The Toronto Blue Jays are going red for Sunday games this upcoming MLB season.
Canada’s only active baseball team unveiled new red and white alternate uniforms, which the club will wear each Sunday home game.
We are excited to unveil our new alternate red and white uniform 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #WT2017 https://t.co/1RnkKSpS3g
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 20, 2017
The new look is reminiscent of the Canada Day jerseys the Blue Jays have sported for the past couple years. Unlike that version, only worn during Canada’s birthday celebration, Toronto will wear these jerseys throughout the season.
If the new duds were for Canada Day, or even the entire Canada Day weekend, I wouldn’t have much of a problem with them. The pure red represents Canadian heritage. The alternates are to partially honor the 150th birthday of Canada – but will be used beyond this season. It would be tolerable and somewhat fitting. However, rolling the look out on a weekly basis and beyond is just plain bad. The new look should be Canada Day alternates, not a regular feature in the Blue Jays jersey rotation.
*Extremely Champ Kind voice” It’s the Toronto ‘Blue’ Jays, not the Toronto ‘Red’ Jays. There’s got to be blue detailed somewhere in the jersey. The pure red look is ugly and unimpressive. It’s too much. Did the designer use the Photoshop fill color option and just say “fuck it?” The look wouldn’t be so bad with a few touches of anything different throughout. Making the trim blue, or the Blue Jays logo blue would have easily remedied and saved the look. Instead, it’s the jersey equivalent of The Red Wedding.
There’s also issues with the new hat. Again, it’s too much of one color. The Blue Jays have worn similar hats before with the latest version seeming to instill the worst qualities about it. There clearly needs to be some more white or blue added to the hat. White trim around the maple leaf is a nice touch but doesn’t go nearly as far. They’re boring and unpolished.
New Toronto #BlueJays red alternate cap, no Jays logo on the back just MLB batterman pic.twitter.com/hZyQznsPdt
— SportsLogos.Net (@sportslogosnet) January 20, 2017
The throwback, regular jerseys the Blue Jays wear is among the best, classic looks in the league. There’s something elegant about the simple design and color usage. To go from that look to this monstrosity is a clear downgrade.
For a team with a color in its name to not regularly use that color on their alternates is pretty ridiculous. A solution would have been including a red patch with the a variation of the “150th anniversary” on blue jerseys. That way, there’s no dedication to the color palate, but instead, a light touch worn each game. Instead, the Blue Jays threw red paint on the wall and called it a new look. It’s a shame the jerseys will be worn past this year.
We get it, you’re Canada’s team – a fact the Blue Jays are shoving down our throat with the new look.
