Excellent stuff, Cliff. Pastels do not belong on a baseball uniform, as it's questionable if they belong on a man in any form. (see Miami Vice)

I remember when the charlotte hornets came into existence and they had the clothing designer, Alexander Julian, create their ghastly uni's. The franchise ending up leaving and I'm not sure if Mr. Julian is still in the designing business, either.

Good article, Cliff. Soemthing else I think is interesting about the new D-Backs uniform is they now feature the team name. Last year, they were one of only three teams (the Yankees and Tigers being the other two) to not have a nickname on either their home or road jerseys.

i really miss the simplicity in uniforms. 2 or 3 colors are a plenty. the cardinals have, to me, the best by far. it just looks classic and traditional and it looks like the game of baseball is about to commence. great colors. well placed on the uniform. symmetry is important. i agree with you on the Reds looking good in red and white. why did Kansas City and the NY Mets also pull black into their color scheme? they ruined an otherwise simple (blue, white and gold / blue, white and orange respectively) and unique uniform. i really wish i could "fix" the uniforms. some are tough to look at while trying to enjoy the game. i think the Orioles do it well. The Yankees and White Sox and Tigers too, by keeping it very simple. Change isn't always good. I like the Braves and how they returned to the Milwaukee/Boston roots. Oh yeah, the Red Sox have a wonderful uniform full of tradition. I like that the Phillies revisited a classic. I'm not a fan of too many logos on the sleeves and on the side of hats either. I don't like that enourmous patch on the side of the hats of the World Series teams. It makes me nervous as one change usually leads to another.

Watch, the D'Backs will add some gold trim around their numbers and end up looking like USC. I liked the old D'Back uniform precisely because they were crazy and unique. They also reminded me of the good 'ol days of the 1970's, when the Astros had the best (worst) uniforms ever. And say what you will about the color schemes then, but you had a lot of teams wearing road uniforms in powder blue, which beats the heck out of the 'modern' trend towards drab gray (why not go back to wool while they're at it?). Finally, this needs to be said: the most colorful World Series had to be the 1979 matchup between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which featured no small amount of black, but also bright yellow, bold orange, and smooth white. And it was probably one of the greatest Series in history. Coincidence?

The Red Sox uniform, pure class. Same for the Cardinals. The Mets on the other hand have uniforms that are more appropriate to open up Barnum and Bailey Circus. What ugly combinations of blue,NOT NAVY BLUE, orange, white and black all mixed together in an ugly mess that represents the height of poor taste.Maybe they want opposing teams to laugh themselves to death so they can win the game. Just put Navy Blue, with orange on white uniforms and make a statement that we are a professional team.

Great article, but those new D'backs jerseys are great for Arizona fans period.

THERE ARE TOO MANY TEAMS IN SPORTS THAT WEAR RED UNIFORMS!!!!!!!!
An excellent example is the English Premier League and now Baseball can be a prime example

Of course, this year the Pirates have added a red alternate top (an alternate cap in recent years had a red bill). When I saw it unveiled, I was wondering who in the Bucs' front office was a University of Maryland fan -- the red, black and gold looks like something the Terrapin baseball team would wear. (Ironically, the Terps' latest uniform design evokes their new baseball neighbors, the Washington Nationals; the "TERRAPINS" looks like a clone of the "NATIONALS" on the Washington jerseys, and the numbers are similar, too.)

Cliff, you kind of lost me when you said that the uniform changes were needed. I disagree. In fact, they were a step backward for both. You don't have to believe me. A plurality of Diamondback fans consider the change to be bad. Just check on Wikipedia under "Diamondbacks". As for the Reds, their uniforms last year- black and red- were distinctive. Now they just look mundane. There is a common misconception among baseball marketing people that changing the team's colors or something else central to the team's identity will improve marketing efforts. Never mind the fact that it might back-fire and alienate some fans.

Uniform colors are not the only key aspect of a team's identity that gets messed around with for the sake of money. In the case of my Yankees, they're pulling the plug on Yankee Stadium in a couple years. And this is another revenue-increasing idea, mind you.

I think it all boils down to money and marketing. Other than the never-changing traditional uniforms (Yankees, Tigers, etc), these teams that are constantly changing are forcing their fans who purchase jerseys, etc. to continue to buy the new updated merchandise. It is a way to draw attention to themselves in a marketing way. Whatever happened to keeping a team's identity and just playing ball. Free agents, who despite saying "it's not about the money" consistently prove it is about the money and fan gouging by greedy owners ($5 for a beer at the ballpark...give me a break) all go to prove that greed and profits rule the day and the fan be damned.

Interesting.

More interesting: The fact that SI.com can post an entire column about the D-Backs' uniform and color change, but - almost a week into the season - they still haven't managed to upload Arizona's correct new logo.

Who gives a flying %^$@ about the color or design of the uniforms. Next you will be talking about hairdos and whether a uniform makes me look fat or not (u sound like some women I know). WHO CARES !!! Lets play BASEBALL.........

I think the Diamondbacks should have cut out some of their all-too numerous previous colors and become distinctive, rather than simply blending in with the Cardinals, Nationals, and Astros.

Also, how 'bout the Giants' uniforms? They are extremely simple, good looking, and distinctive at the same time- does anyone else have the old school cream colored tops?

I think all MLB teams should just switch to red and get it over with. I am a D-backs fan and I LOVED their old uniforms -- unique and traditional, as far as AZ baseball goes. If they really need to change something why not start winning again (remember 2001)? That would be a welcome change. Squished-bug red will not help them win but it turns my stomach.

My current favorite has got to be the Seattle Mariners. Simple, solid colors that have been consistent and attractive for about the last 14 seasons. The lone exception was the awful "Northwest Green" sleeveless alternative jersey from about 1995-1997.

it's ALL about the money.

I WISH i could get a $5 beer at Chavez Ravine.

's cute, labelling the mick with "homophobia" now that he's gone. are we sure he was scared? maybe just contemptuous, although wrongly so.

Julian's is very much still in buisness: http://www.julianstyle.com/. Alexander Juilan also did the Tar Heels argyle-styled uniforms. Make of that what you like ...

I think that the Mariners change should be considered a whole-sale change in color scheme. I mean, yeah...they stayed with a certain HUE of blue...but it's a totally different look.

There's a world of difference in Navy versus Royal as far as blues go.

And silver versus "gold" (which was really a rich yellow).

As a citizen of Seattle, I must say that I appreciate the current color scheme so very much. And they have one of the better unis in MLB as far as I'm concerned.

Now, if they could just put together a team that would match the quality of their unis and Ichiro, then all would be better...

"The Diamondbacks were the clear choice for worst uniform in the majors from the moment they entered the league in 1998."

No, the clear choice for bad was - and still is - the Rockies. Bad colors, bad use of overlapping C and R. They used to have an icon that had the Rockies in the bkgd that looked good on a brochure, but bad on a t-shirt or uni. Rockies, clearly the worst.

Baseball is just doing what it always does, the teams without a strong theme follow the fashion trend about a decade late (black and red). Now everyone is going to piping on the sleeves and pants. Arizona's uniform design is nice, but their colors are too much like Houston. What about the Twins updating their look?