The Absence of Black

As we check in on the first few workouts of this young preseason, there is something missing from the attire of our players. It is a very welcome addition by subtraction, one which makes me smile to no end. That which I am speaking of is the absence of black from the batting practice jerseys and caps, an absence which will carry over into the regular season jerseys.

 

Back in the late 1990’s, many sports teams had this silly premonition that they had to get rid of what worked for many years so they can modernize (unfortunately that brought us the atrocious Gordon’s Islanders, and that only lasted a season or two). The Mets were not immune to this feeling, and born out of it was the team running away from its identity of Orange and Blue.

 

The thought process behind the change was told in this ESPN article. And while I can appreciate the concept of New York and shadows, The “Mets” chest script is not a building, and there is no need for it to make a shadow.

 

The idea for black in the official colors led to this…awful…horrendous…disgustingly ugly hat:

And that was the only hat they wore on the road for the 14 years it had been in existence!!! Thank God the road uniform will look like this again:

 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like the color Black. I’m wearing a black shirt as I type this. I just don’t like it for the Mets colors. Although I don’t hate the full black Mets hat, or the full black Mets jersey…but only on the road. I think it’s kind of badass going into somebody else’s house wearing the black jersey, but not the black jersey that says, “Mets” across the chest. I never understood why they kept that black jersey but got rid of the one that said “New York” like a road jersey should. If they are going to wear an all-black uniform (besides the pants, of course, that would look ridiculous), it should only be on the road and it should only say “New York.” I clearly won’t cry, however, when they get rid of black completely next year.

 

Tossing Black from the official colors is something many fans have been rallying behind for a while now (See Mets Police), and it is nice to see the team be in touch with the pulse of the fan base for a change.

 

Now if only the owners stopped appearing so jaded.