By Phil Hecken
Unbeknownst to probably a good number of Uni Watch readers, there is a pretty big, somewhat important, international competition taking place (it started with 16 qualifying teams, on two continents in four countries), but few of us seem to care, much less watch — the 2013 World Baseball Classic. It’s still going on, and some of the better players decided to participate, but the games are really more like exhibition games, kinda-sorta interrupting spring training. Bring on MLB, folks, because this is just for show.
But they still wear uniforms in the WBC, so it’s worth a quick run-down.
The last time this event was held, in 2009, I actually spent two weekend days taking the time to grade and review the 16 teams involved. This time around, since many of the uniforms appear to be retreads (and not particularly good), I won’t bother with the grades. But it’s always fun to take a look at what the world trots out on their “big” stage. So lets get to it. I will do this alphabetically.
Australia: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). One of the nicer uniforms, if only because of the color scheme. Sadly, like many unis in the Classic, it suffers from the Majestic yoke and side panels. But green & gold are great colors, so at least it has that going for it.
Brazil: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). Another decent uni, from a color standpoint, but like many, the panels ruin it. Nice, legible font however.
Canada: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). While the Canadian teams (in many international competitions) seem to like to add black to their red and white colorscheme, the baseball squad makes sparing use of it, but it would have been nice if they’d made the contrasting panels white on the roadie. I LOVE the cap.
China: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). While another Majestic top ruins a nice uni, it does have two things I like: the Olde English(!) font and the fact that the road uniform is actually a uniform. No softball top for China! Ditch the paneling and that’s a fine looking getup.
Chinese Taipei: (Home Jersey, Road “Jersey”, Cap). OK — two things about CT – I like, A LOT, the home uniform, because it’s clean (no bumperstickers), but I’m not sure why I couldn’t find a button-down jersey graphic. Because, they do have a button-down road top (which is also sans superfluous piping). Nice. How did Majestic ever come up with this?
Cuba: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). I have always liked Cuba’s international unis, because of two distinct characteristics: Script “Cuba” and the fact that they (almost) always wear a full red monochrome uniform on the ‘road’. I wouldn’t want every team to do that, but Cuba owns it. Stupid paneling ruins this year’s uni however.
Dominican Republic: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). The interlocking “DR” is a classic, and the team always looks good — not much more to say. The red and blue are pretty evenly distributed, on both the home and road uniforms.
Italy: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). Italia’s uni is another favorite (maybe because the home looks like the Dodgers). The roadie, unfortunately, really does not look as good with all that white crap (and it reminds me of the Royals softball top). But that cursive “Italia” and classic blue & white colorscheme is a beaut.
Japan: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). One uniform which is not made by Majestic, this one is the one that doesn’t look like all the others, and for that, I guess we should be grateful. It’s not a great uni, but it’s still not the awful Majestic template.
Netherlands: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). I’m not generally a fan of two tone caps, but the Dutch cap is awesome. And how can you not love the black & orange (even with gray pants)?
Korea: (Home Pullover, Road Pullover, Cap). Another uni not made by Majestic, this one is made by Nike. The pants are stripeless, and the jersey is a pullover rather than a button down, and the road jersey is plain — almost too plain. The home does have blue raglan sleeves and odd broken striping, while road jersey has solid raglan sleeves and solid ‘arrow’ piping. I don’t really like it, but it’s still better than that Majestic crap.
Mexico: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). Mexico has some of the best and worst: Best cap and font, by far, and a pretty nice home uni (notice the pants are plain white with a single stripe), but possibly the most busy clusterfuck of a “road” uni — pinstriped pants, black helmets, and green & red top. WAAAAAY too much going on there. But…those are Mexico international colors, so I can give it a bit of a pass, but still. ¡Ay, caramba! that’s hard on the eyes.
Puerto Rico: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). This uni, either in 2013 or any other time, has never done much for me. It’s not bad, but it’s not very good, either. It’s just kinda…there.
Spain: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). Spain easily takes the prize for the biggest cap logo and the least readable font. Other than that, the red/gold colorscheme is nice, ruined by Majestic’s bumperstickers. That uni has such potential, however, with just a few tweaks.
United States: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap). Another middle-of-the road uniform (the USA looks good, but the “S” crossing the rubicon only looks good when the players are at rest [or not really moving]). Otherwise, you get some very unfortunate splitting issues. And I think the US, if they must wear a colored top, should wear a red-dominate jersey, not a blue one.
Venezuela: (Home Jersey, Road Jersey, Cap. Our last of the 16 uniforms — and one with good colors (almost too close to Spain) except with a darker shade of red. And with a slightly smaller cap logo & more legible font. Meh. Damn Majestic ruins another.
Well, there you have it.
Aside from the templatey-feel for most of the unis, there are other similarities. All the teams have their nation’s flag (and some have the WBC logo) on their sholders, and all teams have a flag patch on their caps. Some of the teams had both white and gray pants (and some just white).
But these are unis not too many care about in a tourney almost no one watches. The WBC has great potential — the problem is when to play it. But the way it’s set up, it’s just not a good time to try to fit it in during MLB (and other leagues’) spring training. Not every player shows up to play for his “home” country, the pitchers are on very short counts, and the games are basically exhibitions (and treated as such). And the unis…well, they’re perfectly in keeping with the ‘minor league/batting practice/spring training’ feel of the games.
Readers? What’s your take? Have a favorite (or worst) uni? Let us know in the comments down below.
Uni Tweaks Concepts
We have another new set of tweaks, er…concepts today. After discussion with a number of readers, it’s probably more apropos to call most of the reader submissions “concepts” rather than tweaks. So that’s that.
So if you’ve concept for any sport, or just a tweak or wholesale revision, send them my way.
Please do try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per image — if you have three uniform concepts in one image, then obviously, you can go a little over, but no novels, OK? OK!. You guys have usually been good with keeping the descriptions pretty short, and I thank you for that.
Like the colorizations, I’m going to run these as inline pics — click on each one to enlarge.
And so, lets begin:
We begin today with Anthony Zelph, who has much better look for the USA World Baseball Classic unis than what they trotted out:
Phil,
I have a tweak/concept for the US men’s national baseball team, ahead of the World Baseball Classic.
With a team name of “USA” it is hard for the national team to put on a uniform that resembles the classic uniforms from baseball’s rich history. None of them are memorable. I put together one with classic Spencerian script, and a road uni that borrows from the Red Sox and the Yankees, among others.
Anthony Zelph Jr.
Next up is Danilo Roman, who sent a set of Dolphins tweaks; I’m honestly not sure if he put them in Paul’s contest over on ESPN, but either way, I’m posting them here:
Greetings Phil—
Using the Nike template, I’ve made a little concept using the early Dolphins’ early nineties style of dress. I’ve removed the navy blue, and given the Fins a new, more modern-ish type of font. I’ve also used a logo that has been created using the old “Dolphin Stadium” dolphin with the old sunburst. Funny thing is that, even before scouting the internet for logos, many have made something similar to the one I have on here with a few minor differences. I’ve even added an orange alternate (not a fan but what the hell?) that kinda resembles the early 90s ‘Canes which is unintentionally intentional.
– Danilo Roman
And next is Danny Dillman who has a Super Bowl logo:
Phil,
I just found you logo contest tonight as I was starting to look ahead to the next Super Bowl. I am very sorry that I did not know about this before, but I thought you’d like to see what I came up with for Super Bowl XLVI here in Indianapolis. Like your emailer that initiated the contest, we are very unhappy with the standardized logo. As such, I created this. I had a few hats made for out-of-town friends, but never tried go beyond that. Enjoy.
Danny
Moving on we have Todd Hudson, Sr. who came up with an interesting look for the Saints (both images are full-size):
Phil,
I am a life long New Orleans Saints fan. I think its time for an extreme makeover. Perhaps a switch to white helmets or removing the the 1970s style stripes off of the gold ones and switching to brighter Notre Dame style gold! The bottom line the the gold pants most go and the team should find a consistent gold throughout the uniform, there are five shades of gold by my last count. I am including a mock up of an all white uni I found on the web. Please ask your readers opinion.
Thank you,
Todd Hudson, Sr.
And we close today with Thomas Juettner who has decidedly plain look for Sparty hoops:
Phil,
Here’s an idea I have for MSU. I wish I could grab MSU’s current font but I’m not good enough at photoshop yet. Essentially this is what I think they should use. The chevrons on the front and sides are reminiscent of the Greek Λ that the spartan warriors would paint on their shield which stood for Laconia.
Tom Juettner
And that’s it for today. Back with more next time.
Stirrup Fridays…
Because we love the stirrup here at Uni Watch, this section is devoted to those of us who sport the beautiful hose on Fridays — a trend popularized many years ago by Robert P. Marshall, III. For many of us, it’s become a bit of an obsession, but a harmless one — a reflection of our times. Where we once had Friday ties, which has been replaced by Casual Friday — we now have Stirrup Fridays. It’s an endearingly simple concept — no matter where you work (or even if you don’t) — break out a fresh pair of rups to compliment (or clash with) your Friday attire.
Kind of a smallish set, with a bit of a rarity — one from yours truly. But with the warmer weather and leagues starting up, we’re sure to pick up soon. I don’t normally post rup pix of myself, but because today was the Friday before St. Paddy’s day, I had to break out the Irish rups. Turns out I wasn’t the only one wearin’ o’ the green. Yes, the Irish rups are smiling … Here we go:
James Poisso:
Phil,
Happy Friday! This being the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to ho with these solid green stirrups.
James Poisso
Joel Sprick:
Hey Phil,
No better time to rock my new Cardinals stirrups than my first trip to
Spring Training in Jupiter!– Joel
Jason Bernard:
Phil & Robert,
Rays, to match my Argentina jacket, which commemorates Maradona’s” Hand of God” goal. This is not an endorsement of the new pope, it just feels timely.
Bernard
Phil Hecken:
Comrades,
In honor of St. Paddy’s day, and to keep up the revolutionary spirit, I give you the “Irish” rup with gold sani.
Cheers,
PH
Soukie Outhavong:
Hey Phil,
It’s been a challenging week at work and I needed a pick me up. Stirrups to the rescue. I F’n love these and am ready to kick some a$$.
@eikuos
And that ends today’s look at Stirrup Friday — all of you who participate, send me your pics and a brief (~50 words) description of their relevance, and I’ll run ’em here on Saturday (and sometimes Sunday too!). Be sure to visit Robert’s House of Hose for news on rups.
And now…here’s …
Comrade Marshall’s Rupdate:
Comrades!
When it comes to out little stirrup section here, I really enjoyed last weeks submission by Michael Clary. Not only is the plate hysterical because the light switch comes out of Fisk’s crotch, but it features a killer stirrup. So I wanted to take the time to encourage other people to submit stirrup finds outside the stirrup box, it could be fun. Our little stirrup section here does not only have to be defined by those participating in Stirrup Fridays, or playing ball, we can have fun with this any direction the readers want to take it.
As far as the revolution goes, I am about as stocked up as I am going to be before opening day with more Monarchs, 54 & 59 White Sox, Blackhawks, and Cardinals in stock. While there are still a couple old stirrups that I want to re-release, nothing will be here before opening day. So if you do want something by opening day we have this weekend and next weekend to make that happen, so keep that in mind. Also, since i never really offered up the Mother’s Day stirrup as “new”, I decided to rectify that and order a dozen which got here this week. So there is no waiting, but for those fellow Stirrup Friday revolutionaries who like the oddballs, I decided to offer this up as “new” for a discount this weekend, but there is no waiting for manufacturing. You can see the Mother’s Day’s and the other selections at robertmarshallart.com.
from each according their stirrvp, to each according their strype
That is all for today. Tomorrow is that day we’re all Irish, so rest up (of course, there are many parades today, so you may end up sleeping in tomorrow). I will catch you then. Everyone have a great Saturday.
Peace.
“That was the protocol of the Detroit Tigers’ road jerseys in the 1968 World Series. They wore the uniform number on the sleeve facing the pitcher.”
— Walter Helfer
So tired of the homogenization of sporting events that are generated in US…and I was born here and still live here. The teams in sports abroad ( I primarily watch European soccer) have distinctive looks because the manufacturers are all different. NFL, NHL, NBA & MLB (even WBC) look like youth sports leagues that just change the color on the paneling. Because that’s exactly what they are. Even worse, the teams allow this to happen. I’m from Fort Worth, TX ( no, we are not Dallas) and a Cowboys fan, Jerry Jones effectively put an end to this when the Cowboys were practically sponsored by Nike & Pepsi, and the NFL saw that they weren’t getting any of that money. Yet, one more thing to blame Jerry for. Cowboys headquarters in Las Colinas is still called the Pepsi Compound by the local sports radio station, KTCK 1310. Since then, the league, and the others have followed, demands all meaningful sponsorship revenue ( Save stadium naming rights) runs through them.
It makes for a sterile league and especially sterile uniforms.
Agreed.
I totally agree. I can’t be convinced that templates are so cost effective that they have become normal in the big leagues.
There are people doing uniform redesigns for the fun of it 24/7 online (whether they are good or horrible); how busy/understaffed can the big manufacturers be? B.S.
If I had the sales figures I’m sure I can do a pie chart to the owners showing how the unique stuff sells better; at least I hope it does. If it doesn’t, then that’s just sad. Reebok/Adidas is the king of the template. At least they’re out of the NFL. I wish the NBA would go back to Champion.
Count me in for hating contrast panels and all that other unnecessary junk.
digging the Saints makeover. well done!
Yes, the ones with the gold numbers.
We share the same opinion of Majestic’s work. Before they became the “official” supplier of MLB unis, I thought that their stuff looked like it was made by a cheap bootlegging operation. It’s not much better now.
I’d rather see the USA wear road grays vs. the Navy softball top. And if they are going wear blue tops and feature blue panels on the home whites, can’t they get the shade to match the blue cap?
Majestic (and cap supplier New Era) can’t match the blue jerseys and caps for the Cubs; it’s not surprising they can’t match other teams’ jerseys and caps.
I think you are doing the WBC a diservice with that first paragraph. These games are more interesting than your basic spring training game, and unless you are not a baseball fan, who can complain about decent baseball games in the middle of march. Sure there were some mercy rule victories, but if you didn’t feel any tension watching the US vs Canada game last weekend (the score is not reflective of how close that game was) then I don’t know why you watch sports.
Does the tourney have some problems? Sure. But the games are entertaining. You get to see many players who are not familiar, different crowds (the Asian fans were so into their games, and of course the DR and PR fans made a showing)
In summation, I love the WBC. And I’ll take that over split squad spring games every day.
(in total the unis really do suck though.)
Red instead of blue for the US? No. Not when the country won its independence fighting against the Redcoats. Either an all gray away uniform, or blue tops. I’d even prefer a buff-and-blue combination.
Also, in reference to the US baseball concept. Not bad, except for using “States” as a script. That’s…just not right.
To Anthony- The Rochester Americans (AHL) called and they want their logo back. LOL
Agree on the mismatched blues (though i am aware of the above commenter’s NewEra Majestic point). I also hate the damn horns. Hated vuvuzelas in soccer (though i hate soccer anyway), but when horns start to invade a sport i love, ughhhh fiery mad. Stfu and let us watch the damn game. I get “different players,” but it ticks me off seeing my country lose to a bunch of guys who are dual citizens from being born in say L.A. and also couldnt exceed AAA. But no, our 2nd and 3rd best options (like…whatever’s left of Victorino) cant get in the top four with KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. I also really like Matt Vasgersian and Harold, but after the tenth name error, break out your roster study guides fellas.
Oh and those are very pretty Saints concepts, but wasnt matching the golds a point of Nikes switch? And you cant minimize the gold. Then eventually youd wander back to the black pant monstrosities.
And yes, i will be the spellchecker dick. It’s DOMINANT! Dominate is the verb. The act of being dominant. There is no red or blue dominate uniform. My gosh, go to freaking school. I know from reading that you are intelligent people, that is no secret. It’s a matter of pride, just like wanting colors to match and for corporations to stay in the background rather than the forefront.
Just because people in the USA doesn’t care about it, doesn’t mean nobody cares about it. Most of the other countries do. Hell, it’s broken national ratings records in Japan and Taiwan. Days that the DR plays are pretty much national holidays. It was getting prime news coverage in Italy where soccer rules. And obviously it’s the main topic here in Puerto Rico. Just remember that.
There were a couple comments on my *take* on the WBC, and perhaps I should have qualified/clarified in the main article. I don’t mean to imply that no one cares about the games, but I’d say it is fair to say that in the USA we don’t. Please don’t take that as an indictment of the entire tourney — I’m sure in other nations this is a big deal. But I think that most non-Americans would admit that a tournament that takes place during spring training, when injuries, *injuries* and the need to gel with teammates leaves most (especially the US squad) with less than the proverbial all-star team. I think if this tourney were to succeed, it needs to figure a way to play it when every team is as close to full-strength as possible, and starting pitchers can go 7 or 8 (or even 9, god forbid) innings. It would be better for ratings and interest overall, and certainly make for better baseball/beisbol.
I tried to focus this article on the unis, not the games themselves. Unfortunately, with 13 or 14 teams in the WBC all wearing templatey Majestic, it certainly takes the fun out of things. I love seeing the colors from the other unis (and while I detest softball tops, in this instance, I don’t have nearly as much of a problem with it because of the international flavor); when every uni *looks* the same, except for the colors and fonts, well, it gets very, very hard to watch.
Let each team design their own unis, and give them the option of either different uniform suppliers or at least different patterns, and it will be much better.
As to making it a truly international tourney played with all the best from each nation? I have no idea how to make that work, but playing it in March is NOT the answer.
YMMV
Play it in a warm weather nation, in late November/early December, before college bowl games start, and ideally when the soccer leagues are on break for international play.
Schedule the qualifiers for the US in Spring, and play the knockout rounds in the Autumn in, I don’t know, Venezuela? Puerto Rico? Australia? Brazil?
I agree, March is not the answer, but then again, neither is November/December. There just seems to be no right way. You want the best players, so it would wind up being (most likely), the players who go deep in the playoffs and frankly, need to recover and rest after a long season. It’s kind of like the Pro Bowl, where you’re stuck with the best of the rest. Aside of those two times though, you’re stuck with mid-season, and there’s no way that’s happening.
Lots of guys play in Winter Leagues. Couldn’t this serve as a replacement for that?
Majestic’s jersey “panels” will run their course soon enough. The ‘worry’ is: What will they do for their next BP fashion blunder.
I would move the WBC to November. I understand it would have to go up against the NFL, but players would be more willing to participate.
BTW, anyone know when Majestic’s deal with MLB is up?
You wouldn’t be able to get any of the players who were in the postseason to play (read: a lot of good players).
Any player who would 1.) be a Free Agent, 2.) have a club option available, 3.) be arbitration eligible would avoid the competition.
Having the WBC in March, while not perfect, is the best solution. Players are playing anyway.
If they’re still playing the MLB playoffs at Thanksgiving, something is seriously amiss.
Wow, that MSU jersey is pretty… dare I say… spartan.
Also, I LOVE that Super Bowl logo for Indianapolis. I’m sure the ciy would never want people to have that image of them (it makes me think Iowa actually), but it sure looks nice. Great work, Danny.
Really need to take a photoshop class. That MSU concept could look so much better.
This is one American who likes the WBC regardless of it being played in March. I enjoyed watching Brazil compete in the tournament for the first time. Italy was exciting to watch as was Canada. The Canada-Mexico and Canada-USA games were great baseball. And now I can dislike the Netherlands in baseball as well as in soccer. The WBC is still in its infancy. Clearly there are kinks to be worked out. But it’s a good idea. And I always look forward to it.
Having said that, I sure hope they go for some uniform changes in the next WBC. Those unis are looking tired.
While “Tomorrow is that day we’re all Irish”, various places in Minnesota, Thunder Bay, and other places with a large Finnish community, celebrate another holiday on March 16th. Today you can join those of Finnish decent in their celebration of St. Urho’s Day. link
Is that a raised emblem on the Japan batting helmet? And Spain’s roadie looks like they should be asking if you would like fries with that!
Yep, teams in the NPB use raised emblems on batting helmets, so the style carries over to Samurai Japan. Here’s Abe in the uniform of the polarising Yomiuri Giants: link
I guess Majestic not making Japan’s uniform is why you can’t buy their stuff in the WBC store on MLB.com
You can buy Japan stuff in the UK at least. Majestic make some generic Japan hoodies and t-shirts and I bought a few items, no problem. The Mizuno uniform is also listed for sale: link
Apologies, broken link above.
link
Interestingly there is a Braves “banned” screaming indian hat for sale on ebay for a mere $75. As long as people are willing to pay this muchto be politically incorrect, the movement is doomed!
Unless one ‘must have’ the formerly official 2013 BP cap, there are plenty of hats (some more visually appealing than others)featuring the laughing/screaming Brave (not what I would consider an attractive logo…its’ appropriateness is another matter) available elsewhere for considerably less than $75.
Such potential…a world stage…so many extrordinary artists and designers…
Those uniforms are an embarrassment.
Obviously, the Puerto Rico uniform is completely incorrect. It should be identical to the USA uniform, because Puerto Rico is part of the USA.
“If they can dye the river green today, why can’t they dye it blue the other 364 days of the year?”
“Tomorrow is that day we’re all Irish”
Speak for yourself. I was born in America, not Ireland.
You’re the worst. link
OF COURSE an O’Brien doesn’t like that, lol.
The day I play Thin Lizzy over and over.
GOOD company!
I think the Team USA concept is really pretty terrific.
The uni tweak one. The one that says “States”. It’s old timey. I like the number on the sleeve for the roadies. Nice.
I think the WBC United States hat would look better if the star was not behind the interlocking US. I think it’s too cluttered and the US would stand out better.
It would be great if one of the graphic artists could create one to see the difference.
Anyone else find it weird that the US team was eliminated by a bunch of American citizens.
If they win it I’m going to claim victory for the US.
Last item:
A common misconception about the 1968 Tigers. Here’s are pictures of Al Kaline and Mickey Stanley disproving it:
link
link
Another misconception suggests the sleeve number was worn on the throwing arm. But I’ve seen old pitures of southpaw pitchers like Terry Fox (albeit before ’68) wearing the number on his right sleeve. So, I don’t know the answer but it is true some players, like Willie Horton, switched to older grey jerseys (different number font) featuring a number facing the pitcher:
Series:
link
Horton in 1969:
link
I’ve been watching the WBC faithfully and could never get a good view of the US hats. Originally I thought the star was a fancy letter A, eventually I realized it was a star..today Phil Hecken confirmed it. Canada’s uniform is disappointing no need to add black to a red and white flag. Also, the Italian flag is green red white,…so someone decided on blue and white uni’s??..what a joke!
I like the USA shield patch Anthony drew up as well as the stars surrounding USAjersey
The WBC logo needs to be tweaked
Italian soccer historically wears blue to acknowledge their pre-unified past. It’s safe to assume the baseball unis are the same?
Light blue was the colour of the House of Savoy, the last royal house of Italy, and still considered a national colour today.
^^^This.
It’s the same reason, for example, the Nederlands wear orange — for the House of Orange — even though their flag is red/white/blue.
There are some other neat unis that were worn by the teams that played in the qualifying round but didn’t make it.
For example:
Czech Republic
link
&
Israel
link
Yeah, there were a bunch of teams that played in qualifying rounds that were interesting — but the bit was already long enough with the 16 teams in the tourney, and photos were spotty. Maybe in 4 years when the next one of these things cooks up…
About the flag on the Chinese Taipei cap:
link
Why would they choose the Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag?:
link
Why would they do that when the World Baseball Classic has nothing to do with the Olympics and all the other countries went with their national flag? Wikipedia has the answer, sort of:
“The Chinese Taipei Olympic flag is used by Republic of China (ROC) team – commonly known as Taiwan – which competes under the title “Chinese Taipei,” during the Olympic Games instead of the flag of the Republic of China. This is a result of the complex Cross-Strait relations between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China. The Olympic flag has been in use since 1980, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee that the ROC could not compete under the ROC name or flag.”
HOWEVER, Chinese Taipei also has separate flags for their other sports teams when competing internationally (from Wikipedia):
For other Olympic-affiliated and international sporting events, the ROC uses variations on the (Chinese Taipei) Olympic flag:
The Paralympic flag replaces the Olympic rings with the logo of the International Paralympic Committee:
link
The Deaflympics flag replaces the Olympic rings with a green Chinese dragon and the words “Chinese Taipei”:
link
The flag of the Chinese Taipei national football (soccer) team replaces the Olympic rings with the taijitu (the yin and yang symbol), with the black and white dots replaced with footballs:
link
The Universiade flag replaces the Olympic rings with the letter U (from the logo of the FISU) and has an electric blue background:
link
The flag of both the Chinese Taipei men’s national volleyball team and Chinese Taipei women’s national volleyball team replaces the Olympic rings with a volleyball-playing figure and the abbreviation of the Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association:
link
Now this all begs the following question: If Chinese Taipei has all these separate flags for different sports, why don’t they have a distinct flag for the World Baseball Classic?!?!?!?! Can you say Uni Watch design contest????
Would it really be a contest, isn’t it a pretty standard design, you’d just replace the Olympic rings with the WBC logo?
link
I feel like the USA really missed an opportunity with their WBC uniform. A USA baseball jersey needs to be pinstripe.
but it’d have to be red pinstripes, and that just looks bad.
i dont think it necessarily needs to be red. Using current MLB jerseys as a template the Cubs jerseys would be a nice to place to start. I think a more true royal blue as opposed to the current navy would be an upgrade.
Am I the first one to notice the URL?
Say it again
Gallery from tonight’s Canucks game.
link
As a calgarian I’m required to hate the Canucks, but those look SWEET
For the WBC, I’d much rather see each team/country design their own uniforms (ala Japan and Korea) using the supplier of their choice, rather than being subjected to an MLB influenced Majestic design. Differences in this case are much better than sameness.
As for the team USA uniform, I think it’s time to change the cap design, since it’s been around since the 2000 Olympics. However, I do prefer Blue Alternates/Road jerseys over red, especially when the cap is blue. I also like the blue over red, much like US Olympics track jerseys of the 60’s look better than those of the 80’s.
One thing in general about all uniforms that bothers me, is when the shade of a colored jersey doesn’t match the shade of the cap of the same color.