Just in time for the holiday shopping season — wow, what a coincidence! — the St. Louis Cardinals are announcing a new alternate jersey for the 2013 season at a news conference this morning.
The basic details, from Jenifer Langosch at Cardinals.com (where the photo is from as well):
The new alternate jersey will feature “St. Louis” in place of “Cardinals” along the front, marking the first time since 1932 that the city name will be featured on the uniform. The “Birds on the Bat” logo will remain. The uniform also will feature matching pants and will be worn by players for Saturday home games.
Saturday-only uniforms? Yes, I know they’ve had a Sunday-only cap for years but a cap doesn’t really toy with the perfection that their uniforms are like new jerseys and pants to be worn once a week.
But there’s certainly more money to be made from selling a new alternate jersey than a cap …
Derrick Goold proves again why he’s the best Cardinals writer out there, as he has far more details about the new uniforms. Some tidbits from his piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
- For the first time in 80 years, the Cardinals will have a jersey that features the name of the city and not the ballclub.
- The Cardinals are the 27th team in baseball to use an alternate jersey, leaving only the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers as the classic two-jersey teams.
- The third jersey incorporates new technology with retro designs. It is an off-white jersey made from modern materials to look like the flannels of the past. It also features the traditional two birds on a bat, though the stitching is more detailed and the bat loops through the “S” in “St. Louis.”
- All three of the jerseys that the Cardinals will wear next season feature more detail to the two birds, enhanced stitching that includes an eye instead of a dot for the birds and shading to the bat that creates a sense of depth. The players’ numbers on the front of all three jerseys also will be smaller.
- The Cardinals are the fourth team in baseball to go with the “natural” or off-white color for the jersey, according to the manufacturer, Majestic. The other teams are the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians.
Goold also has this quote from Bill DeWitt III:
“Yes, it’s traditional. And if you ask me should we stay in that elite company of having home whites and road grays, I would say we should, but … ” President Bill DeWitt III said. “Look at this (third) jersey. I see it and think, ‘We’ve got to wear that thing.’ ”
I think what’s missing after “but …” is THERE’S MONEY TO BE MADE IN SELLING THAT THING!
Because of course you can buy one of the brand-new jerseys today. Here’s the info from the KMOX website:
The Cardinals Official Team Store will be selling all the new uniform items starting Friday at 10 a.m. The team store is the exclusive seller of the items in the St. Louis area until after Thanksgiving when it will be available at other area retailers.
The more I look at the new uniform photo, the less offensive it gets — but that doesn’t mean I like it, and certainly doesn’t mean I’ll rush out and buy one. Sure, it’s wonderful that it’s a nod to tradition — but there was nothing wrong with staying with what they had in the white home uniform and gray road uniform.
Except it’s hard to sell more jerseys when you’ve had the same traditional uniforms forever. Like everything, it’s all about making money.
Christine Coleman is the senior St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com. Also follow @AMilesFastball for the latest updates.
Aaron Miles' Fastball 
I’m so pissed off I can’t see straight, nor can I sleep. There is little in this world I care about, but Cardinals baseball & the magnificent tradition that has been carried on is one of them. That has now been sent to hell. The Cardinals might as well just consider themselves on the Marlins level. I’ve already suggested they install a spinning Ozzie Smith on the centerfield wall that “backflips” as the team takes the field.
It’s not the looks of the 3rd jersey, it is making it a “regular” uniform in a rotation. I had no problem with a weekend of 82 throwbacks. BDJR says they “had to be worn”? Fine. One weekend. Not as a 3rd jersey.
Oh. And God help whoever would buy me that. I’d burn it on principle.
I’m so pissed off I can’t see straight, nor can I sleep. There is little in this world I care about, but Cardinals baseball & the magnificent tradition that has been carried on is one of them. That has now been sent to hell. The Cardinals might as well just consider themselves on the Marlins level. I’ve already suggested they install a spinning Ozzie Smith on the centerfield wall that “backflips” as the team takes the field.
It’s not the looks of the 3rd jersey, it is making it a “regular” uniform in a rotation. I had no problem with a weekend of 82 throwbacks. BDJR says they “had to be worn”? Fine. One weekend. Not as a 3rd jersey.
Oh. And God help whoever would buy me that. I’d burn it on principle.
I seriously can’t get worked up over this addition. I have a thing hanging at home that shows how the birds on the bat has been changed over the years, with hats and cocked heads and many more drastic changes. Yes I know having a 3rd jersey is a money making opportunity but I don’t think the change is inspired by Satan. I actually like the throwback, historical look of it. It reminds me of watching when I was a kid. I’ll most likely be buying one and hope that DeWitt uses the money to sign Waino and our 5 other arbitration-eligible players.
I seriously can’t get worked up over this addition. I have a thing hanging at home that shows how the birds on the bat has been changed over the years, with hats and cocked heads and many more drastic changes. Yes I know having a 3rd jersey is a money making opportunity but I don’t think the change is inspired by Satan. I actually like the throwback, historical look of it. It reminds me of watching when I was a kid. I’ll most likely be buying one and hope that DeWitt uses the money to sign Waino and our 5 other arbitration-eligible players.
Bseball is steeped in tradition. This change in uniforms goes against tradition. There was something classy about the Cardinals, Yankees, Tigers and Dodgers having just one home and one road uniform. Now the Cardinals have removed themselves from that list. Are red jerseys for special days next?
That’s my fear. After the lemmings buy this one up, the Cardinals can just keep pumping out a 4th, 5th et. al. The Cardinals have not only removed themselves from the classy, iconic teams they have joined the trailer trash of baseball. Embarrassing.
Bseball is steeped in tradition. This change in uniforms goes against tradition. There was something classy about the Cardinals, Yankees, Tigers and Dodgers having just one home and one road uniform. Now the Cardinals have removed themselves from that list. Are red jerseys for special days next?
That’s my fear. After the lemmings buy this one up, the Cardinals can just keep pumping out a 4th, 5th et. al. The Cardinals have not only removed themselves from the classy, iconic teams they have joined the trailer trash of baseball. Embarrassing.
To be honest, I really don’t understand the outcry over this kind of thing. It is a reality in professional sports that the dollar drives virtually every decision made about the club. So yes…the timing of this is designed specifically to sell a lot of these for the holidays.
But, equating this to the changes we’ve seen recently from teams like the D’backs, Marlins and Rays is a little over the top in my opinion. Those teams COMPLETELY changed their look…new color schemes, new logos, and in the case of the Marlins, dropping Florida and only going with Miami. What the Cardinals have done is a play for your dollar, but it is done with an eye towards tradition…The script ‘St. Louis’ is done in the same style that ‘Cardinals’ is on the main home/away uniforms. The piping is new, but is something that has featured on Cardinal uniforms in the past. I suppose you can say that these look a bit too much like the Braves’ throwbacks that they started wearing once a week over the past couple of years, but I think if you flip on a game and see these uniforms, you still immediately recognize the team as the Cardinals. And at the end of the day, that is — for me — what defines the difference between the money grabs that the Marlins, et al have done vs. what the Cardinals are doing.
Don’t buy one if you don’t like it or what it stands for…that’s for everyone to decide. But I think the sun rises on Cardinal nation today just the same as it did yesterday.
As always, thanks for a good post. I always enjoy reading your work.
To be honest, I really don’t understand the outcry over this kind of thing. It is a reality in professional sports that the dollar drives virtually every decision made about the club. So yes…the timing of this is designed specifically to sell a lot of these for the holidays.
But, equating this to the changes we’ve seen recently from teams like the D’backs, Marlins and Rays is a little over the top in my opinion. Those teams COMPLETELY changed their look…new color schemes, new logos, and in the case of the Marlins, dropping Florida and only going with Miami. What the Cardinals have done is a play for your dollar, but it is done with an eye towards tradition…The script ‘St. Louis’ is done in the same style that ‘Cardinals’ is on the main home/away uniforms. The piping is new, but is something that has featured on Cardinal uniforms in the past. I suppose you can say that these look a bit too much like the Braves’ throwbacks that they started wearing once a week over the past couple of years, but I think if you flip on a game and see these uniforms, you still immediately recognize the team as the Cardinals. And at the end of the day, that is — for me — what defines the difference between the money grabs that the Marlins, et al have done vs. what the Cardinals are doing.
Don’t buy one if you don’t like it or what it stands for…that’s for everyone to decide. But I think the sun rises on Cardinal nation today just the same as it did yesterday.
As always, thanks for a good post. I always enjoy reading your work.
Part of what I love about baseball in general – and Cardinals baseball specifically – is tradition. There’s something so special about the legacy this particular team has, and the memories iconic symbols like the Birds on the Bat evoke. Generally speaking, I don’t like changing things without good reason. Nor do I like becoming even a little bit less unique. I like being about to say, “The Cardinals are one of only four teams left that _____” fill in the blank.
I LOVE the Cardinals unis. I also love seeing how the logo has changed over the years.
Despite how much I tend to resist change of something that is already exceptional … I actually like these uniforms. I like the throwback look. I like the fact that it pays homage to the tradition, even if it is a change.
As much as we like to pretend it isn’t sometimes, baseball *is* still a business. Considering the trash some other teams have produced as “alternate jerseys” or new logos/colors all together, I don’t see there being much damage done with this. It’s still classic. It’s still the Birds on the Bat. It’s still the script, the colors, etc.
…basically, I don’t hate it. I might want one some day. And I don’t love the Cardinals any less because of it.
Part of what I love about baseball in general – and Cardinals baseball specifically – is tradition. There’s something so special about the legacy this particular team has, and the memories iconic symbols like the Birds on the Bat evoke. Generally speaking, I don’t like changing things without good reason. Nor do I like becoming even a little bit less unique. I like being about to say, “The Cardinals are one of only four teams left that _____” fill in the blank.
I LOVE the Cardinals unis. I also love seeing how the logo has changed over the years.
Despite how much I tend to resist change of something that is already exceptional … I actually like these uniforms. I like the throwback look. I like the fact that it pays homage to the tradition, even if it is a change.
As much as we like to pretend it isn’t sometimes, baseball *is* still a business. Considering the trash some other teams have produced as “alternate jerseys” or new logos/colors all together, I don’t see there being much damage done with this. It’s still classic. It’s still the Birds on the Bat. It’s still the script, the colors, etc.
…basically, I don’t hate it. I might want one some day. And I don’t love the Cardinals any less because of it.
I don’t hate it, but it’s just so unnecessary. And odd to have your city name on the HOME jersey. Could have been a lot worse, but still, unnecessary. But the one good change is red caps and belts on the road now. I’ve been asking for that for years. It always looked so pretty to have more red with the gray, when they wore it that way in Spring Training road games.
I don’t hate it, but it’s just so unnecessary. And odd to have your city name on the HOME jersey. Could have been a lot worse, but still, unnecessary. But the one good change is red caps and belts on the road now. I’ve been asking for that for years. It always looked so pretty to have more red with the gray, when they wore it that way in Spring Training road games.