Lots Of New Logos

Evidently I'm a Denver Broncos fan now.  At least I know and can come to terms with it.  But we're not talking about Peyton today.  Nope.  Instead, we're swinging into baseball mode.  Our annual six-part baseball preview is coming up soon.  But before that, I want to take a look at some of the new logos we're going to see this season.  There seems to be a lot of them.  Evidently, some teams paid attention to the uniform rankings I posted last January.  Others have anniversary logos (like the Red Sox' Fenway Park patch).  Some are good changes (the Blue Jays were reminded what color is in their name), while I'm not a fan of some (the Astros), and indifferent to others.  First, let's take a look at the new logos we're going to see:

Toronto Blue Jays: Finally!  Somebody told the BLUE Jays that they should stop wearing uniforms with primary colors of black and gray.  I love it when teams change their uniforms three or four times in a 15-year period, only to eventually go back to their logo from the '80s.  The Blue Jays didn't do that exactly, but they might as well have.  If you're going to redesign your uniform, this is the way to do it.  The maple leaf seems oddly placed on the blue jay's head (I guess they had to remind people that they play in Canada), but that's nitpicking.  This logo is a winner.  And it's made even better because of how bad the other one was.

Miami Marlins: We all knew the Marlins were going to do something with their logo to go along with the name change, new ballpark and virtually complete rebranding (not to mention the decision to try to be competitive).  I'm one of the few people who actually liked the old logo, so I'm still lukewarm on the new one.  I don't like the yellow, it's too much orange, and is that orange and blue thing on top of the M supposed to be a marlin?  Plus, the logo's way too big on the hats.  There are about 15 different versions of the jersey, one of which is orange and incredibly ugly.  I can't say I've formed an opinion one way or the other on these, but I'm leaning more towards not liking them.

New York Mets: After the incredibly horrible Citi Field Inaugural Season logo in 2009, the Mets made the apple come out of the top hat with their 50th anniversary logo.  There is nothing to criticize here.  It's beautiful.  When you have a logo as simple and classic as the Mets have, you don't need to go overboard on anniversaries.  They didn't.  This is as elegant an anniversary logo as I've ever seen.  The Mets also get a ton of bonus points for finally ditching the black uniforms!  Your colors are blue and orange.  Thank you for realizing that.

Houston Astros: ...And then we have the Astros' 50th anniversary logo.  This is what not to do.  The Astros, of course, have been Exhibit A in what not to do uniform-wise for most of their history, so this hideous anniversary logo shouldn't really come as a surprise.  It looks like they tried to take elements of every ugly logo/uniform they've ever had and combine them into one.  Rumor has it, they also wanted to bring back their original Colt .45 uniforms, but people weren't really too keen on the guns, making it a no-go.  They're supposedly changing the logo (and potentially the name) when they switch leagues next year.  Anything they come up with will have to be better, right?

Boston Red Sox: Fenway Park is old, huh?  Like the Mets, the Red Sox got the concept of keep it simple.  When you do that, what you get is something elegant that will look beautiful on a uniform sleeve.  Fenway's such an iconic ballpark that it deserves a beautiful logo.  The Red Sox succeeded in giving it one.  This is the model that the Cubs need to use when developing the logo for Wrigley's 100th anniversary in two years.

Kansas City Royals: In case you were wondering, this is what the All-Star Game logo looks like.  The Royals are hosting it for the first time since 1973, so, like all All-Star hosts, they'll have the logo on their sleeve.  The inspiration is the Kauffman Stadium scoreboard, which is shaped like the Royals' logo.  I've gotta say, I kinda like the All-Star Game logo.  It's very regal.  Which is good when the home team's name is the "Royals."  I'm a fan of the gold crown, and the blue banners look like they're hanging out a window and down the side of a castle.  Bonus points for using baseball bats as the rods holding the banners up.  Evidently the Royals are making minor tweaks to their uniforms, as well, but they're not significant enough to comment on.

Baltimore Orioles: Finally, we've got the Orioles, who resurrected the cartoon bird that last adorned their hats in 1988.  They started 0-22 that season and replaced this dude with the (as Michael Kay says) "ornithologically correct" oriole on a black hat.  That's still the main logo, but this guy's back on the home hats, which will have white front and black back.  That look is very '80s.  It didn't need to be resurrected.  This guy's cute, but he didn't need to be resurrected, either.  I'm not sure if the Orioles got bored or what, but they didn't need a change.  But a version of this logo was on their hats during the glory days of the late '60s and early '70s, and you can't really fault them for bringing back a piece of their history.  I'm not a fan for now, but I'll see them often enough that they'll probably grow on me.

So...the breakdown.  Good: Blue Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Royals.  Bad: Marlins, Astros.  Not sure: Orioles.