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Cleveland Guardians Debut City Connect Unforms

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Good Saturday morning, Uni Watchers. I hope everyone who celebrated has recovered from PAD yesterday. In case you missed it, late last evening the Cardinals City Connect uniforms apparently leaked. So after you finish this piece, go ahead and check that out if you haven’t already seen it.

Last evening, the Cleveland Guardians became the fifth (of nine) teams to debut new CC uniforms this season: Philly, NYC, Tampa Bay and Motor City have already debuted. Still to come are the Cardinals (which has apparently leaked), Blue Jays, Twins (no leaks, but will apparently be loon-themed), and Dodgers (the jersey has already supposedly leaked).

Unfortunately I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, so apologies in advance if today’s article is a bit more brief than usual.

The Guardians uniforms actually leaked about a day before they were scheduled to be unveiled, and the team released them a day earlier than planned. Paul had the scoop on these, so if you need any major details about the CC you’re about to see, feel free to refresh your memory with that article.

As far as CC’s go (a low bar, but still), these are the best this year so far, and definitely one of the top five (or close to it). There’s a distinct 1970s/1980s flavor to it.

Interestingly, this uniform has two elements I don’t normally like, but actually work well together and fit — at least style-wise — nicely: Tri-color caps and racing stripes. This has both, but the white front panel containing the current “C” logo, blue back and red bill definitely evoke a ’70s feel. And the blue jersey, which contains some subtle sublimation, looks solid blue unless seen up close.

Another subtle detail, and one which would normally bother my OCD, was that the white panel cap was definitely a brighter shade than the giant CLE logo and pants, both of which were an off-white, almost cream color.

But aside from the large CLE logo, the only other trim on the jersey was the red/white/blue/white/red stripes which ran down the shoulders, down the sides, and down the pants of the uniform. Despite the white front panel of the cap not matching the CLE or pants shade, the white in the stripes and side panels picked up the white of the front of the crown, to good effect. I love that the team uses the exact same striping pattern on both jersey and trouser.

Of course, the times when the players’ jersey and pants didn’t quite line up didn’t look great, but for the most part I really enjoyed this look.

But — how about that helmet! The team depicted the tri-color pattern by using a classic slanting pattern (actually very similar to the current Twins helmet — who were perhaps not coincidentally their opponents last night). I’m very fond of how the team has rendered the cap pattern onto their buckets.

It seemed as though about half the players wore high cuffs, exposing quite an interesting CC sock.

You can get a better idea of how those socks looked in action here:

My only real complaint about this uniform — and it’s certainly not unique to Cleveland — is the use of the giant “CLE” as a wordmark. But other than that, I’m pretty impressed with these. It seems like the team didn’t overdo it with storytelling, and as a result, the uniform doesn’t suffer. They went with the Guardians of Traffic statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge as the theme for the wordmark and number font, and that was it. Some thought using the sock logo as a patch might have been a nice addition, but I’m fine with it not appearing on the jersey. I would love to have seen how the jersey would look if Cleveland were written out, in the same script, as opposed to the large CLE they used.

Here’s one more video of the uniform in action:

You can see more photos here.

What did you guys think? As far as CC’s go, are these the best so far this season?

 

 
  
 

Guess the Game from the Scoreboard

Guess The Game…

…From The Scoreboard

Today’s scoreboard comes from Jeremy Parker.

The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).

Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date and location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):

Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.

 

 

Guess the Game from the Uniform


Based on the suggestion of long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoran, we’ve introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch, which is similar to the popular “Guess the Game from the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), only this one asked readers to identify the game based on the uniforms worn by teams.

Like GTGFTS, readers will be asked to guess the date, location and final score of the game from the clues provided in the photo. Sometimes the game should be somewhat easy to ascertain, while in other instances, it might be quite difficult. There will usually be a visual clue (something odd or unique to one or both of the uniforms) that will make a positive identification of one and only one game possible. Other times, there may be something significant about the game in question, like the last time a particular uniform was ever worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU to figure out the game and date.

Today’s GTGFTU comes from Drew Hall.

Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.

 

 

Uni Tweet of the Day

Best NOB/No. Combo Ever

 

And finally...

…that’s it for the early article. If there’s any major breaking news, I’ll try to have it up here ASAP.

Everyone have a good Saturday!

Peace,

PH

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Comments (30)

    How are uniforms different today? Look at the GTGFTU photo. Could you make a pretty good guess at who is playing with just the bottom 1/3 of the photo? I think you could!

    In the CC hype video, I thought the Guardians unis were red, white and blue. Being a lifelong Cleveland baseball fan with an addiction to purchasing New Era 5950 caps, I ordered the CC lid as soon as they went on sale. Mine arrived yesterday and while I knew the white was more of a cream, I wasn’t expecting the red to be more of a burgundy or wine hue. It’s a really unique color combo when you see it in person. Like Phil, I’d love to see the “ CLE” swapped out for Guardians or Cleveland but as far as CCs go, this is pretty stellar. Love that they retained their standard diamond C on the cap.

    Agreed. The “red” is more maroon and the navy is more midnight navy.

    They could have done a whole lot better. These uniforms are basic as hell with no creativity in any way. They could have been more colorful or had a cool design. My grandkids could have made a better uniform design

    Can you expound on your thoughts? Perhaps share with the group what exactly they could have done better or changed? Personally I think they’re one of the best CCs ever done. However, I think they could have matched the C on the cap with the C from the jersey and the blue sublimation has me wondering what pattern it’s supposed to be.

    The City Connect Paradox: The uniforms that have a lot of local appeal aren’t as popular to the larger population, and the uniforms that are more appealing to the masses don’t have as many references to the city itself.
    This is an example of the latter. It’s a nice clean uniform, but I don’t really see anything on it that says “Cleveland”.
    But I will give the design team credit for going the unexpected route. I thought for sure it was going to be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame themed uniform

    “the white panel cap was definitely a brighter shade than the giant CLE logo and pants, both of which were an off-white, almost cream color.”

    – I went to the Cleveland team store, looked at all the City Connect gear, and purchased the cap. The “CLE” on the front of the jersey is basically white, probably more of an off white/pearl white. The front of the cap is a light sandstone, which does match the pants. But on TV, the front panel of the cap appears slightly lighter than the pants.
    – As a NE Ohioan, I have a theory about the “Guardians of Traffic” logo. I grew up with Chief Wahoo as part of the franchise. And while it was necessary for him to go when the identity was changed from Indians to Guardians, he is still missed by many in this area. Cleveland’s franchise has no mascot equivalent of him right now (Slider is a joke), and I think that was intentional. Any new mascot would have immediately paled in comparison to Chief Wahoo. So, Cleveland management waited a few years and is now slowly going to try and integrate the Guardians of Traffic character (he needs a cool name) into the team’s identity. That would also allow fans (like me) who do not care for the Guardians name, but would enjoy being able to purchase Cleveland baseball gear, to have options that do not include the name “Guardians.” I’m guessing that the roundel with the guardian figure holding the bat will premier on Cleveland’s spring training jerseys next season. And eventually it will replace the current Cleveland logo, the “Flying G,” which is so cartoonishly bad, it’s embarrassing.

    Looks like I’m the only one who likes the ‘winged G’ logo.

    “Cartoonishly bad” is what a lot of logos were in the 40s and 50s, Wahoo included. The flying G gives me that kind of vibe. Something slicker or more modern would not.

    I love the winged G! The CC’s could be a base for a refresh for the Guards. Sandstone roads, keep the lettering but downsize it. As for a new mascot I would go with Groot!

    I know that game was played in 1974, because of the Bills helmet logo, I think the Jimmer can fill us in on the rest, and those are some glorious uniforms.

    The third game of a four-game winning streak for my Oilers. Ended up 7-7 on the year, winning their last game in those blue helmets. Considering the previous two seasons they went 1-13, that was cause for celebration.

    Cleveland really sweated the details on this uniform: the navy jersey/white pants combo is an enduring team trademark, the racing stripes shout out the last few seasons at Municipal Stadium, and the spinnaker-shaped panel on the helmets is the only way to two-tone the hard hats. The sublimated pattern of the blue jersey reminded me of the veining in marble.

    I really like the three-color lid, for purely child-of-the-70s nostalgic reasons. The rest of the uni is sort of ho-hum, which is a relief in terms of the rest of the CC overdoneness of late.

    Here’s a list of the City Connects that aren’t completely f’n awful. Which, sadly, is the bar…

    White Sox
    Nats
    Rockies
    Angels
    Braves
    Guardians

    Hey! Nike’s hitting .214 on these things! They’ve cleared the Mendoza Line!

    I guess they’re technically hitting .240, as the Cards/Jays/Twins have yet to debut on-field.

    Marlins have to be on the list. One of the few where the CC’s are better than the standard uni IMO.

    This is a decent uni and succeeds most for 2 reasons that don’t necessarily need to exist for all teams: better than the junk they call their regular uniforms, and reigns in the craziness. Nitpicking: make the hat all navy with a white squatcho and a C that matches the jersey. Ditch the side panel striping and just do pants and sleeves. Ditch the sublimated texturing.

    Seeing these on the field, I’m even more in the camp of these being better than their standard uniforms.

Comments are closed.