Amidst all the other changes that MLB uniforms are undergoing this year, the Dodgers have made some unannounced adjustments to their batting helmet logo.
Let’s start with some historical background: For nearly 60 years, the Dodgers’ helmet logo has not matched their cap logo. Here’s how they each looked last year:
As you can see, the helmet logo is wider, with more space between all the elements, especially between the serifs at the base of the “A.”
How did this happen? In a 2014 ESPN piece, I interviewed Dodgers design director Ross Yoshida, who gave this explanation:
When ABC Helmet Company first started mass-producing helmets for MLB teams in the 1960s, pretty much every team’s helmet logo differed in some way from the cap logo, because there was less logo policing and the technology was more primitive.
We still use that original helmet logo. It’s a bit different from our official “LA” mark, but the nostalgic baseball fan in me likes this quirk. To me, it’s kind of cool that all our players, from Willie Davis to Steve Garvey to Mike Piazza to Yasiel Puig, have worn the exact same helmet logo. … So although I debated at one point whether I should try to “fix” it, I ultimately decided to leave it be.
But that quirk has now been quashed. Take a look at last year’s helmet logo vs. this year’s:
Note that the old logo was all-white, while the new one seems to have a blue border. What’s that about? Here’s a side-view comparison:
So the blue element isn’t an outline — it’s a layer that the white element sits upon. As you can see, both versions are raised, but the new one looks like it might be a different material. Twitter-er Austin Donley, who first brought the logo change to my attention, wondered if the new version might be an embroidered patch.
I circled back to Ross Yoshida, who confirmed Donley’s speculation. “It is indeed an embroidered patch,” said Yoshida. “That decision came from above me. I was told it was inspired by the Samurai Japan helmets from the World Baseball Classic.”
Faaaascinating. So the Dodgers have changed their helmet logo’s design and its physical format.
The Dodgers were the team that kick-started the current MLB trend toward raised helmet logos. That was in 2016, when they added a 3D-printed “LA” to their headgear. Unfortunately, the rigid logos often chipped or didn’t stay in place:
After about four months of that, they switched to a rubberized, flexible version of the raised logo:
They continued to use that version of the logo through last season, before switching to the embroidered version for 2024. I’m pretty sure all the other MLB teams with raised helmet logos also use the rubberized style.
One other MLB team has an embroidered helmet logo: the Cubs, who’ve used the embroidered style since at least the late 1960s. But unlike the Dodgers’ new version, which is raised (much like a puff-embroidered cap logo), the Cubbies’ version is essentially flat:
(Kudso to Ross Donley for spotting the logo change and bringing it to my attention.)
Of course they had to do away with the logo quirk. MLB has to be complicit with Nike’s stated intention to ‘standardize’ everything on every uniform. Helps to make modern baseball that much more unwatchable.
But in doing this, they switched from one quirk to another – yes, the Cubs also do an embroidered helmet logo, but that doesn’t make it not quirky.
Between this and the Tigers’ “D” fiasco, it makes me wonder how long they’ll let the Yankees keep using 3 different “NY” logos. I’m no Yankee fan, but I hope they stand up to this standardization crap and let things be unique.
Yeah why would anyone what an element of a uniform to be uniform.
Just my opinion, of course, but the wrong things are being “fixed”.
My dog has been fixed. It doesn’t mean he necessarily liked it nor thought it was necessary.
I share that opinion.
All of the raised batting helmet logos are affixed via some sort of adhesive, regardless of the composition of the logo itself, correct?
While I think they certainly look better, it feels to me like they have a propensity to be damaged or fall off. Not an everyday thing, but enough to be noticeable. I know it would be more expensive, but isn’t there a way to make the helmets with the raised logos as part of the helmet? Even though the raised texture looks neat, it comes off as some sort of cheap rubber sticker given we see them damaged or falling off.
Not a fan of the embroidered look on the helmet, it makes sense on the caps because you are actually embroidering the logo onto the cap, it matches the textile nature of the cap, but feels like a mismatch with the hard plastic helmet.
Yes, they’re all adhesive (as are flat decals, obviously).
Oh, interesting, for some reason I thought the flat decals were applied in some other fashion.
Maybe the sundae helmets subconsciously had me thinking the logos were the same for the actual batting helmets.
Any chance we can get the Uni Watch soccer jerseys back?
Different vendor, but I’ll see.
How can they even consider adding the extra weight of an embroidered patch!? Do the Dodgers not care about the performance metrics of their uniforms?
Sarcasm aside, I feel like I *should* like the idea of the helmet logo matching the hat logo. For some reason I like the old style better. And it’s not like I have some nostalgic attachment to the old helmet logo. I just found they were different in this article.
Maybe this will be like the Tigers jersey logo change where it will rankle the diehards and go unnoticed by casual fans.
Embroidery? These guys are going to start having neck injuries from all the added weight.
Zing!
I noticed that in Spring Training this year the Diamondbacks have gone to a glossy black helmet, rather than the matte finish they had been using for several years. Additionally it seemed to be flat sticker logo on the helmet and not a raised rubber logo.
Well, they got a whole new uni set, so lots of things changed. The new helmets are just part of that larger batch of changes.
Very true. However this made me wonder if you know of any other teams that have gone from a raised rubber logo back to the traditional flat? Or from a matte finish back to
Could that blue outline be a layer? Like the white letter sits on a blue background layer? I have credit cards that manage to sandwich 3 layers of differently colored material into one tasty plastic sandwich.
Yes, it’s a layer. My bad for not saying so explicitly — thought that was obvious from the side view.
I had absolutely no idea that the Cubs logo was embroidered. All this time.
I’m not sure why people are so bothered by this, other than general burnout from bad/irritating MLB news. The cap/batting helmet logos being different was never a design choice, so to me there’s no harm in making them more uniform.
Yes, I’m on team “uniforms should be uniform” as well. Just because somebody made a mistake in 1962 doesn’t mean that’s the way it should always be.
The Can of the Day is gorgeous. Reminds me of when I was a kid and started collecting beer cans. I had one cone-top can and it was the most valuable can in my collection. I’m a little disappointed that the cap doesn’t match one of the colors in the Dupli-Color name, but otherwise, this is a great looking can.
Change For Change’s Sake.
Just bring back flat decals already.
For those who like uniformity, here is what the Yankees cap would look if they standardized on the jersey form of logo. The picture is a still from Billy Crystal’s movie 61* and the cap ruined the movie for me.
link
Don’t get me we wrong, I don’t want the Yankees to standardize, but I feel like if they did it would the opposite direction: The cap logo would be put on the jersey.
Grew up in SoCal and been a Dodgers fan my entire life and I never noticed this. I think I like the more spread out helmet logo.
I did but I could have sworn that they fixed it a while ago. Probaby just Mandela Effect, though.
Odd that the can of the day has colo(u)r spelled two ways.
Love that Dupli-Color can, that’s the style that was used throughout my childhood. I have a few dozen cans in the storeroom (it’s the paint of choice for my art) but the modern cans aren’t nearly as aesthetically appealing.
The pre 2024 decal looks better.
Can we PLEASE go back to shiny batting helmets?
I like both, but for the Dodgers I definitely like the glossy helmet better.
I like the new Dodgers logo but on a shiny helmet, please.
Judging by the comments, this isn’t going to be the popular opinion, but I actually like the helmet logo being changed to look like the cap logo. To my eye, the difference didn’t have the quirk charm of the Yankees or Tigers (which were obviously purposely different to the naked eye) and just looked like the helmet logo was a bad facsimile of the cap logo.