American League Uniforms

Ah, Spring Training.  Baseball is back in the air.  With plenty of snow here on the ground, it just increases my Spring itch.  I have to write about baseball, because I certainly am thinking about it a lot.  This Spring, I wanted to talk about the uniforms.  I have always liked the uniforms, and I have strong opinions about them.  My plan is to give a grade for each team’s current uniforms, and then talk about my favorite/least favorite uniforms for each franchise (note: for the older franchises many of the early years had no logos, which I will not factor into the best/worst).  Let’s jump into the American League.

Baltimore:

Grade: B+

Their white home jerseys are pretty good, but by far my favorite are the orange alternate jerseys with the white-front cap (I usually like caps that are three toned).  I am not a fan of their black jerseys nor of their “O’s” caps.  As usual, the road grays are average.

Best: 1989-1992

Before they were in Baltimore, they were the St. Louis Browns.  Their uniforms were largely as plain as they get.  Once they moved to Baltimore, the uniforms have been largely…uniform.  The biggest difference usually comes down to caps: smiling bird face or full bird.  I prefer the late 80s/early 90s version with orange alternate. 

Worst:  1995-1996

Again, it usually comes down to the caps, and for some reason these two seasons they had gray road caps.  Way too much gray.

Boston:

Grade: B+

While their uniforms are pretty classic, they are, let’s be honest, somewhat boring.  The alternate uniforms are decent, I think I prefer the blue over the red.  The caps are simple but always good.  I am glad they have gone back to wearing red socks.

Best:  1908

The first year they became the “Red Sox,” they went all out and had them on the jerseys.  For some reason, they only kept these beauties for one year.  They were previously the Boston Americans, hence the “B A” alternates, which are equally great.

Worst: 1973

These aren’t particularly bad, but since their uniforms have been pretty much the same since the 30s, I had to pick out something.  In this case, I am not a big fan of the pullover look versus the regular button downs.

New York:

Grade: A-

Similar to the Red Sox, they are classic and somewhat boring.  The edge is their pinstripes and the NY is nice.  I always appreciate that they have no alternates.

It’s not worth it to do a Best/Worst because it has basically been they have basically been the same throughout franchise history.

Tampa:

Grade: C-

The Rays uniforms are kind of plain and uninspired.  Their primary cap is fine, the alternate is dumb.  The dark blue uniform is definitely their best, the light blue is pretty bad.

Best: 2005-2007

The only Rays uniforms I think are halfway decent, I like these because of the green sleeves.  Even then, I’d only give them a barely passing grade.

Worst: 1998-2000

The original “Devil Rays” uniforms have the late-90s comical look that did not work.  They had way too many “unique” colors to make them stand out, and they were bad.

Toronto:

Grade: B+

Something about their uniforms works.  I love the jay logo with the red maple leaf.  Interestingly their blue “alternate” uniform, their best, was also worn the most last year.  I like how the numbers are not just solid.

Best:  1989-1990

A lot of teams went with the light blue road uniforms in the 70s and 80s, and I was a big fan.  This was definitely the best look for them.

Worst:  2004-2005

Yeah, I did not like the “new” look with the “Jays” across the front, and I did not understand why they did away with the classic logo.  They were smart to go back to the older look starting in 2012.  Especially bad are the gray home caps during these two years.

Chicago:

Grade: C

These uniforms are kind of boring.  Similar to Toronto, their black “alternates” were used the most last year.  In fact, they only wore the home pinstripes (my favorite) 27 games and the road grays 23 games.  It’s like they are trying to copy the Yankees, but they don’t have the historical gravitas.

Best: 1912-1915

For about two decades starting in 1912 their uniforms were variations on a theme, but these are my favorite.  I really like the “Sox” logo with the pinstripes for home, and the unusual (for the time) road dark blues.  Oh, and they actually wore white socks!

Worst: 1976-1981

These are the infamous softball jerseys for the White Sox, truly some of the worst for any franchise in baseball history.  Collars?  Boring blue and white?  Shorts (at least once)?  What were they thinking?

Cleveland:

Grade: C-

Usually red, white, and blue, are my favorite combos, but these uniforms are just boring.  We’re seeing a trend here, they wore their alternate blues the most.  I also usually like alternate blues, but again for some reason these just don’t work for me.  I guess I’m just not a fan of the script “Indians.”  This year, they are getting rid of Chief Wahoo on the caps, which is a shame (I know, racist, but it is much more interesting than the “C”).

Best:  1989-1993

I could say I like these most because I like the multicolor shoulders.  I could, but really I like these mostly because of the movie Major League (actually the second one, but I do prefer the striped shoulders over the plain ones from the first movie and 1986-1988).

Worst: 1974-1977

The Indians added red uniforms which definitely looked more pink.  They were incredibly ugly.  Especially terrible are the all “red” alternates they sometimes wore.

Detroit:

Grade: A

Classic, clean, really nice.  Even the road grays with the script “Detroit” work.  I also really like the Old English “D.”  These uniforms are so good they don’t need alternates.

Best:  1995-1997

The only real difference between these and the present uniforms?  The road cap had the tiger figure in the “D” and an orange brim.  I like this little difference just slightly better.

Worst:  1927

The vast majority of their uniforms have been similar, and similarly great.  This single season they went with cartoon tigers on their jerseys.  Those tigers were…less than great.  Good for them they ended the experiment after one season.

Kansas City:

Grade: C+

I don’t dislike these uniforms, they are just slightly above average.  I do like their “KC,” but not a huge fan of either of the alternate blue uniforms.

Best:  1973-1982

With the Red Sox, I said I prefer button-downs to pullovers.  Here, I am saying the opposite.  Maybe it is because these are from their best years, but the simple script on the home whites and the light blue road jerseys work best for me.

Worst:  1983-1991

Again, it seems like I am contradicting myself, since these years they went with the button-down jerseys.  What I really don’t like about them is the white script “Royals” on the road light blues.  It just does not work for me.  But to be honest, most of the uniforms in franchise history are about the same.

Minnesota:

Grade: C

Their set of uniforms are fine.  My favorite jersey would be the alternate pinstripe whites with the different script “Twins.”  I do not like the red alternate jerseys.  I am a fan of the caps with the “TC” logo.

Best:  1961-1971

Before they were in Minnesota, they were the Washington Senators/Nationals.  The Washington uniforms were all fairly bland, but not terrible.  Most of the uniforms since they’ve been in Minnesota have been fine, if I were grading them all they’d mostly be in the “C”s.  I basically just decided to go with the originals with the more simple “Twins” script.

Worst: 1987-2009

Two things I don’t like about these.  First, while I usually like pinstripes, I did not like the road grays with pinstripes.  Second: I hated the “M” caps.

Houston:

Grade: A-

Yes, I am a little biased, but I also really like the orange/blue combos.  I love that they returned to the H-star caps, especially with the orange brim.  Regarding the jerseys, I am still not totally solid on the alternate blues, though I do like how the sides call back to the rainbow unis.  The orange jerseys really stand out, but I also really like the classic, clean look of the home whites.  I usually prefer pinstripes, but in this case I’m glad they are not.

Best: 1965-1970

Everybody loves the Colt .45s jersey, but for the Astros the original shooting star is still my favorite.  I like most uniforms for the franchise, but this stands out for simplicity yet uniqueness.  The following four years the uniforms was similar except orange instead of blue, but I definitely like the blue better.

Worst: 2000-2012

I get why they went to the brick red uniforms after moving to then-Enron Field, but it was a complete disconnect from the rest of the franchise uniforms.  Since they don’t look like the Astros should look, they are my least favorite.  I was very happy when they went “retro” in 2013.

Los Angeles:

Grade: D

Like some other teams, they use their alternates the most.  Unfortunately, the alternate reds are easily their worst, and some of the worst in baseball.  It’s just way too much red.  Red on red on red.  The regular home whites are fine, as are the road grays, but those reds are just so bad.  It might be better if they had a blue cap that went with them, but no, the caps are also red on red.  Not good.

Best: 1973-1992

The uniform they have worn the longest was also their best.  There are just enough unique things about it, the halo around the “A”, the California on the sleeve, to keep it from being too boring.  I prefer it to the current set because of the use of blue rather than an overload of red.

Worst: 1997-2001

While the current uniforms are not great, the late 90s unis with the cartoonish angel wings were worse.  Some of the reworks in that era worked, this one definitely didn’t.

Oakland:

Grade: A

I love the A’s green and yellow.  Their alternate greens are the best, and of course they are worn the most.  Pretty much all of their jerseys are top notch, except the alternate yellow.  I prefer the home caps with the yellow brims, but the road all-greens are not bad.  There is really little to downgrade them, other than the yellow jerseys.

Best: 1987-Present

I love the Philadelphia uniforms, which were usually either with a large “A” or an elephant on the jersey.  When they were in Kansas City, in 1963, they switched from blue/red to green/yellow which they use now.  The uniform has been largely consistent since 1987, with slight variations.  I have already said why I like these so much.

Worst: 1968

The greens during this era were too yellow; I much prefer the darker green used now.  There is also the problem with the all-yellow unis they used.  Finally, I think this is the only year they went with “Oakland” across the chest, which is a bad departure from the historical “A’s”.

Seattle:

Grade: C-

I’ve never really bought into these uniforms, though they have been using them for a long time now.  Maybe my grade is a little harsh, but I just do not particularly like them.  I guess the regular home whites are okay, but nothing special.  The blues are probably their best, but the teals are hideous.

Best: 1981-1984

I definitely prefer the “pitchforks” (as my brothers called them) from the early years, plus the light blue road uniforms.  Maybe it’s a bit too much with the stripes down the sides, but I kind of like it.

Worst: 1993-Present

Yes, they have basically worn the same uniforms for over 25 years, or most of the Griffey years and since.  I already mentioned why I do not like them much.

Texas:

Grade: B-

The Rangers’ uniforms are kind of all over the place.  They almost have too many choices.  My favorite are the home whites, though the alternate blues are not bad.  I am not a huge fan of the alternate reds.  It seems like they should have better uniforms.  At least they have the Texas flag patches on the arms.

Best: 1976-1982

It’s a hard choice because I definitely liked the Ryan-era jerseys, but I like these for a couple of reasons.  First, I like the “Old West” look of the lettering.  Second, once again light blue road jerseys are winners.  Third, those road jerseys were definitely better than the boring road grays from the Ryan-era.

Worst: 1983

I don’t really remember seeing these before researching this post.  The jerseys are just too busy.  The logo may be okay as a logo, but not on the jersey.  Smart that they changed after one year.