The World Series begins tomorrow night. That means it’s time for the annual Uni Watch World Series Preview, which is jam-packed with fun uni-related facts about the D-backs and Rangers. I don’t mind saying that this is one of the best, deepest pieces of its type that I’ve ever put together — I actually learned a fair amount while researching this piece, and I think you’ll learn a lot by reading it!
You can read the first part of the World Series Preview here. In order to read the entire thing, you’ll need to become a paying subscriber to my Substack (which will also give you full access to my Substack archives). My thanks, as always, for your consideration and support!
Merely on the basis of the two teams left standing, this is the strangest WS in recent memory.
Sorry for commenting here but I can’t comment on the substack for some reason
The last all-artificial turf World Series was 2020 (all 7 games in the bubble in Texas). 1993 was the last “regular” World Series all on turf.
Ah, good point. I’ll add that to the Substack piece. Thank you!
AZ now has grass…
Meant to say they now have fake grass…
Actually, that is false.
Count me among the people who confused the bloody Nolan Ryan picture and the Robin Ventura fight.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m actually hoping both of these teams rep the city connect unis. Otherwise texas still has a very generic look and arizona is still a mess
My ideal matchup would be Peagles vs Teal & Purple, purely because my lizard brain wants my favorites of the two.
MLB has a strict policy: City Connects CAN NOT be used in the World Series. Sorry.
Do you have a cite?
Any reason given?
I may be alone in this, but I’m ever irked by the criticism that Texas “can’t decide” whether it’s a blue team or a red team. For the last decade or more, the Rangers have been, quote overtly and obviously, a red-and-blue team. In the past, sure, the Rangers oscillated wildly between red dominance and blue dominance, but they’ve built their (admitted very mediocre) current uniform set around balancing the two colors, much as the Texas state flag does.
Some teams use multiple colors in a more balance, equal-billing way than simply primary and accent. Take the Pirates, who have consistently given their gold more visual prominence than a mere accent or secondary color, or the Packers, who present as a green team in print branding but as a predominantly yellow team more often than not on the field. That’s not indecision or failure to commit, it’s a design choice. The post-2022 Twins are another (more visually successful, in my book) example of a team that embraces red and blue as nearly coequal team colors. That’s not a failure to choose, it’s a choice that the team made.
That 1994 Senators-inspired Rangers fauxback is both a revelation and a thing of beauty. Instantly my favorite uniform the franchise has ever worn. That photo was a true highlight of the preview for me, though really the whole thing is a visual feast of modern baseball uniformery, from the great (original D-Backs uniforms) to the terrible (everything either team will wear in this Series).
It’s official! Unfortunately, the World Series patch will be on the chest ( left side) of the World Series uniforms.
The Diamondbacks have a couple of players who wear arm sleeves and shoes that don’t match the team colors. One guy wears purple, so at least he’s representing their past colors, but still looks awful. Requiring team colors should be an official MLB rule, and if it already is it should be enforced.