The Mets held a press conference today to announce a slew of things pertaining to their 50th anniversary. None of these things matter nearly as much as the team's ability to win baseball games, but it's November 16 so let's have a look at what's in store for the celebration.
Logo
No celebration of anything is complete without a logo. Here's what the Mets came up with.
Does it look like a light bulb? I'll let you decide.
Semi-awkward shape aside, it's a pretty good logo for the occasion. It looks a bit old fashioned, and hey, that's the point, right? From the Mets' press release:
The logo will be affixed to player jerseys on the left sleeve, replacing the primary logo for the anniversary season, and on the back of blue game caps.
As far as sleeve patches go, it's an infinite upgrade over this monstrosity:
It also looks a lot sharper in actual patch form, which you can see on the Mets' official website. It's a bit clunky on the back of the hat, but overall it's a job well done.
Uniforms
Unlike our very own James Kannengieser, I wouldn't even be able to write up a tepid defense of the Mets' black uniforms. The Mets aren't getting rid of them next year, but the focus during the announcement was on the series of jerseys the Mets will introduce in an attempt to honor those worn by the original Mets. Let's hope that means a big reduction in the use of the black jerseys. From the release:
The black drop shadow will be removed from the Mets script logo, letters and numbers. The pinstripe uniform will be the primary home uniform with the white and black alternate jerseys worn on select dates. The blue cap will be worn with the home pinstripes and white uniforms, and the road grey uniforms.
I've never been a big fan of the drop shadow so I'll give that move a thumbs up. It makes sense with the anniversary theme, too, of course. As for the hats, it's probably possible to count on one hand the number of times the Mets wore blue hats with road uniforms over the past several years. It's about time.
Here are the photos the Mets sent out with their release of the home pinstripe, home white, and road grey tops, respectively.
Those are some good looking jerseys, but number twelve?!? I thought of Jeff Francoeur, Scott Hairston, and Roberto Alomar before realizing they were using the number since next year is 2012. Pretty clever, Mets.
Anyways, the only authentic Mets jersey I have ever owned is a white pinstripe Carlos Beltran circa 2008. If I were ever to buy a new one, it would be the new pinstripe with Dickey on the back.
Promotions
The Mets are bringing back an old tradition in Banner Day. If there's not at least one banner demanding the Mets "TRAID DAVID WRONG," I'll be very disappointed. In addition:
The Mets will celebrate each decade of Mets history with a series of alumni bobblehead giveaways. Mets legend and Hall of Famer Tom Seaver will kick off the series in April.
There are six months in a baseball season. The Mets are currently playing in their sixth decade of existence. If they stick to that schedule, will they have the guts to have a Jose Reyes bobblehead day if he is a part of Mets history by the start of the season?