2013 MLB Logo and Uniform Changes

[Mitch B]

Here is what I was talking about in terms of the bottom of the L. I don't like it on the St. Louis wordmark. I edited it to match the swoop of the c in Cardinals. What do you guys think?

That is better

[Lights Out]

That looks awesome.

[TheOldRoman]

I understand that we can be a bit more critical when discussing our favourite teams, but the reactions that the Cardinals' tweaks to their identity constitute a "hot mess" and that they've "muddled their identity" seem like a gross overreaction. If anything by cutting down the amount of times they wear the navy StL cap they're streamlining their identity.

Ultimately I hope this is a "transitional phase" in the Cards' identity, with the end result being only one cap (the red one) and the St. Louis wordmark on the road.

I mostly agree with you. I think the red cap is preferable for home AND road. However, they did lose a lot in terms of consistency. In the recent past, it was red at home (and the stupid BoB caps sundays) and navy on the road. Now, it's the same at home, with red most of the times on the road, but they will still wear navy against red-capped teams and whenever else they feel like it. They should have either kept the navy cap as the road cap or gotten rid of it entirely.

[TheOldRoman]

It does work, but I think the need for city names on away jerseys in this age of information is overated.

Not at all. That is like people who argue "Daah, you can tell who's playing by looking at the scoreboard" when Wisconsin and Nebraska wear nearly identical uniforms as divisional rivals. Branding still matters. Also, the age of information has nothing to do with it. I mean, baseball fans 100 years ago knew the Cardinals played in St. Louis. Anybody going to a game could see that on the programs and scoreboards. It's not like people went to games having never heard of the road team.

Anyway, I don't care for the city names on basketball jerseys and prefer the team name on both home and road. However, that is a much different situation. A red Bulls jerseys is very different visually from a white one. However, the only difference in a Cardinals home and road jersey is a slight difference in the color of the material. Other than the guy who has to have every jersey and cap the team wears, nobody would buy a Cardinals road jersey now. It's like the home jersey, except worse. If they put the St. Louis wordmark on the road jersey, they would sell a hell of a lot more road jerseys than they have before.

[Gfonk04]

Other than the guy who has to have every jersey and cap the team wears, nobody would buy a Cardinals road jersey now. It's like the home jersey, except worse. If they put the St. Louis wordmark on the road jersey, they would sell a hell of a lot more road jerseys than they have before.

I agree. The Orioles are a good example. No one owned a gray O's jersey except hardcore collectors when it was a carbon copy of the home jersey. Once "Baltimore" went on the roads though, people started buying the jerseys and shirts with the city name on it (myself and my brothers included).

[phutmasterflex]

Other than the guy who has to have every jersey and cap the team wears, nobody would buy a Cardinals road jersey now. It's like the home jersey, except worse. If they put the St. Louis wordmark on the road jersey, they would sell a hell of a lot more road jerseys than they have before.

I agree. The Orioles are a good example. No one owned a gray O's jersey except hardcore collectors when it was a carbon copy of the home jersey. Once "Baltimore" went on the roads though, people started buying the jerseys and shirts with the city name on it (myself and my brothers included).

There's a certain coolness to having a jersey with the city name on it. It represents not only the team, but the identity of the city you're from. I personally love wearing my gray A's jersey more often than any other jersey because it not only tells them I am an A's fan, but also that I am from Oakland.

I like it when teams have the city name on their road jersey mainly for that reason

[McCall]

Cards fans are so snooty. Like Yankees fans who actually care/know about their team. It's hilarious to read you StL guys have a meltdown about adding a jersey and dropping a cap (but not really).

I think the St. Louis word mark is fine and should move to the road uniform once all the puritans chill out.

I think, for a community that does nothing but whine about navy blue, that more people would be happy to see the red caps on the road. I think the whole set is so much more vibrant now. It looks much more cardinal-esque (as in the bird) now.

Also, whoever chided someone for "using class as a noun" made me laugh.

Are there any other teams we can talk about?

How are we "snooty" because we liked that are team has never gone with an alternate uniform and now they are? How are we snooty because they're suddenly changing up the cap situation that us as fans of the team have liked for a non-consistent usage of the caps? And why can we not be upset about the reduction of the use of a cap that's widely popular amongst the fans that has historical purposes? So what other team's fans think is more important than the opinion of those who are gonna be spending the money in support of the team?

Anybody can have their opinion and that's fine. I've never said nobody can prefer the reds on the road. I've never said everyone has to like the Sunday cap. Preference is one thing, but the notion that the navy caps don't go with the roads at all is incorrect. It's all about preference. We prefer it to stay. Others prefer the red. So be it. But it's not snooty of us to not be completely on board with changes to our team's look that we don't agree with.

[Mitch B]

It does work, but I think the need for city names on away jerseys in this age of information is overated.

Not at all. That is like people who argue "Daah, you can tell who's playing by looking at the scoreboard" when Wisconsin and Nebraska wear nearly identical uniforms as divisional rivals. Branding still matters. Also, the age of information has nothing to do with it. I mean, baseball fans 100 years ago knew the Cardinals played in St. Louis. Anybody going to a game could see that on the programs and scoreboards. It's not like people went to games having never heard of the road team.

Anyway, I don't care for the city names on basketball jerseys and prefer the team name on both home and road. However, that is a much different situation. A red Bulls jerseys is very different visually from a white one. However, the only difference in a Cardinals home and road jersey is a slight difference in the color of the material. Other than the guy who has to have every jersey and cap the team wears, nobody would buy a Cardinals road jersey now. It's like the home jersey, except worse. If they put the St. Louis wordmark on the road jersey, they would sell a hell of a lot more road jerseys than they have before.

To each his own. The Cards' jerseys have worked the way they are for many decades.

This is pretty good branding IMHO:

http://www.iron-on-l...Base Jersey.jpg

My opinion is that of a simple sports fan. I'm not trying to sell sports merchandise.

[STL FANATIC]

Couple responses to the supposed overreacting.

1. Nobody is freaking out that the Cardinals made changes. Changes are fine. The Cardinals make semi-significant changes every decade or so. It's what has kept the identity a modern classic instead of a stale classic.

2. If going from 3 uniforms on a strictly set schedule to 5 on an unclear schedule (including planning to wear three different jerseys in a single series) isn't muddying an identity, then we greatly differ on the concepts of "brand" and "identity".

Because the Cardinals have such a strong identity already, muddying it a bit does not ruin it. But that doesn't mean it hasn't become muddier with these changes.

I'm coming around on the road jersey. I don't think it's necessary like most do, but it looks sharp, and it's the sort of refresh they should have done without adding multiple options like they have.

[McCall]

Here is what I was talking about in terms of the bottom of the L. I don't like it on the St. Louis wordmark. I edited it to match the swoop of the c in Cardinals. What do you guys think?

That is better

Disagree. Looks like it got run over by a car.

[IceCap]

I understand that we can be a bit more critical when discussing our favourite teams, but the reactions that the Cardinals' tweaks to their identity constitute a "hot mess" and that they've "muddled their identity" seem like a gross overreaction. If anything by cutting down the amount of times they wear the navy StL cap they're streamlining their identity.

Ultimately I hope this is a "transitional phase" in the Cards' identity, with the end result being only one cap (the red one) and the St. Louis wordmark on the road.

I mostly agree with you. I think the red cap is preferable for home AND road. However, they did lose a lot in terms of consistency. In the recent past, it was red at home (and the stupid BoB caps sundays) and navy on the road. Now, it's the same at home, with red most of the times on the road, but they will still wear navy against red-capped teams and whenever else they feel like it. They should have either kept the navy cap as the road cap or gotten rid of it entirely.

This past season the Mets designated their black jerseys and caps as alternates but used them sparingly. The Marlins have their orange cap listed as an alternate, even though it too was used sparingly. I'm thinking the Cardinals are doing the same thing. It wouldn't suprise me if they only wore the navy and BoB caps a few times for a season or two before quietly dropping them all together.

[Mitch B]

There's a certain coolness to having a jersey with the city name on it. It represents not only the team, but the identity of the city you're from. I personally love wearing my gray A's jersey more often than any other jersey because it not only tells them I am an A's fan, but also that I am from Oakland.

I like it when teams have the city name on their road jersey mainly for that reason

Perhaps there is a different perspective between sports fans that live in a major league market and those of us who do not. I'm a New York Mets fan because I grew up in a small town with a Mets' minor league affiliate. I identify more with the team name Mets than I do the city name (No offense to NYC, I think it's the greatest city on the planet). I tend to buy more Mets home jerseys.

From an aesthetic point of view, I don't think long city or state names look good on jerseys. I prefer initials or team names.

[Cardsfan124]

I understand that we can be a bit more critical when discussing our favourite teams, but the reactions that the Cardinals' tweaks to their identity constitute a "hot mess" and that they've "muddled their identity" seem like a gross overreaction. If anything by cutting down the amount of times they wear the navy StL cap they're streamlining their identity.

Ultimately I hope this is a "transitional phase" in the Cards' identity, with the end result being only one cap (the red one) and the St. Louis wordmark on the road.

I mostly agree with you. I think the red cap is preferable for home AND road. However, they did lose a lot in terms of consistency. In the recent past, it was red at home (and the stupid BoB caps sundays) and navy on the road. Now, it's the same at home, with red most of the times on the road, but they will still wear navy against red-capped teams and whenever else they feel like it. They should have either kept the navy cap as the road cap or gotten rid of it entirely.

This past season the Mets designated their black jerseys and caps as alternates but used them sparingly. The Marlins have their orange cap listed as an alternate, even though it too was used sparingly. I'm thinking the Cardinals are doing the same thing. It wouldn't suprise me if they only wore the navy and BoB caps a few times for a season or two before quietly dropping them all together.

It was stated the BoB caps will still be worn on Sunday, and the road navy caps will be worn on sundays, getaway days, against teams with clashing colors, which makes me think they are not too sure when they will be worn. I say wear em on sunday, so you have a set schedule.

[Lights Out]

wrong thread

[PhlyBoy]

Here is what I was talking about in terms of the bottom of the L. I don't like it on the St. Louis wordmark. I edited it to match the swoop of the c in Cardinals. What do you guys think?

That looks identical to what the Cardinals did on their new alt! They stole it from you!!!

[phutmasterflex]

There's a certain coolness to having a jersey with the city name on it. It represents not only the team, but the identity of the city you're from. I personally love wearing my gray A's jersey more often than any other jersey because it not only tells them I am an A's fan, but also that I am from Oakland.

I like it when teams have the city name on their road jersey mainly for that reason

Perhaps there is a different perspective between sports fans that live in a major league market and those of us who do not. I'm a New York Mets fan because I grew up in a small town with a Mets' minor league affiliate. I identify more with the team name Mets than I do the city name (No offense to NYC, I think it's the greatest city on the planet). I tend to buy more Mets home jerseys.

From an aesthetic point of view, I don't think long city or state names look good on jerseys. I prefer initials or team names.

I get where you're coming from and it makes sense.

Living in the Bay for Area Oakland is always second to San Francisco and for me, I am proud to represent Oakland.

[gEO 3b 4]

Correct me if I'm wrong (as I've seen several people state that the Cards have never worn an alt), but didn't the Cardinals wear a red alt in the late 90's? Or am I crazy? Perhaps they wore their bp jersey in a game or 2. Idk, but can somebody with a better memory please chime in.

Perhaps there is a different perspective between sports fans that live in a major league market and those of us who do not. I'm a New York Mets fan because I grew up in a small town with a Mets' minor league affiliate. I identify more with the team name Mets than I do the city name (No offense to NYC, I think it's the greatest city on the planet). I tend to buy more Mets home jerseys.

Maybe you're on to something. Me, being born in the Bronx, growing up 2 hours north of NYC, and now living in Brooklyn, I always thought of teams as a representation of their city and the people in it. I love wearing apparel with New York on it, and I especially love that the Knicks for instance wear New York across their jersey at home & on the road. I also love the look of the Yankees & Mets road jerseys (especially the Mets. More so than their home jerseys). Now with that being said, I don't only buy jerseys and hats (I have way more hats than jerseys) because of the city or team they represent, but when it comes to New York teams, it may or may not subconsciously play into my decision making process. Like for instance, even though Yankees home gear has the NY on it, I chose to go with an away authentic dugout jacket because I loved the way it looked with New York spelled out across it. But I suppose for small town fans who root for teams based on things other than location, I can see a preference for home gear with just the team name on it, rather than the city.

[phutmasterflex]

Just BP

[McCall]

Just BP

They wore them, or a special one-off version of the jersey, for a "shirt off our backs" game around Labor Day 1999. But that was it. Wasn't really an alt. When they introduced them in 1998, they said they may be available game use, but never did.

[The_Admiral]

The Cardinals should never have a full-time red alternate. You can change the lettering to white, but then that looks wrong. The birds get lost on the background, and the whole thing is muddied by the big white stroke.

Incidentally, Mark McGwire is also a big white stroke.