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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

ShysterBall: Calcaterra: Best and Worst Uniforms: National League

Good stuff from Calcaterra (a dedicated follower of Lord Such himself).

So I got to thinking, what is each team’s best and worst looks, historically speaking? To figure it out, I decided to consult the Hall of Fame’s Dressed to the Nines database. What follows is obviously my personal opinion, but given the subjectivity of fashion, it’s as valid as anyone else’s. The only real caveat here is that, for the most part, I disqualified deadball era outfits because, let’s face it, they had no idea what they were doing back then.

Braves

Best: The current ones, which are basically the same as the classic 1946-67 Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta uniforms, minus the big Indian head on the sleeve.

Worst: Lots to choose from here. The 1929 numbers were notable for having a giant Indian head on the back instead of a number. The 1936-40 uniforms have an excuse for being ugly—the Braves had renamed themselves the “Bees” and adopted the appropriate yellow accents. But the 1980-86 numbers are the worst in my mind. Not because they’re assaulting in any way, but because they are so bland and uninspired.

Suggestions: The biggest problem for the Braves stems from their use of Native American iconography. Yes, the uniforms look good, but that tomahawk, while nothing as offensive as Chief Wahoo, does present a bit of a problem. Not sure what to do there, really.

Repoz Posted: March 04, 2008 at 07:47 AM | 48 comment(s)
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1. Rich Posted: March 04, 2008 at 09:14 AM (#2705446)

The San Diego Padres uniform in the late '70s or early '80s that looked like a McDonald's uniform deserves consideration.

2. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 09:51 AM (#2705461)

Oh, they're considered, Rich. You may actually be surprised at where I come down on those.

Question: is anyone having issues with the page loading? For some reason, on my stat counter certain users -- but by no means all -- are showing as reloading multiple times a minute, and I can't figure out why that is. Glitch in the matrix?

3. haplo53 Posted: March 04, 2008 at 09:53 AM (#2705463)

Your page looks OK to me.

4. Jolly Old St. Nick (now, with Screen Name history) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 09:58 AM (#2705467)

Great take. One small mistake where you showed the 1948 Pirates uniforms twice.

5. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 09:58 AM (#2705468)

It's weird. There are like five or six people -- all Verizon users from what I can tell -- who are reloading dozens and dozens of times. They're not bots or anything either because I reognize the users as previous readers. Strangest thing.

On the bright side, now would be a good day for someone interested in acquiring ShysterBall to ask what kind of traffic I get. Well, at least if they don't care about unique users . . .

Andy -- thanks for the tip. I think I fixed it now.

6. Misirlou hasn't payed the phone bill in 300 years Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:08 AM (#2705476)

Bad link on your Padres entry. The 1991-2001 pinstripes link takes one to 1980

edit:

Also, the Brewer's worst link takes you to their best.

7. HOPE: Madison Obamagarner (Flynn) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:13 AM (#2705480)

Good fun to read, Craig. A few things to discuss.

Worst: Nothing horrendous, but I didn't much care for the alternate solid blues between 1982-84, and the script "New York" in 1987 was pretty ugly too. Ultimately, their worst transgression is the introduction of black caps in 2001, which was followed by black alternate jerseys and accenting. You're New Yorkers! You're supposed to set fashion, not be slaves to it!

I liked the New York script myself. Amen on the black and how a Mets jersey should have a lack of it. I have this cap, which I like because of the black and blue playing off each other, but the black hats and the black jerseys are overall just awful.

I like how the Mets jerseys are replicas of the 1930s New York Giants jerseys as well. Kind of a nice, subtle nod to New York's National League roots.

I liked your choice of the mid-70s Padres uniform - it had kind of a cool Arizona State vibe to it.

8. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:14 AM (#2705481)

Thanks Misirlou. Probably the most link-heavy thing I've ever posted, so there are bound to be a few mistakes. Fixed now.

9. Ryan Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:16 AM (#2705484)

Call me crazy, but I liked the teal Marlins uniforms from 1993. They were unique.

I also agree with Craig that the city should appear on the road uniform. I hate it when the road uniform is essentially identical to the home one. I know the Orioles don't put Baltimore on their road uniforms because they want to tap into the Washington market, and the Angels are trying to emphasize their brand by not having a city (whichever one it may be at the time) on their road jersey, but is there any particular reason why the Cardinals and Phillies don't have their respective cities on their uniforms?

10. Misirlou hasn't payed the phone bill in 300 years Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:18 AM (#2705486)

Also, no link at all in the Rockies entry. Is that intentional?

11. villageidiom Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:40 AM (#2705505)

While their current look -- hearkening back to the Whiz Kid unis they wore in the 1950s and 60s -- is considered classic Phillies, I'm actually kinda partial to the 1930-40s numbers with the blue accents.

So what you're saying is you like the 2007 Indians uniforms?

12. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:42 AM (#2705508)

I can't remember if I meant to do that or not, Misirlou. I put one in, though.

13. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:43 AM (#2705509)

So what you're saying is you like the 2007 Indians uniforms?

At the risk of spoiling tomorow's surprise, suffice it to say that Chief Wahoo doesn't make my "best" list.

14. SoSH U at work Posted: March 04, 2008 at 10:50 AM (#2705519)

Craig,

There's no link to the Diamondbacks best. Fun read though.

15. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 11:02 AM (#2705541)

Thanks SoSH. It's fixed.

By the way, don't think I was being sloppy in messing up all of these links, people. I didn't want to have to come clean, but the reality is that I have been commissioned by certain California technology interests to test the efficacy of open sourced blogging, and thus strategically embedded those "mistakes" with a clear and knowing purpose.

Um, yeah, that's it. . .

16. flournoy Posted: March 04, 2008 at 11:19 AM (#2705571)

Call me crazy, but I liked the teal Marlins uniforms from 1993. They were unique.

Me too. I've always wished they would go back to that look.

My main rules when it comes to uniforms:

1.) Home whites and road grays. Alternate solid colors are good for batting practice and bad for games. The Braves' Sunday reds are nasty. The only teams that can pull off the solid colors are the ones who go in balls deep, like the 70s Athletics and crazy rainbow orange Astros.

2.) Lose the black. The Reds are red, not black. The Mets are blue and orange, not black. The Royals are blue and white, not black. The Blue Jays need to lose the black, full stop. Their uniforms are the worst ones in all of baseball right now. Only four teams can handle black as a major color, and those are the Giants, Orioles, Pirates, and Rockies.

17. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:03 PM (#2705654)

1.) Home whites and road grays. Alternate solid colors are good for batting practice and bad for games.

You'll (hopefully) see it tomorrow when I post the AL, but I really struggled with this when it came to the Royals' powder blues. For the most part I prefer gray, but the Royals (and Expos and Blue Jays) seem particuarly suited to them. This isn't some powder blue fetish on my part, because I hate them in most contexts (White Sox, Phillies, Cardninals, etc.).

They look right in Kansas City because so much of their history -- and especially their peak -- occurred in them, so I'm inclined to give them a pass on it. Good enough for George Brett, good enought for Alex Gordon.

18. Jimmy P Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:23 PM (#2705683)

Only four teams can handle black as a major color, and those are the Giants, Orioles, Pirates, and Rockies.

Make it five, the White Sox make it look good.

19. Rodder Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:25 PM (#2705691)

Call me crazy, but I liked the teal Marlins uniforms from 1993. They were unique.

Me too. I've always wished they would go back to that look.

Good, I thought I was a man on an island on this issue. One of my favorite caps of all time is the teal Marlins cap with the black bill. Also, I preferred the D-backs previous uniforms because they were unique, as opposed to the Astros threads they wear now. I guess I am just a teal-loving mid-90's kind of guy.

20. flournoy Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:29 PM (#2705699)

Oops, forgot about the White Sox. Nice catch. Yes, they can do black just fine.

I can dig the Royals and Expos in powder blue roadies. Maybe the Blue Jays too, I'd have to think about that.

21. Le Comble du Bob Dernier Cri Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:41 PM (#2705729)

There are like five or six people -- all Verizon users from what I can tell -- who are reloading dozens and dozens of times

It's probably just that they cannot believe the 1979 Pirate look, and they keep refreshing in hopes that the link will reroute to something humane.

Count me as a fan of the 1970s Phillies look, though. It was garish but it had some attitude, and the Whiz Kids associations of their once-and-future uniforms had been overcast by the 1964 associations of that look.

My one uniform peeve? There is way too much blue. Along the lines of flournoy's "lose the black," I would say restrain the blue. Obviously there are teams that should wear blue, the Dodgers paramount among them, but there should never be blue on a Cardinal uniform, or a Padres or Astros or Phillies uniform. Blue seems like the safe color for teams that want to pass unnoticed.

22. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 12:41 PM (#2705731)

The biggest problem for the Braves stems from their use of Native American iconography. Yes, the uniforms look good, but that tomahawk, while nothing as offensive as Chief Wahoo, does present a bit of a problem

funny thing is, the Indians only had Wahoo on their unis for a very short period (63-69)

which was the height of the civil rights movement

(the "civil rights movement" of that era, however, didn't include Native Americans)

23. Voros Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:00 PM (#2705774)

Those 70s pirates uniforms truly are hideous, but I absolutely loved those hats. Those hats rocked. My pet theory is that Kent Tekulve wouldn't have been nearly as effective in a normal hat.

24. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:03 PM (#2705782)

My pet theory is that Kent Tekulve wouldn't have been nearly as effective in a normal hat.

hey--that's not theory, that's a fact; the cap made him look even uglier, if such a thing is possible

(I always thought the cap added 5MPH to Candeleria's heater, too)

25. Tim Lincecum doesn't Wang Chung tonite (GGC) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:03 PM (#2705786)

Is that LIDS theory, Voros?

26. Stevens Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:12 PM (#2705804)

I'm a huge fan of the 79 Pirates uni. Talk about a statement.

I also like the solid color unis for the most part, and I realize that puts me in the minority. I don't know--Carlos Zambrano doesn't look right in pinstripes.

27. Ryan Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:33 PM (#2705840)

I personally like non-traditional uniforms. I don't have a problem with teams using something other than light grey on their road jerseys. I like how San Diego has gone with beige on the road. When the Jays unveiled their current look back in late-2003, their road jersey was going to be graphite. Unfortunately the players weren't crazy about that idea and it was shelved.

28. Rich Rifkin I Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:36 PM (#2705843)

Giants

Worst: The orange and blacks were . . . regrettable.

Suggestions: There are going to be some lean years ahead. While I'm pretty sure the Giants will resist the urge, they musn't fall prey to the notion that you need to change things up in order to get a fresh start.

While I understand the predilection to a "classic look," I think there's something to be said in having the team's uniforms reflect the personality of its home city. You wrote exactly that about the Brewers: "Milwaukee is a city with a colorful history and citizenry. Their uniforms should have a some pizazz."

To that extent, I think the 1980 orange road look, which you call the worst, best fits the colorfulness of the City of San Francisco. I would also guess that those form fitting polyesters were pleasing to a certain segment of Giants' fans.

Best: While they lost their heads for a few years, for the most part, the Giants have kept the classic look, and it's a good look.

Today's Giants' unis may be "classic," but they are really bland. Even worse, from the perspective of casual fans, is the fact that they don't have the players' names on the backs of the home jerseys. That's no big deal if you are watching a team like the Yankees, where everyone recognizes a Derek Jeter or an Alex Rodriguez. But when Scott Munter and Dan Giese are warming up in the bullpen, it would be helpful if the uniforms would tell us which one is which.

29. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:39 PM (#2705847)

funny thing is, the Indians only had Wahoo on their unis for a very short period

I'm including hats in the overall ensemble, jmac66. He's been on the hats for the past 20 years, and was an arm patch for many years after 1947 or whenever it was he was introduced.

Sneak preview for tomorrow, but here's the best ever Cleveland uniform, if only for its audaciousness.

I'd kill to see a team try to pull that off today.

30. Rich Rifkin I Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:44 PM (#2705856)

Craig, those 1921 Indians' uniforms remind me of the kind of pajamas my parents used to buy me from Sears when I was 5 (back in the late '60s). There is a certain playful arrogance about them that brings a smile.

Padres

Worst: All yellow was something ugly to behold, but at least it had flare. I think the worst was the 1991-2001 pinstripes. San Diego is one of the more laid back towns I've ever been to. Pinstripes should be outlawed there.

The worst Padres uniforms are those camouflage jobs. Yeah, they're not as ugly as the all yellows. But camouflage, tribute or not, doesn't belong on baseball uniforms.

31. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 01:51 PM (#2705865)

The worst Padres uniforms are those camouflage jobs.

Forgot about the camouflage (they didn't show up on the Dressed to the Nines database). And agreed: truly awful.

As for the Giants: I'd be with you if the team began play in 1958, but I don't know that you can cut off all of that pre-San Francisco history like that. I wasn't totally consistent in my comments about history/classic looks of older teams, but off the top of my head, the following teams should be required to have a fan referendum before abandoning their classic look:

Yankees
Red Sox
Dodgers
Tigers (home only; I actually like their 70s-80s roadies)
Giants
Cubs
Cardinals
Mets

I may have missed one or two.

32. Jolly Old St. Nick (now, with Screen Name history) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 02:02 PM (#2705873)

Sneak preview for tomorrow, but here's the best ever Cleveland uniform., if only for its audaciousness.

I'd kill to see a team try to pull that off today.

Craig, you could have shown this one today if you hadn't restricted the Giants to San Francisco.

33. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 02:10 PM (#2705886)

Andy -- I did miss that one, but the reason wasn't restricting the Giants to SF, it was (arbitrarilly) restricting all teams to 1920-forward.

Classic, though.

34. too fat and ugly to play third Posted: March 04, 2008 at 03:26 PM (#2706012)

Good luck picking a worst White Sox uniform. They've never made a bad choice.

On "The Bronx is Burning," whenever they'd show game footage of a Yankee-White Sox game, it looked like the Yankees were playing a little league team. I say that as a White Sox fan.

35. flournoy Posted: March 04, 2008 at 03:36 PM (#2706034)

Good luck picking a worst White Sox uniform. They've never made a bad choice.

Sarcastic, I know, but the only candidate for that honor is the softball shorts uniform. No other contender whatsoever.

36. Le Comble du Bob Dernier Cri Posted: March 04, 2008 at 03:36 PM (#2706035)

Milwaukee is a city with a colorful history and citizenry

I think one of the most interesting things about Milwaukee is that it's the only American city to elect three Socialist mayors.

37. Craig Calcaterra Posted: March 04, 2008 at 04:00 PM (#2706055)

No other contender whatsoever.

That's where you're wrong.

38. vortex of dissipation Posted: March 04, 2008 at 04:14 PM (#2706066)

I'd go with the Seattle Pilots unis as the best Brewers uniforms. The lower case lettering, the powder blue road unis, the scrambled eggs on the caps...

39. too fat and ugly to play third Posted: March 04, 2008 at 04:18 PM (#2706071)

That's where you're wrong.

That's what they were wearing when I started watching, so that's my favorite. Not necessarily on Greg Luzinski. I didn't really like that their road uniforms were exactly the same but in gray, however.

40. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: March 04, 2008 at 04:22 PM (#2706077)

I think the Pirates' current red alternate vests are even worse than the '70s bumblebee suits.

41. flournoy Posted: March 04, 2008 at 04:26 PM (#2706084)

That's where you're wrong.

Those are pretty bad, I agree, but still can't touch the shorts.

42. Rich Rifkin I Posted: March 04, 2008 at 08:20 PM (#2706274)

There have been many bad baseball unis. But I don't think any have been as bad as this NBA costume. Talk about little boys' pajamas.

43. Crispix Attacks Posted: March 04, 2008 at 08:40 PM (#2706281)

The Cardinals seemed to have a particularly hard time with the 70s. In some ways they may have been better off to have simply abandoned any effort at preserving the classic look at all and dove head first into day-glo doubleknits. Instead, they tried a series of compromises, none worse than 1976's dalliance with a flat-top, striped cap. The effect was much like seeing long, blow-dried 70s hair on extras in a Happy Days episodes. Not quite modern, not quite retro, and worse off for failing to commit one way or the other.

This isn't exactly fair...wasn't it the Cardinals, Phillies, Reds and Pirates who all used the flat-top, striped ca in 1976, in honor of the NL's 100th anniversary?

And then the Pirates were the only ones to wear it for more than one year.

(Actually...here's an auction site that is selling Yankees, White Sox, and Mets pillbox hats also from 1976...used in the All-Star game? The White Sox one looks particularly ludicrous, with the Greg Luzinski "SOX" logo)

44. Gotham Dave Posted: March 05, 2008 at 12:34 AM (#2706391)

Great article. I've always wanted a Houston Colts jersey.

45. Benji Posted: March 05, 2008 at 01:14 AM (#2706407)

Agree 100% about the Mets. But then again, I'm old.

46. CFiJ Posted: March 05, 2008 at 07:50 AM (#2706462)

First becoming aware of the Cubs in the '80s, I myself also preferred the cute little bear to the walking bear profile. But then I got my copy of Deadball Stars of the NL, and realized that it was really a throwback to this historic uniform. Now I like it.

47. robinred Posted: March 07, 2008 at 10:45 PM (#2708527)

Hadn't read this yet. Craig is on the money about the teams I pull for. The Reds should do a double-knit version of this and leave it alone:

Reds unis

As for the Padres, the current look has that focus group look, although the "sand" is a nice touch and they should wear those more. But I agree with "embrace the brown." It would give them a distinct look. I'd go double-knit with this uni but with alternate caps:

Padres unis

48. Better Schafer than Sorry Posted: March 07, 2008 at 11:30 PM (#2708550)

The worst Padres look was when they took to wearing fatigues. Wow, that was craptastic

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