As a whole, baseball uniforms are in a good place. It's now
time to figure out which baseball team is in the best place when it comes to
uniforms.
30: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
In 2018, the Diamondbacks did a "Throwback Thursday"
promotion where they wore various old uniforms from their 20 seasons as a major
league team. It served as a bittersweet reminder of the team's glory days —
both when it came to on-field success and its uniform looks. They are far, far
removed from the glory days when it comes to their uniforms.
29: SAN DIEGO PADRES
The good news is that 2019 will be the final year Padres
fans will have to deal with their team wearing the most boring uniforms in all
of baseball, as they will be going back to brown in 2020. The bad news is that
they still have to make it through one more season. We're all pulling for you,
San Diego.
28: COLORADO ROCKIES
The Rockies don't necessarily have a bad set of uniforms;
it's just that there's nothing really exciting about them. They also still
inexplicably wear a sleeveless black uniform, which is a shame because
sleeveless uniforms went out of style in baseball over a decade ago. It's time
for some sort of change in Colorado.
28: COLORADO ROCKIES
The Rockies don't necessarily have a bad set of uniforms;
it's just that there's nothing really exciting about them. They also still
inexplicably wear a sleeveless black uniform, which is a shame because
sleeveless uniforms went out of style in baseball over a decade ago. It's time
for some sort of change in Colorado.
26: TEXAS RANGERS
Like the Padres battling between brown and gold and navy
blue, the Rangers are battling whether they want to be a red team or a blue
team. Sometimes you see the Rangers wearing blue hats and socks, then the next
day you'll see them wearing red hats and socks — and they do this with the same
white uniform. It would be nice to see the Rangers pick one color and go with
it. If that happens, they'd take a leap in these rankings.
25: MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins have a solid set of away uniforms, and the navy
blue road jersey is nice as well. The bad news is that their home jersey, their
red alternate jersey and their new navy blue alternate jersey are all weighed
down by an unnecessary touch of gold, and it really brings down the entire
uniform rotation.
24: MIAMI MARLINS
After retreating into a black hole when it came to their
color scheme, the Marlins have finally embraced splashes of color once again
after they made yet another identity overhaul. This time, the Marlins are using
"Miami blue" and "Caliente red" as accent colors, and while
there's still a focus on black, there's at least a bit more spice when it comes
their uniforms.
23: MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Do you see that glorious logo adorning Christian Yelich's
helmet and sleeves? Unfortunately, the Brewers haven't figured out that all
they need to do is make it their primary one. The ball-in-glove logo is
timeless, and it looks great in the current color scheme. Once the Brewers
decide to center their identity around the classic logo, they will be on the
right path. Until then, they remain painfully close to success.
22: CLEVELAND INDIANS
2019 has come and Cleveland has made the objective
improvement of removing Chief Wahoo from all of their uniforms. It's a genuine
improvement, but Cleveland is still stifled by having somewhat uninspired
uniforms that get lost in the navy, blue and red pool.
21: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The Giants look fantastic when they play at home. If this
list took only home uniforms into consideration, then San Francisco would be
top tier. Instead, we have to consider their road uniforms and those are the
main reason why the Giants are in the 20s.
20: HOUSTON ASTROS
The Houston Astros have a solid look; their only real
misstep comes in the form of their strange navy blue alternate uniforms that
are loosely inspired by their infamous "Tequila Sunrise" ones. With
that being said, Houston's uniforms are safe but still slightly interesting
thanks to the embrace of orange. The Astros could do with wearing their orange
jerseys more often, but these are just fine.
19: ATLANTA BRAVES
The Braves are similar to the Giants in that they have a
great look whenever they play at home. Unfortunately, they have to leave
Georgia to play games and when they do, they're stuck with a road alternate
that's improved for the 2019 season but still superfluous and a road uniform
that is brought down by an all-navy cap. Fix those problems, and the Braves
would have an elite set of uniforms.
18: SEATTLE MARINERS
Amazingly, one of the first teams to adopt teal during the
wacky logo and uniform days of the 1990s has stuck with it and been successful
for the most part. The Mariners have made small tweaks to their uniform every
now and then, but their core identity has stood the test of time. They even
found a way to mash up the old colors with their current look, and it still
worked. It should also tell you that baseball uniforms are in a good state
right now when this is considered to be "middle of the road."
17: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
There are no frills with the Phils. They've stuck with this
look since the early 1990s, and it's served them well over time. Better
uniforms have been unveiled over the years, but the Phillies haven't felt the
need to change. Why should they? It's a solid look and one that still gets the
job done after all of this time, even if they slightly changed their primary
logo ahead of the 2019 season.
16: KANSAS CITY ROYALS
The Royals are another team with a look that isn't going to
be the most beautiful thing that you see. But it's still a good look. The royal
blue is the star of the show here, and you can't go wrong with that classic
K.C. hat as well. This uniform being in the middle of the pack isn't a bad
thing, but it's more of an indication of the quality that's left to come.
15: CINCINNATI REDS
The Reds are still reaping the benefits of a an excellent
identity refresh ahead of the 2007 season that saw them leave the dark ages of
mostly black uniforms so they could once again embrace red uniforms. There are
still traces of black, as it’s unfortunately prominent as a brim color on the
away uniform's hats, but it's used as an accent instead of a focal point. That
is a minor quip to what's been a major success for the Reds.
14: WASHINGTON NATIONALS
You can make all of the Walgreens jokes that you want, but
there's no denying that the Nationals have some pretty good uniforms. The
number font that they use is especially nice, and that's what helps it stand
out from other uniforms. Plus, if there's ever a team that should be decked out
in red, white and blue, it's the team that plays within walking distance of
Capitol Hill.
13: BALTIMORE ORIOLES
When it comes to hats, the Baltimore Orioles' caps are
top-tier. Their home pinwheel hats are exceptionally nice, but the Cartoon Bird
is what really makes their entire uniform stand out from the crowd. The
uniforms below the neck aren't too exciting, but that hat logo is absolutely
amazing and has basically carried the Orioles to this lofty position.
12: LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Angels may have
messed around with their official name a few times, but ever since they went to
their current identity, they've stuck with it. That's for good reason — this is
an absolute winner of a look, and there are no weak links in their uniform set.
Their home uniform works, their away uniform perfectly complements the home
uniform and while their alternate red uniform may overdo it with that color,
it's still not ugly by any stretch of the imagination. The script works, the
number font is great and the look is just a GREAT ONE FOR THE ANGELS.
11: Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have basically worn the same home uniform for the
vast majority of their long history, but this year they made a small but
important tweak to it. The Old English "D" logo on the jersey now
matches the "D" on the hat! Everything is in perfect synergy, and the
Tigers have a better overall look because of this.
10: LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The Dodgers have a uniform set that has truly stood the test
of time. All you have to do is replace "LA" with "B", and
the team will basically be wearing the same uniforms it wore when Jackie
Robinson was blazing trails in Brooklyn. Plus, the away uniforms have caught up
with the home uniforms in recent years. Los Angeles really can't go wrong with
any choice of uniform on any given day.
9: NEW YORK METS
The Mets are back on the rise, and their doing so while
wearing some lovely uniforms. Like the Reds, the Mets greatly benefited from
putting black on the sidelines — only New York actually completely eliminated
black. They're a strictly blue-and-orange team, and it's a look that is
superbly done and works well for the Mets.
8: BOSTON RED SOX
All the Red Sox had to do to get things right was to simply
wear red socks. However, the Red Sox have also gotten things right by not
changing much. Their home uniform has remained basically untouched for decades,
and their away uniform does the trick as well. Their unique number font is one
of the best in all of sports, and even their alternate uniforms are well done.
This is a lovely set of uniforms, and it's a look that Boston should never
stray far away from.
7: CHICAGO CUBS
The Cubs are no longer lovable losers with excellent
uniforms — they're now big-time winners with great uniforms to boot. Their
home, road and alternate uniforms are all good, and the best part is that they
all share a great shade of blue. Combine that with the lovely shade of red that
accentuates the entire look, and you have the recipe for a classic set of
uniforms that the Cubs should never feel the need to change. They play in a
classic ballpark, and the uniforms live up to the standards of it.
6. CHICAGO WHITE SOX
One of the best decisions that the Chicago White Sox made as
a franchise was deciding to bring in the 1990s with the black-and-white look.
This brought much-needed stability to a club whose tradition was to switch up
uniforms every few years. Now, could you imagine seeing the White Sox wearing
anything other than their classic black-and-white color scheme? No, you can't.
The White Sox hit the jackpot with this look and even when they occasionally
wear throwbacks, you can't see them in any other identity at this point.
5. TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Blue Jays are another team that hit the jackpot when
going back to a traditional look. Their identity from their days of winning the
World Series on back-to-back occasions was beloved by fans. Not only did they
update that look, but they improved upon it as well. From the hat to the pants,
this is a fantastic look.
4. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The Cardinals have excellent uniforms from top to bottom.
Their home uniforms are great, their road uniforms are more of the same and
their home alternates are gorgeous. The only real misstep is the navy blue hats
that they wear on Sundays at home. But even still, that's minor for what is a
truly elite set of uniforms.
3. NEW YORK YANKEES
They've had this look for what feels like forever, and they
haven't felt the need to add any alternate uniforms or other bells and whistles
because there's no reason to mess with perfection. The New York Yankees have
stuck with a winning uniform set throughout their long history of doing a lot
of winning. You will never see the Yankees change things up with their
uniforms, and that is one of the only assurances that we have in life.
2. OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The Oakland A's have achieved uniform perfection. Their home
uniform is iconic, their road uniform matches it, their regular green alternate
is fantastic, their gold alternate is lovely and they may very well have one of
the best alternate uniforms in all of baseball with their kelly green
alternates. Simply put, the A's have excellent uniforms across the board, and
it's 2nd best in all of baseball.
1: PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Speaking of unique number fonts that work well, the Pittsburgh
Pirates are a prime example of that. The font fits the swashbuckling theme of a
team that's nicknamed the Pirates, and the it has a great set of uniforms. I
love the batting practice bright gold jersey with black pants. The execution of
the concept is not the best. Still, the Pirates have a nice collection of
uniforms to choose from.
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