Orioles 2012 Changes

[CS85]

I really, really, really like these changes. Paneled cap = win.

[Pirate]

For what team does the cartoon bird play? They missed the boat for infinite regression as he is not wearing himself on the cap. Silly little item, but it bothers me.

[Bill813]

Oh, and death to the O's cap.

I wish, but they kept it.

[Gothamite]

The extra italics don't bother me at all. The road script is still worlds better than it used to be.

Look at pictures of the actual jersey. It is worse in production. It makes the script appear smaller and harder to read.

True enough - it looks terrible on these.

Not quite so bad on the players, but still not great:

Looks great on the style sheet, but as you say, not so much in production.

[CS85]

Is that a new patch? Any high res of that bad boy?

[hofflalu]

Mark me down in the "LOVE IT" camp. Especially the white-paneled hats. OK, there may be nostalgia bias at work here, since my formative years of baseball were the mid-'80s, when the O's were still wearing the white panels (most of my ideal baseball looks are rooted in the early-mid-1980s). However, my very first impression upon seeing the trio image of the revised unis was, "This is what the Orioles SHOULD look like." I see the white-paneled cap and think Earl Weaver, early-era Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and a high-quality team that was always in position to win the World Series (and did, once, with the white panels). Sans-white panel? That takes me back to the Brooks/Frank Robinson-era O's, also one of the consistently better teams in baseball.

My theory has always been that teams should wear the look that is most-associated with their period of greatest success, since that's the time that brands a team in the most-positive and memorable light. It's the reason I've thought the Brewers should return to the "MB/glove" look, the Royals to full-time powder blue, the Reds to the Big Red Machine look...and the reason I'm glad the Blue Jays are returning to the World Series/Joe Carter look, the Mets are apparently echoing the Miracle Mets look (well, and the woeful 1962 look as well, but, um...work with me, here!), even the A's bringing back the yellow jersey last year with "A's" on the chest, reminiscent of the '72-'74 three-peat A's. I see these looks and think of the most memorable teams in the history of these franchises. I see the cartoon bird and white panels and think just that about the Orioles.

I won't get too much into details about trim on the bird or white striping on the orange alternate (though that would have made the orange noticeably better). Rather, typing from a broad perspective, it's an overall major upgrade.

[Camden Crazy]

Love it...made me forget about how inept the team and ownership is for a few minutes.

[Trevell]

I think I could do without the black stitching, but I love the white paneled cap. Now that they've brought it back, I think the Orioles could really own that look.

[Gothamite]

Is that a new patch? Any high res of that bad boy?

This one?

The new graphics are all up on the site, BTW.

[GFB]

Love the away caps... really thought about picking one up right away... I think I'm just going to wait until Black Friday and see if I can snag one at my local Lids...

[Trevell]

Is that a new patch? Any high res of that bad boy?

Here is the actual patch:

[PurpleRush]

I like the cartoon bird.

I love the white paneled caps.

I think the white stitch on the hat is so it doesn't look glommed onto his head.

I believe they went with the O on the cartoon cap because it is easy to reproduce, and looks better than the orange glob that was on there before.

The orange jerseys, I love them but:

A) wish they were a lighter shade like the 70s version

wish the font was smaller and not screaming ORIOLES at me.

C) had a black/white/black sleeve stripe.

The home whites are fine, the road grays have the gap issue, and the alt blacks are hideous.

Overall I'd give the package a B+.

[geoffrey]

For what team does the cartoon bird play? They missed the boat for infinite regression as he is not wearing himself on the cap. Silly little item, but it bothers me.

Very good point. I noticed that too. It's minor but still bothersome.

[bosrs1]

No more O's cap(except on the new cartoon bird), I hated that hat.

As did I, which is why I'm very disappointed to see it remain on the logo.

Even a 1960s block "B" would have been worlds better. At least that would have repped the city.

I don't get why they'd choose the O's cap as their Alt with the black unis over the outgoing oriole cap instead. I mean if the actual bird is remaining in their logo wouldn't it make more sense as an alt cap?

[Snazel]

The stitching on the white panel looks pretty bad.

But the black hat with the grey "away" jersey looks bad ass, and overall this is a really nice homage to 1983, one of the best ball teams I've ever seen.

Well done, Baltimore!

[Billy B]

I love what the Orioles did hear. I'm a huge fan of paneled hats (have a Blue Jays and Padres one, might be getting this one), but it doesn't look great with a traditional looking jersey. I hope they uses these sparingly (once, maybe twice a week) and wear the solid black hat the majority of the time with all jerseys. It's kinda cool that the new bird is wearing the O's cap since it's still in the set, but this would have been the perfect time to just kill that hat all together. My favorite part about this change was the part they didn't tell us about, the orange jersey. I think it's the best orange jersey out of the three that we have in the league now.

[Korkie]

I always appreciated the uniqueness of the ornithologically correct bird as a cap logo, so part of me is sad to see it go altogether. I thought maybe it could work as a shoulder patch. I like when teams use something other than a letter on the cap, so I appreciate the bird head still carrying that forward for the Orioles. That said, the beak/trim blending is annoying on the logo graphic itself. The cap logo works better due to the stitching. I like the black hat better and I think in time it will take over for the paneled cap as the home cap. The paneled cap works best with the orange alt, so I would say it should be the alt with the black as the primary.

[CC97]

Does anyone visit the site anymore?

All those details asked above were posted on the main site right at 9:30am

http://www.sportslogos.net/blog/2011/11/15/orioles-go-back-to-the-80s-with-new-caps-jersey/

[The_Admiral]

Worst cap logo ever, maybe.

[WSU151]

Worst cap logo ever, maybe.

Take a look at the historic cap logos for the Indians. Or the Toronto T-Bird. You'll change your mind quick.