New spring training caps

New Era just unveiled the Mets' new spring training caps. Honestly, I wasn't really aware that such a thing existed. After seeing it, I wish it didn't. It's basically just a streamlined version of the ugly black and blue hat we wear all the time, so I suppose that I really shouldn't get that worked up about it.

Proposed new Mets uniform

Found this design for a new Mets jersey over at MetsBlog. I like it. Created by Matthew Weiler, it's clean and simple with a nod to the glory years of the 80s. Hopefully, the front office is listening.

All Mets Fans Should Wear Blue to Citi Field

Found this over on MetsBlog. Sounds like a great idea. Not only does it add to the stadium atmosphere, but it promotes the idea that blue (not black, as New Shea and alternate jerseys would have you believe) is our primary color. Check it out:

"Next season, I’d like to see every Mets fan who attends Citi Field wearing a blue shirt… nothing but blue… wear a blue Mets jersey, where a generic blue t-shirt, a blue jacket, this Mets jacket, whatever… but make it blue… this way, Citi Field will get the splash of blue paint it is sorely missing.

Cardinals fans wear nothing but red to games, like this, creating a powerful, cohesive sea of Cardinal Red in every corner of the building… I think it would be equally powerful if we did the same with blue in Citi Field.

Why? Well, earlier in the season, I was talking with someone high up in the Mets organization, who said, “Blue and orange are fine for the uniform, but they’re kind of tacky for the ballpark,” which would explain the buidling’s overusage of gun-metal grey.

So, if every fan in Citi Field wore blue, we could at least take some control of how the ballpark looks.

Update:

Why blue and not orange? I have a feeling more people already own blue shirts… from looking at the team store, Modells, etc., it seems like there are more shirts available in blue than orange."

The American Cancer Society wants the Mets to wear their traditional uniforms

Now this is what I'm talking about. The American Cancer Society is raising funds to try to get the Mets to clean up there act and start wearing their traditional colors. This means the blue hat (both home and away, see photo) and the pinstripe shirt/pants. All white jerseys are acceptable, too. They're asking that you join their team and pledge $1 for each game the Mets wear an acceptable uniform. We here at Mandatory Mustache have been pushing for this for years, and we couldn't be more excited. Find more information here.

Why are they doing this? Well, they've got a great explanation on their site, which I've pasted below. I couldn't have said it better myself.

...

Founded in 1962 to bring National League baseball back to New York City, the Mets were named for the New York Metropolitans who played in New York in the 1880's. New York's new team was an homage to its old; they wore the blue of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the orange logo of the New York Giants. In short, the Mets were an effort to keep alive the great traditions of New York baseball.

As the Mets played their first two seasons in the Giants old home, the Polo Grounds, while waiting for the new Shea Stadium to be built, fans who saw the blue and orange knew that those colors meant something. It meant that, yes, National League baseball in New York had a long and glorious past, but now, with the Mets, it also had a future.

Fast forward to the late 1990's, when, for the last few years, the Mets hadn't been doing so well on the field, and sales of their merchandise started to suffer. According to Dave Howard, the Mets’ executive vice president of business operations, market research at the time showed that black sporting merchandise sold better. Younger generations were more likely to buy black baseball hats and jerseys, irregardless of the team that was on it. So just like that, the Mets began to sell out over 100 years of baseball history in an effort to make more merchandise sales.

As one blogger poetically put it: "The Mets, always seeking new ways to alienate their loyal fanbase," are "taking a sport steeped in tradition and taking a dump on it."

And to a certain extent, this is perfectly understandable. Alternate uniforms, particularly black ones, sell. (And many teams started to figure this out. At one point, it seemed that every single professional sports team, from the Detriot Lions to the Kansas City Royals, had alternate black uniforms.) But people can wear black Mets hats and shirts all they'd like. I'm not going to argue with you that blue and orange are easier to match with street clothes than black is...But plenty of organizations sell "alternate" colors without actually wearing them. Check out MLB.com, and you can buy a Yankees or Dodgers hat in black, or just about any color. In fact, I ran into a friend of mine today with a black Yankees cap on. "I like to wear black." he said, "but I would kill them if they ever wore this during a game."

The difference is, on the field, you respect the history and tradition of the organization. What uniforms never look dated? Uniforms like the Yankees, Giants, Dodgers, and Red Sox. They're the same (more or less) as they've always been, and they'll never go out of style. They look as good now as they did in the 1940's and as good as they will in 2040.

What uniforms are the most embarrassing? When teams follow fashion trends, only to be left with horribly outdated uniforms ten years later (see: the White Sox and Astros of the 80's). The black uniform trend of the late 90's, when it seemed like every baseball team wore black, are already starting to look dated; even the Royals have figured that out.

Much like modern architecture would in the heart of Paris, wearing trendy uniforms doesn't make us look cool, it makes us look like we don't understand the importance of the history that surrounds us.

To me, there's a big difference between teams who take their history seriously (see: Yankees, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox, Tigers) from expansion, small market, or small budgeted teams who are desperate to sell merchandise anyway they can (see: Orioles, Blue Jays, A's, Marlins, Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Rockies, all who have alternate black uniforms.)

Which do the Mets want to be?

And this seems to be representative of a larger problem within this organization. The Mets are a storied franchise with a history to be proud of, and instead we act like an expansion team who's more interested current gimmicks and trends, as if we have no traditions or history to celebrate, and are desperately vying for anyone's attention.

We don’t use our own theme song anymore (though we'll save the Sweet Caroline discussion for another website), there’s nothing in the stadium dedicated to the team or its championships, we’re, perhaps, the only team in Major League Baseball who has their pennants hidden from sight, and we can’t even wear our own uniforms or proper colors anymore. Quite frankly, its embarrassing.

Tradition is not something that’s innate; it needs to be learned and passed down from generation to generation. And right now, its falling through the cracks. It saddens me to think that we’re loosing an entire generation to marketing and trends.

(If we must wear alternates, may I suggest doing what the Phillies and Indians do, and make them "throwbacks" and a nod to history. Wear them, but as alternates, that is, one day a week. That way the Mets can sell more uniforms, but still respect tradition.)

I look back on the 47 years of Mets pinstriped history, from the first team picture in the Polo Grounds, to the '69 and '86 championship teams, and feel immense pride. The blue caps with the best logo in baseball, the orange NY, a symbol of New York's National League baseball tradition started in 1883 that we continue on today.

Then, I look at today's team in black and blue caps and black jerseys in an effort to look trendy and cool, and feel confused and saddened. I'm not an old man. In fact, I'm too young to even remember the Mets winning a World Series (I was three in 1986), but its the sense of history and tradition that makes baseball so special, and separates it from every other professional sport in America.

We as baseball fans are lucky to have it. We as New Yorkers are even luckier than most. Why deny ourselves of it?

The Mets are a first class baseball organization, both with our play on the field, and our continuation of over 125 years of National League baseball in New York City. Let's start acting, and dressing, like it.

Remember, "The fans stay true to the orange and blue!"

We have blue hats!

It's Friday evening, Johan's pitches/strikes is 65/48 with 8K (in the 4th inning. Yes, this is an in-game blog post. I call it "live blogging" and it's the future), and they're wearing the blue hats, I repeat, blue hats. All I've got to say is it's about time. Now that's a good looking team out there, I tells ya. No coincidence we're winning (so far). Yes, it's the Nats, but I had no faith going into this one...until I saw the blue hats. Now if we could just get some pinstripes on those shirts. I know, I know...I should just be happy that progress is being made.

Home Opener

Watching the Citi Field opener and the new digs look great. I'll always have a soft spot for Shea, but I can't wait to check out a game at the new stadium.

I've just got one problem with this picture (other than the first batter homerun Pelfrey just allowed)--why oh why do the Mets insist on wearing those black and blue hats? Hideous. The New York City flag is orange and blue. My team is orange and blue. I really don't see how black fits into that equation.

I've read that the starting pitcher gets to choose the hats they wear, but why is the blue/black hat even an option? I don't think we need more than one hat, but if we must have two, can't the ugly one at least be solely an away hat? The black hats (as well as the black jerseys) smack of the late 90s, and they were ugly then.

Santana sleeve suspense subsides

Looks like the mystery of Johan Santana's strange sleeves has been solved. It seems Johan likes his jersey sleeves extra loose, so he stretched out them out by hand, causing the piping to fray. New jerseys with 1" more room in the sleeves have been ordered. We can all rest a little easier now that this mystery has been solved.

Thanks to UniWatch.

Johan Santana and the Case of the Shredded Sleeves

Johan Santana is throwing so hard that his uniform is coming apart at the seams...or so it seemed. What first appeared as fraying piping on the ends of both sleeves of his jersey now appears to be some sort of modification (see larger image here). At press time, no one (including the Mets' "stitching and embroidery guy" ) knows what it is. Strange.

The full story at Uni Watch.

We'll be sure to keep you updated if there are any further developments in the case.