newspaper that discussed potential changes. From reading the article, it kinda felt like a circular argument: the author read somewhere that the team was considering some changes (probably the team-mentioned incorporation of the PCL colors or the 70's style), then Lukas reported it, and now it's been considered establiched fact.

[The Fonz]

IF that is true (about the coolbase), then I just don't understand it. When you sign the deal to be the exclusive outfitter, don't you have an obligation to figure things like this out? I have no idea how difficult it is so maybe I'm not being realistic, but it really seems that a small shop like Majestic just might not be cut out for a league-wide outfitting contract, considering all of the mistakes that they've made, their inability to make a gray coolbase for several years, their inability to get the Dodgers throwbacks put together in time, and now this. We shouldn't even be talking about a manufacturer, but here we are. I think it's different than in the other sports where new high-tech fabrics and cuts are coming out seemingly every year and forcing changes that are usually due to the manufacturer's technology. I don't think that this Coolbase stuff can really be compared to what we're seeing in the NFL and NBA. Closer to the NHL, with RBK's insistence that they can't do horizontal stripes on the Edge fabrics / templates.

what do you mean that majestic couldn't make gray coolbase? when did that happen?

[The_Admiral]

They only had them in white in the beginning. When they finally had them in grey, they were all in the same grey, instead of the varying greys across teams.

[Showtime029]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

They are? What was being said?

he just commented that they are getting new jerseys in the ticker.

I believe the Padres along with Baltimore are making the most changes obviously next to Marlins and Blue Jays.

[TheFloridianLogoMan]

are the Padres changing there uniforms next year (i think i read it here).

paul lukas announced on uni-watch that they are changing things for next season.

They are? What was being said?

he just commented that they are getting new jerseys in the ticker.

I believe the Padres along with Baltimore are making the most changes obviously next to Marlins and Blue Jays.

What in the world could Baltimore possibly be doing for next season???? I thought they had their uniforms perfected and down packed for the forseeable future and beyond.

[Bouj]

IF that is true (about the coolbase), then I just don't understand it. When you sign the deal to be the exclusive outfitter, don't you have an obligation to figure things like this out? I have no idea how difficult it is so maybe I'm not being realistic, but it really seems that a small shop like Majestic just might not be cut out for a league-wide outfitting contract, considering all of the mistakes that they've made, their inability to make a gray coolbase for several years, their inability to get the Dodgers throwbacks put together in time, and now this. We shouldn't even be talking about a manufacturer, but here we are. I think it's different than in the other sports where new high-tech fabrics and cuts are coming out seemingly every year and forcing changes that are usually due to the manufacturer's technology. I don't think that this Coolbase stuff can really be compared to what we're seeing in the NFL and NBA. Closer to the NHL, with RBK's insistence that they can't do horizontal stripes on the Edge fabrics / templates.

what do you mean that majestic couldn't make gray coolbase? when did that happen?

As The Admiral said, at first teams only had the white or color alt available to them in COOLBASE (back in 2006). In 2008, Majestic introduced grey COOLBASE, but it is just a single color of grey. Teams wear various shades of grey in doubleknit, and you could tell the difference when a team wore their normal pants with grey COOLBASE jerseys. It's becoming less noticeable though as teams are consolidating to a single shade of grey for pants too (COOLBASE grey appears to to match blue grey, like KC or LA, the closest, but that's just my opinion). As of now, ever shade is available in COOLBASE. At last count, 15 teams are exclusively outfitted in COOLBASE, 14 teams have both COOLBASE & doubleknit uniforms in some manner, and the Yankees are all doubleknit all the time.

And as to the actual material, Majestic COOLBASE is nearly identical to the first production of Nike DRI-Fit. I have a Texas Longhorns baseball jersey in DRI-Fit, and it is identical in weave pattern to COOLBASE, it's just a heavier weight.

And don't give the NBA too much credit. They debuted the new jerseys this year and they were supposed to be all heat-pressed, but the numbers were falling off so adidas had to sew them for the retail versions.