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Blood Coming Out of Their Whatever

When the Diamondbacks revealed their new uniforms in December, my basic take was, “All signs point to disaster, but first let’s see how it looks on the field.”

With pitchers and catchers now reporting, the disaster forecast appears to have been accurate, at least in terms of the color gradation on the pant cuffs. When the photo shown above began circulating on Twitter yesterday, people totally lost their shit. Many of them, I’m sure, hadn’t seen the new uniforms when they were unveiled a few months ago, but whatever — the response was overwhelming, and literally 100% negative. The most common responses:

•  “It’s their tribute to Curt Schilling’s bloody sock.”

•  “Looks like they were stomping grapes to make wine.”

• “Did they walk through a meat locker on their way to the ballpark?”

And here’s the thing: It could be (and probably will be) worse. If you look again at the photo, you’ll see that the players were wearing black shoes at the D-Backs’ spring training facility. But the mock-ups for the new uniforms all show the red-gradated pants being worn with red shoes, which will make the bloody effect even worse (click to enlarge):

Similarly, the grey-trimmed pants are slated to be worn with grey shoes and the black-trimmed pants are supposed to go with black shoes. The idea is to create a seamless transition from the pant color to the footwear color. Players just showing up for early workouts don’t yet have their game shoes, but expect to see the full bloody effect when the season starts.

Or, alternately, expect to see clusterfuck of mix-and-match shoe colors on the field, because a team with three different shoe colors, depending on the pants du jour, is definitely asking for trouble.

Speaking of the D-Backs, tonight they’re airing a half-hour show about how their new uni set was created, including looks at some designs that didn’t make the cut. Further info and a teaser video here.

Meanwhile: The Pirates’ long-expected 1979 Sunday throwback (which is replacing the early-’70s throwback they’ve worn in recent years) was finally revealed, via this video:

There’s additional info here. As you can see, they’re going with pillbox caps, which initially seems very cool. But these caps don’t seem as, well, pillboxy as the originals — they don’t appear to be rigid at the top, so the top panel ends being form-fitting instead of flat-topped — disappointing. Also, the stripes on this cap intersect the top and bottom of the “P” logo, which isn’t how it was on the original. Also-also, the black pants will look brutal when worn pajama-style. Here’s hoping a few players take the opportunity to go high-cuffed.

Meanwhile, the Brewers also announced a throwback, although they’ll only be wearing it for one day:

That uniform, incidentally, was designed by longtime Uni Watch pal Todd Radom, who I’m sure if happy to see his handiwork back in circulation, even if only for a day.

• • • • •

Friday Flashback: It’s probably not a surprise to hear that I really miss the old Minnesota North Stars uniforms. With their green/gold color scheme, how could I not? But it’s more than just the colors — I also love the logo. Always did, even when I was a kid.

With the North Stars’ unis set to be revived for tomorrow’s Minnesota/Chicago Alumni Game (part of the festivities for Sunday’s outdoor game between the Wild and Blackhawks), my latest Friday Flashback piece on ESPN focuses on the North Stars’ look. Check it out here.

• • • • •

The Ticker
By Paul

Baseball News: Oklahoma is switching to AstroTurf. ”¦ While looking for something else, I stumbled upon this December 1999 photo of Sammy Sosa conducting an instructional clinic in Japan while wearing an AM/PM uniform. That’s particularly interesting because the Cubs and Mets played MLB’s first-ever season-opening series in Japan about three months later, and that same AM/PM logo was worn as a helmet ad (plus both teams wore AIU sleeve-patch ads. ”¦ The Yankees, continuing to mistake themselves for a monarchy, have announced that will no longer accept print-at-home tickets. Then they compounded matters by putting an exec on the radio to give a remarkably tone-deaf defense of the new policy. Just another example of the remarkable things that are possible when a person’s shame gland has been surgically removed. ”¦ The Blue Jays’ 40th-season logo, which the team will be wearing as a sleeve patch this season, will also be appearing on their baseballs (from @BigLeagueBBalls). ”¦ With the Mets adding an ’86 throwback to this year’s uni rotation, they now have a throwback cap with period-appropriate squatchee and underbrim colors (from Steven Hom). ”¦ Oh, man, check out this previously unpublished photo of Roy Campanella saying goodbye to Ebbets Field. Wow (from our old friend/intern Garrett McGrath). ”¦ Here’s a Padres change that hadn’t been previously announced: They’re switching to matte-finish batting helmets. I’m afraid it’ll take more than that to save this franchise’s visual program (from Brady Phelps). ”¦ Love this shot of a young Babe Ruth in a gorgeous Red Sox sweater (from @BSmile). ”¦ Arkansas baseball has a new logo marking the 20th season at Baum Stadium (from Matt Snyder). ”¦ The Frederick Keys will be giving away a double-bobblehead this year. Double-bobble! (From Andrew Cosentino). ”¦ Love this poster based on the cover of the 1889 Spalding Base Ball Guide (from David Firestone). ”¦ Great shot of the 1975 N.L. All-Star team. Even with road unis, those are some great designs (from Brinke, via Jerry Reuss, who’s included in the photo). ”¦ Here’s a tour of the Rangers’ locker room (thanks, Phil).

NFL News: We just passed the 25th anniversary of the unveiling of the 49ers’ infamous one-day logo. Here’s a really good retrospective on the story. ”¦ The Lions, who could definitely use a uniform redesign, might get one for 2017.

College Football News: Texas A&M and the Indianapolis Colts have reached a settlement in a lawsuit of the “12th Man” trademark (thanks, Brinke).

Hockey News: Here’s your chance to behind the scenes with the Lake Erie Monsters’ equipment manager (thanks, Phil). ”¦ The WHL’s Kamloops Blazers are going to wear 1980s throwbacks — complete with Cooperalls (from Josh C.). ”¦ This season’s NHL St. Paddy’s Day pregame warm-up jerseys have plaid shoulders and sleeves (from @derpthrone). ”¦ You’ve probably seen black-and-white photos of the Blues’ original prototype jerseys, but Erik Spoonmore recently saw one of the originals in person and got this photo.

NBA News: Reader Conrad Burry has been the main source of NBA leaks lately, and he’s scored again with next season’s crop of throwbacks (including the Pacers’ Hickory design, which, obviously, is a carryover from this season). Nice stuff, right? The Raptors’ entry is a Toronto Huskies design. ”¦ Conrad also has the new shooting shirts and warm-ups. ”¦ Speaking of leaks, a little birdie tells me that the Mavs are about to announce a contest for next season’s court design, similar to their recent alt-uni contest. The winner will get season tickets.

College Hoops News: Yet another new jersey for Ohio State. It’ll apparently be paired with these shorts. I confess that I like the stripes (from Cole Bury and Andrew Lind, respectively). ”¦ Love these old UNC, NC State, and Duke soda cans. ”¦ UConn wore navy at home last night against SMU (from Mike D). ”¦ Not too bright: Portland and St. Mary’s went black vs. grey last night (from Seth Hunt). ”¦ Washington wore black at home last night against Cal. ”¦ Latest women’s team to wear pink: Mississippi State.

Soccer News: DC United will continue to have Leidos as its jersey sponsor advertiser (from William Yurasko). ”¦ Here’s a podcast about the new MLS kit designs (from @svndrtywrds). ”¦ New kit for Slovenia.

Grab Bag: Great article, including to spectacular graphics, about the tile colors used in the NYC subway system (from the Tugboat Captain). … This is pretty good: a website devoted to airline food (from Gil Neumann). ”¦ Here’s a fun piece about the evolution of Purdue’s “Purdue Pete” mascot costume (good one from Kurt Esposito). ”¦ Nebraska Athletics is reviving the “Huskers” script as a secondary logo. ”¦ Check it out: a tequila sunrise drum kit! (From Jon Solomonson.) ”¦ Red Bull Racing has unveiled its new livery for the 2016 F1 season (from Ryan Olanowicz). ”¦ Iowa State is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that they can’t prevent students from making T-shirts that show the school’s mascot with a marijuana leaf. ”¦ The good people at Pop Chart Lab have come up with another great infographic/poster design, this time about typography. Excellent stuff (from Jason Hillyer). ”¦ You don’t say: Rio de Jaineiro’s commitment to clean up its seriously polluted water in time for this summer’s Olympics isn’t much of a commitment after all. Shocker.

• • • • •

On a personal note, I had a medical procedure late yesterday afternoon (nothing serious, but necessary) and am likely to be somewhat loopy on painkillers today, so I won’t have much presence, if any, on the site. Apologies in advance for queries not answered, typos not fixed, etc. Similarly, apologies to anyone whose Ticker submissions didn’t make the cut today — I was a little out of it yesterday evening. But don’t worry, I’m fine. See you all next week.

 
  
 
Comments (99)

    It’s too bad the Pirates’ 1979 throwback is replacing the 1971 throwback. If they were going to bring back gold jerseys, they should have paired them with the gold pants. Why not? Plus, they should replaced the horrible camouflage shirts they wear.

    The 1971 throwbacks were sharp, and wish they had been worn a little longer. They’ll be back, but the gold-black 77-84 set is historic. It’s the uniform worn during the game clinching Game 7 of the ’79 WS, and is linked with several outstanding players during the era it was used. While the set is billed as the ’79 look, the uniform was used with other contending Pirate teams.

    I would like to see an updated yellow jersey similar to what they had in spring training a few years ago, used as a modern alternate.

    I really like the Motor Bame Brewers set, probably the only one though, and it was better with the MB than the M by itself

    I didn’t like that set at the time, but in the years since, it’s really grown on me. Probably now my favorite Brewers uni, all-time. But the original Motre Bame caps were terrible. The metallic-thread gold just didn’t work on a pro ballcap. The final white-M cap is one of my personal white whales; it’s like the one Brewers cap that seems never to have been produced as a throwback.

    I love that look but not until after the Motre Bame hat was dumped. The later look with the “M” hat was beautiful. I am really disappointed they’ll be wearing that hat.

    Here’s an article about the Iowa State marijuana t-shirt controversy that includes a photo of the shirt in question:

    link

    Thanks! I wanted to see what the brouhaha was all about. It looks to me like the students took great pains to avoid any copyright issues.

    “A procedure”

    That always reminds of that great monologue Billy Crystal gives to his kid’s class in “City Slickers”:

    “…….Fifties you have a minor surgery. You’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery. ……”

    A good amount of Pirates players usually seemed to go high-cuffed on Sundays in the ’71 throwbacks…Cutch, Josh Harrison and Sean Rodriguez immediately spring to mind…so here’s hoping the trend continues.

    Here’s hoping the appropriate gold stirrups/socks are available. Nothing’s been announced, and with the current unofficial state of baseball hosiery…

    From the end of the 49ers article:
    “That’s great, the new logo stunk,” fan Mark Emmons said in 1991, after news spread that the new logo was gone. “I was kind of worried that if DeBartolo could change the helmet logo that fast, the next thing (it) was going to be the San Jose 49ers.”

    Amusing in hindsight, now that they play next door to San Jose.

    Those St. Louis Blues prototypes… woof! Glad they went with just the note logo. Those remind me of the team’s misstep in the mid-80s, when they shrunk the note and added “BLUES” above it.

    My thoughts on the D-Backs set:

    It looks terrible, especially with the black shoes. The whole sublimation effect on the jerseys and pants has very minor league feel to it.

    Aside from how bad the red pant bottoms look with the black pants, the look is made worse by how baggy the pants are. On the mannequins, the pants are at least tapered to the cuff and blend into the red shoes. From a distance, this might at least give some appearance of semi-proper hosiery. But the baggy bottoms make the pants just look like a heaping mess of red.

    There is just too much going on with these uniforms.

    The execution sucks, but I appreciate that the pants weren’t looked upon as an afterthought. Every uniform turned out since the ’90s limited the creative input to the waist up.

    I was about to say the exact same thing. If the pants were being worn the way it was intended it would be a much better look, not great but tolerable.

    As a life long Yankee fan I can say that Im not surprised about what Lon Trost said about the NYY tickets. As long as the Yanks have the two assholes Randy Levine & Lon Trost running the club they will continue to shit on its fans. Get some real baseball people in the organization not lawyers!!

    The Diamondbacks new uni’s make MLB’s late 70’s & 80’s unis look like all time classics.

    I’ve no doubt your procedure’s to blame for this, but how could you fail to note that the 1975 NL All-Star team photo includes one of your very own readers/occasional commenters?!?! Get better soon.

    I’ll admit I’m a big Nike fan, but their recent changes in college basketball uniforms, including the Ohio State disaster, are just awful.

    First thing that popped into my head after seeing those D-Backs pants is that they make the players look like Clydesdales.

    ” I had a medical procedure late yesterday afternoon (nothing serious, but necessary)”

    1) Hope all is well and you recover quicker than expected
    2) My first thought, you had grommets installed in various places

    AHA! I stand corrected!

    I swear, in all my years of Mets fandom, I don’t know how I never noticed Jesse’s underbrim is gray in that pic. Thanks, Paul!

    As several pointed out on Twitter, the Mets wore green underbrims in all regular season and NLCS games in 1986 and switched to the grey underbrim (and a slightly lighter blue) for the World Series and wore those into the next few years.

    I greatly prefer the green…the grey brims looked wrong to me.

    link

    Good luck on your recovery.

    Couple of typos: in the NFL section, it says “The Lion” may get new uniforms, but of course that should be plural. And the last entry in college hoops makes no sense, and the link doesn’t work, to boot.

    Supposedly, the Lions can not make a uniform change until 2019 because team president Martha Ford wanted to keep the “WCF” memorial patch on the uniform for the 2015 season, and the league said only there’s two ways that could be done, including to consider that a five year uniform change.

    Link: link

    Can you identify the memorial patch worn by the one of the 1975 N.L. all stars in the great photo taken at County Stadium in Milwaukee?

    If you’re not sure, the answer is here: link

    I notice Stan Musial’s Cardinals’ jersey has the crew neck while the other St. Louis players had upgraded to the trimmed V-neck.

    If they wanted to do a fade-in red pants would it have looked any better to do it from belt level up or down? Or would it look like Adidas cummerbund college basketball.

    ” . . . remarkable things that are possible when a person’s shame gland has been surgically removed.” That’s assuming he had one to begin with.

    I don’t mind matte-finish batting helmets, but I wish the logo stickers would also have a matte-finish as well. Nothing looks more cobbed together than a shiny sticker on a matte surface.

    Those D-Backs pants are a disaster indeed. It’s bad enough that the norm is pajama pants league wide. Now this? My guess is this will lead to other teams trying similarly ill-advised “enhancements” in the future. The horror!

    The “tequila sunrise” drumkit you link to, Ludwig Vistalites (also available in other colors), was also available in a Tivoli model, for which the insides of the shells were lined with tiny lights, some with the ability to flash on/off. Being the early ’70s, though, the bulbs were incandescent, leading to quite a few burns and even some melting. Still, a GREAT look!

    link

    Plenty of other companies have been making acrylic shells all this time. Many with colors much cooler than Ludwig ever had.

    Jellybean baby!!

    link

    -I say this as about as large a Yankees fan as one can find: Lonn Trost is a tone deaf tool, always has been. The ticketing thing is a disaster, and I can honestly say will wind up keeping me from going to games this season just from a convenience factor.

    -The D*Backs pants somehow look worse than I imagined.

    -I like the Pirates 79 throwbacks, but I wish the cap was accurate.

    -Never new the 86 Mets wore grey underbrims? Were they one of the first teams to do so?

    Never new the 86 Mets wore grey underbrims? Were they one of the first teams to do so?

    As I posted above, they had green underbrims most of the year, changing to grey for the World Series. They were certainly one of the first, if not THE first…anyone want to research that?

    Pretty sure the Reds were the first to make the switch to grey underbrims. They cited Navy studies about battleship grey having a calming influence, or something along those lines.

    Amazing you know that. I did some researching and the earliest Red with a grey or white underbrim I have found was a Clay Carroll 1973 Topps, indicating he likely wore it on field in 1972.

    link

    I did find a Cardinal with a white brim on a 1975 Topps.

    link

    Amazing you know that.

    Hey, I’ve been doing this gig a long time. I’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge — some of which I’ve even managed to keep track of!

    Also, re: that article on the Niners logo. It’s amazing how the team acknowledged the criticism and reneged so quickly. Could never happen today I’d imagine.

    When the North Stars moved to Dallas, why didn’t they just simply call themselves the “Lone Stars”?

    Doing this from memory, but I think that’s what the original plan was — call them the Lone Stars — but somewhere along the way it was ‘dropped’ to just be “Stars”.

    I say the Wild switch permanently to the North Stars and the Stars to the Lone Stars. We have the Red Sox and the White Sox (and the Red Sox and Reds), we have the Broncos and Colts, why can’t we have the North Stars and Lone Stars? Just gotta make one of them different pick a color other than green so they’re not too similar in that respect.

    And while we’re at it, have the Lone Stars bring back the bull constellation jersey as a permanent alternate (with the potentially altered colors, obviously).

    Bud, be careful what you wish for. Your proposal could lead to a slew of “______hawk” teams, a scenario I don’t want to contemplate.

    My guess: Some marketing flack decided that the Dallas hockey audience would disproportionately consist of northern transplants, for whom specifically Texan allusions would fall flat.

    umm….

    it’s kinda unpossible to have only one twin. And it’s certainly possible to have multiple sets of twins.

    Looking forward to seeing how the Pirates’ throwbacks look on the field. I’ll be interested to see if they go with a period appropriate batting helmet for thoe games (yellow crown, black brim, black P).

    Paul,

    First off, feel better!

    Second, looking at the ’75 ASG Pic, Gary Carter is wearing a solid Blue Helmet. Was that only for a Catchers helmet, or did the whole team wear a solid colored batting helmet back then. Would be interesting if only he wore it since flapless helmets were more common back then.

    Is it just me, or do Nike’s new uniforms look like they’re made with a woman’s cut? The shoulders are a lot more narrow.

    Not just u, Nike is making all mbb jerseys for elite programs a lot tighter, like the women’s jerseys. Started last year with the white out text for UK, Duke, and a couple other teams. UK and Duke wore them through out the tournament and it got a positive response so Nike kept designing them that way

    The front numbers on the Pirates’ throwback are not the ones they used on the link They are too short and wide and don’t look as well with the wordmark used. It is not surprising, as the level of detail on throwbacks is never perfect. I’m sure they will blow the vertically arched NOBs too. It was the small details that made the originals special and this goes for all throwbacks, not just these.

    In the recent past, they’ve bobbled the yellow stripe on the black knickers. The makers of throwback uniforms have access to the same databases I have, so chalk it up to laziness.

    If I were making a throwback, I would not be satisfied unless I had an original in front of me and measured it exactly. In fact I did do that link, now that I recall.

    In regard to the Yankees’ new ticketing policy:
    Since I have never sat in the fancy seats before, the Yankees seem to think that I am not worthy to ever sit there.
    Are they afraid I will offend their elite season-ticket holders by using the wrong fork with my hot dog?

    Enjoyed the trip down memory lane re: Minnesota North Stars. Terrific logo – one of the best ever in pro sports – and the green/gold/white color combination worked so well on the uniforms, and the seats (but then, I’m a Lane Tech grad). Too bad the North Stars eventually introduced black into the mix.

    Arguably, the NHL Expansion Class of 1967 probably had the best set of uniforms colors and logos, collectively, this side of the MLB Expansion Classes of 1962 and 1969.

    Those NBA warmups for next season are terrible. Continual use of three stripes in their designs (like the cuffs on this year’s shooting shirts) is pretty inexcusable. I miss the 90s when Champion made the unis and teams had their own unique designs instead of all using one (bland) template. Hopefully Nike will spice it up, though I don’t have high hopes.

    “The Yankees, continuing to mistake themselves for a monarchy,…”

    This is exactly why I, in a response to link, compared the Yankees to Gilded Age tycoons such as Vanderbilt and Rockefeller rather than to your suggestion, the pre-politics Donald Trump.

    As I said at the time, the Yankees’ brand of arrogance is haughty. Your “monarchy” comment today is on the mark; the team positions itself as regal and august. This is clearly in line with the image that the Gilded Age moguls sought to project, as opposed to the populist/vulgar style of Trump (even in his pre-politics days).

    Hey Paul. Just started reading ur blog about a month ago, because that’s when I found out about it. Love the idea and I just wanted to mention that Kentucky was wearing pink last night vs Misissippi State, not the other way around. Go Cats!

    He didn’t say Kentucky WASN’T wearing pink, just that Mississippi state is the latest team to do it.

    Kentucky’s done it before. Apparently Miss St. hasn’t? Whatever. Go Bulldogs. Or something.

    Yeah, but Kentucky was the team that had an all-pink jersey. I was just pointing that out to him. (I know that he can’t get them all….

    OK, but your post said that Miss St was not wearing pink, which they were.

    Ahhhh… I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this today. Welcome aboard! There’s definitely enough content here to keep you busy for quite some time. But you probably don’t want to try to get caught up all at once.

    The Diamondbacks should have gone full bloodclot.

    And spell out your name! Or pull a Rangers and be the Arizona Arizonas. Or put the A or D logo on the left chest.

    I thought you were gonna drop a Phila Sixers example! Because, to be fair, the White Sox use a logo that just doesn’t have the word White in it. (Unless the beach blanket counts as a word and not a logo across the jersey? I don’t know.)

    not sure what you’re getting at here, monsieur.

    Is the D-backs wordmark not also a logo? I believe it is.

    Was thinking of posting a CAVS and/or MAVS and/or PHILA and/or SIXERS and/or MPLS. photo. I even kicked around posting a photo of link, but them’re all basketball unis, not baseball.

    I’m not against shortened names. Unfortunately the two I really don’t like are from the same city. PHX and D-Backs gotta go.

    Regarding the “Tequila Sunrise” drum kit…I guess I hadn’t realized that “tequila sunrise” was an accepted term outside of the Uni-verse. Did the term originate here, or was it in common (or somewhat common) use prior to Uni Watch? Either way, it’s a great term!

    We watched The Love Boat, son. I’m pretty sure someone asks Isaac for one in every single episode.

    Or we listened to link.

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