Ever since the Mets brought back their black alternate jerseys in 2021, the BFBS tops have been paired with a cap that features a white-outlined logo. But that will apparently be changing in 2024.
Although the team hasn’t yet made an official announcement, a black cap with a slightly different logo — without the white outline — quietly appeared in the team’s online shop a few days ago. The listing for this cap refers to it as “Alternate On-Field,” and a promo banner refers to it as “Mets Alternate Headwear,” so this design is apparently being added to the team’s wardrobe.
Meanwhile, the cap with the white-outlined logo is no longer listed in the team’s online shop, so it has apparently been mothballed.
The Mets began wearing black jerseys in 1998. They were initially paired with a cap featuring a black crown, a blue brim, and a blue/orange logo:
This cap had the same logo as the new alternate that’s apparently being added this season, but with a blue brim and squatchee.
In 1999, the team added a second black cap, this time with a white outline:
This cap is the same one they brought back in 2021, when they resurrected the black jerseys. It’s now apparently being scrapped.
A few thoughts on all of this:
- I hate the Mets in black. There are no “good” versions of any of this.
- That said, I vastly prefer the white-outlined cap logo, because (a) I think it pops a bit more, and (b) it matches the white outline on the jersey script.
The Mets typically wear black for Friday home games. Their first such game in 2024 is scheduled for April 12, against the Royals.
Update: The excellent Mets Police site is reporting that the new black cap may be the team’s City Connect cap.
Orange – for the New York (baseball) Giants
Blue – for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Black for ?????
Agree with you Paul, not a fan of the Mets back jersey (or any sports team that does the BFBS)
“Black for ?????”
Night games?:
link
Black… to wear for their funeral every September. BOOM! Go Phils…
All kidding aside, I actually love the Mets in royal and orange. The black never felt right and still doesn’t. They have a great look without it and should go back to what looks best.
The NY Giants baseball team was black & orange, but regardless the black needs to go.
Black for the opportunity to sell more merch.
I too hate the Mets in BFBS, and agree there is no good alternate cap (I also hate the royal alt) link
But I MUCH prefer the new black cap to the old one. The blockshadow (in addition to the BFBS) was one of the worst things the Mets ever did. At least this gets rid of that.
I agree with Phil. As you guys now, I was right there on the Ditch the Black campaign, but I truly don’t mind the black alt provided black doesn’t encroach on any other uniform/brand element.
I very much prefer the new cap. The blue brimmed version has a purple effect on my eyes when paired with the black brim. I have to think the Mets will be tweaking the jersey too. The only current player black jersey available on MLB Shop right now is Lindor AND its listed as a “2022” jersey, whereas the blue and pinstripes have no year in the description.
Ugh. Guess that confirms those gawdawful BFBS jerseys will still be worn. Thought those damn things were buried for good, but Uncle Stevie brought them back. Too bad.
My guess is they’re going to redesign the black tops and make them match the cap.
Unfortunately, I think that’s going to make the jerseys looks worse because the white outline adds a pop of contrast that makes the wordmark and numbers easier to see.
If they do drop the white parts of the script, it’s just going to be a muddled mess.
I also noticed that MLB Shop had this cap listed as an “official on-field” for the Angels link
Hopefully means they’re adding this as a full-time alternate uniform similar to the Rays and Marlins throwbacks last year
I’m a Mets fan and bleh. I wish the Mets would wear the black just once a month. It shouldn’t be every Friday home game.
While the Mets are changing their caps, can they please get rid of their “alternate” blue hat? There should only be one blue hat with the orange interlocking logo. No other hats.
I think it probably stands to reason that the jersey will be changing to match the new hat, too.
Because the Yankees never change their uniform, the Met’s are never allowed to try to be stylish like the rest of baseball. I for one (& honestly most Met’s fans I know) think the black uniforms are fantastic. This whole “BFBS” thing is for people who religiously listen to WFAN and are told to hate everything the Met’s do.
Actually, I never listen to WFAN, I don’t hate everything the Mets do, and the Yankees have nothing to do with any of this.
If you like the black uniforms, that’s fine. Instead of trying engage in mind-reading and making up non-existent reasons for things, why not just accept that some people feel a certain way about certain things, and other people feel a different way about those things? It happens.
Touche’
I have a hat exactly like that. I like it fine. But now it has official status, not merely a Mets’ souvenir in some combination of colors.
Mets black is like uniform ads for me: I sort of want to declare that it’s so bad in principle that it’s impossible to draw aesthetic distinctions between particular instances. But if the Mets must have a black cap, the new version is a hugely better design than the old. I’d have to give both F grades due to the hatefulness and putrescence of the concept of the Mets wearing black, but the new is a much better F than the old.
I don’t like 3-color anything in sports. I don’t like outlining. Too busy.
Two colors are plenty. New cap is an improvement.
Do you count white, black and grey in your two-colour rule?
Blue and orange go back further than the Dodgers and Giants. From NYC’s website:
“New York City was originally founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam in 1625. Blue was one of the three colors (along with white and orange) in the flag of the Dutch Republic – known as the Prince’s flag in honor of Prince William of Orange.”
As for the uniform: I’ve been a Mets fan since 1969 and was repulsed when they introduced black. Classic example of BFBS. For the record, I hated the racing stripes from years earlier, too.
^^THIS^^
The 1965-73 Mets home and aways should have attained untouchable status, like the Yankees.
I’m a Cubs fan, but I know a great uniform when I see it. That was one.
There’s undoubtedly a whole generation who loved the racing stripes, and they’re synonymous with the Mets becoming a power in the 80s. To me they just copied the Expos, who were copying the Phillies.
I’m of an age no one gives a flying fuck about, so I think the Mets could really make a huge portion of their fanbase happy with an all-black uniform – pants, too – with royal and orange racing stripes. Do they have a CC yet? That could be it.
I agree that Mets in black is not a good look, but I actually prefer the new logo to the old black cap logo- I think it “pops” more as the orange really stands out. Blue, orange and white on black is a muddy mess – the old logo looks fuzzy or out-of-focus.
If the Mets’ design encompassed blockier elements, it would take the three-toning better. But the chest lettering and especially the hat logo are byzantine in design, and the extra outlining is a muddled mess.
I am surprised by how hard it is for teams to avoid leaks via online/physical stores given how integrated the Fanatics supply chain (supposedly) is. Controlled and streamlined releases should be a huge advantage of Fanatics’ but the team shop websites are so shoddy!
Lame effort. The blue /black white was much better. The new one is going to be invisible on the field.
I don’t love the black jerseys, but they are OK in moderation. I think the Friday night thing is fine.
What I disliked before was that the team went all in on the black, and it became the dominant color. Even the beloved pinstripes — rarely worn — had the wordmark with the black drop shadow, which I thought looked terrible. Any road jerseys looked awful with the gray pants. But the home jersey is nice — if worn in moderation. I think these slight changes are OK.
“I too hate the Mets in BFBS, and agree there is no good alternate cap (I also hate the royal alt)”
I don’t know if Phil is saying that all alternate caps are bad, or if he is saying that all of the Mets alternate caps are bad. I hope there are room for moderate views, or post-May is going to be pretty dreary around here.
Mets Police isn’t citing any sources about the potential City Connect connection. If true, would this be the first time a major part of a City Connect uniform is officially released without the rest of it?
The Angels cap is also listed as an alternate, and that team already has a City Connect cap. That makes me question whether the Mets cap is tied to the upcoming uniform.
“I don’t know if Phil is saying that all alternate caps are bad, or if he is saying that all of the Mets alternate caps are bad. I hope there are room for moderate views, or post-May is going to be pretty dreary around here.”
This applies to the Mets only. I suppose it could apply to other teams, but it’s not a blanket statement. Have no fear about that. And I’m probably much more open to alternate looks than Paul, but I am not in favor of alts for alts sake (i.e. pure merch grab/dumps). But within reason, I’m definitely not opposed in any way to alternate caps.
Have to laugh if this is the cap for the CC uniform… The flag of New York is Orange, White and Blue, so to connect with the city, the Mets are going to ditch the orange, white and blue… for black?
Being Dutch I have a soft spot for all teams from New Amsterdam, especially when they represent our national flag (horizontal red, white and blue as in NY State) or even the Royal family (orange, white and blue, be it that NYC uses the vertical French model for their flag). My favorite NY team are the Mets and I have never liked their black jerseys or hats until I came across a fashion black hat with the triple colors monogram and a huge 50 years of Mets logo on the side. I hate to admit it, but it is my favorite Mets hat of the 6 hats I own to wear right now. As of this new version, it must be connected to a CC uniform and I agree: without the white outline the monogram falls flat. I expect a very bad CC combo to come.
Hate the black uniforms, especially with gray pants . Who wants to wear black in the summer months anyway?
The white trim at least made them tolerable . The new one is dull, boring and downplays the blue , which is what makes the Mets different from the Yanks and play homage to the boys from Brooklyn (and Jackie)
“Hate the black uniforms, especially with gray pants”
Since the team reintroduced the black jerseys in 2021, they’ve never worn them on the road (hence gray pants). They’ve been worn for home Fridays (and one weekend series) exclusively.
That being said, I don’t want to see the black tops with the gray pants. Or the white pants.
If this new cap really is the City Connect, I wonder if the Mets might be eliminating the current BFBS and instead transitioning the black to a similar-ish CC uniform that emphasized the orange outline for almost a neon city look. Wouldn’t be surprised if they then tied it into the old Shea Stadium neon player designs, which seem to be pretty popular amongst the fanbase.
I have to admit I like the black jerseys…It was an era of the team. Did they over used them from 1999 to 2011?…Yes. That is in my opinion most of the traditionalists hate it the black. They went too far with the black in the pinstripes uniform and wearing black blue hats with them. Nevertheless, like it or not, it was a fan favorite. In my opinion they came back because of Steve Cohen desire to please the fans and last but not least, the players wanted them. The current generation of players saw the Mets in black when they were growing up. (My kids now in their 30s loved them back then and were happy they were brought back)..So.. If the players like them and the fans, it was a no brainer to bring them back. Yes, the first year the black was back they brought the original design with pipping but as they did in 1998, with the blue sleeve patch not the black and the next year they eliminated the pipping. My point, with this new hat is that perhaps the team is trying to have their own “new version” of the black jersey. Maybe the black jersey will have a new lettering design that matches the hat’s. Who knows. Anyway, they should have brought back the black/blue hat that is where the new hat’s took the NY with orange. This design is too plain. It does not distinguish the NY with orange…Better to keep the 1999 black hat with white background. By the way, In 1998, that was the hat they started the “black” era. Maybe what makes this new hat odd is that. We remember the original black/blue hat, in my opinion, one of the best MLB hats ever, and that makes us not like much this “simple” hat.