In today's Twitterocracy, the initial urge is to slam any change that's suggested or announced. Over the past week, we yelped and yowled over the rumored changes for the Marlins (which I don't think are that bad) and the confirmed "alterations" for the San Diego Padres (which I will continue to think are sleep-inducingly bad).
But lest we get lulled into thinking that every uniform change in baseball history was for the worst, it's important to remember that it's sometimes for the best. That's why I've compiled five of the better sartorial switches in recent memory below.
The D-backs have a number of things working against them. They were born out of an expansion, must adhere to a desert theme that doesn't appeal to a majority of sane people and are named after a snake. Their odds of looking goofy are high.
And yet I think the sedona red look that Arizona has been wearing for a few seasons makes for one of the better kits in the league. The jerseys are distinct without employing a logo or colors best left for jewelry stores in Old Town Scottsdale.
I love me some Mike Schmidt in maroon and powder blue as much as the next Meech, but the Phillies' current look is a wonderful callback to the franchise's earlier days. Clean and concise, the Fightins' seamlessly blend into the traditional East Coast look.
While I still admire the very AL-looking trident logo, there's no question the M's nailed their compass logo when they introduced it in the early '90s. It's a classic look for a team that was born in 1977 and features the best use of teal from the color's crazy popularity boom (which is, to say, sparing).
Though the White Sox passed on the retro ballpark fad to build the unremarkable Comiskey Park II, they launched the movement to re-adopt lost classics when getting dressed. Was it a result of a desire to market to the Los Angeles Raiders and Kings crowd? Perhaps, but at least it put an end to the weird days of playing in shorts and jerseys more suited for 16-inch softball.
The Rays drop the "Devil" and the Triple-A quality uniforms and make the World Series the next fall. Coincidence? Well, their talent and bullpen had a lot to do with it, but the Rays finally getting with the program after 10 years of looking like a MS Paint project gone wrong didn't hurt.
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