Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

The Mets sold the blue uniforms a few years ago and we didn’t notice

Well, a few people did notice such as Peter who everytime he checks in hits a home run:

Hey Shannon,

The Los Mets blue jerseys were such a beautiful sight that I actually think I would be ok with officially changing the name of the team to Los Mets if it would mean permanently replacing our black jerseys with those gems!

But I will point out that this idea must have at the very least been kicked around by the Mets before. Maybe they gave it a trial run as an alernate in retail locations to see what the response would be and my impression is that at that point (approximately 3 years ago) the consumer response was pretty weak. I know this because just over 2 years ago I saw this design pop up in the clearance section of the online team store. There were 4 or 5 player jerseys for sale in this design and they were absurdly cheap. I debated at first because generally if something ends up in clearance land there is very good reason and you don’t want it. But ultimately I decided the combination of a Met I liked very much- that at that point was already gone- the jersey I had previously seen only in my dreams as the obvious solution to our black woes and a cheap price tag made it a ‘no brainer.’

So here it is. Look familiar?

LGM!

The photos are quite large (yes I shrunk them) so I am putting them up as a gallery – click on one for a bigger image.

And if you missed it, here’s a collection of screengrabs from Friday night if you’d like to see the Los Mets jerseys in action.  They looked great.

Come back at 10am, we have a great Ralph Kiner video that Goon took.

6 Replies to “The Mets sold the blue uniforms a few years ago and we didn’t notice”

  1. Mets online store run by MLBAM
    Mets Clubhouse Shops run by Genesco (same company as LIDS & several other chains)
    Mets Team Stores at Citi Field run by Aramark

    The Mets literally have no control over what any of them sell. I speak from experience in the business.

    Also, these jerseys were only intended to be carried for a certain amount of time, it was inevitable they would end up in clearance.

    Sorry to say your conclusions are all wrong.

  2. Thanks for this evidence, but as Corey says, I don’t agree with your conclusion. Being the stickler I am for detail, I would never have bought that jersey at the time. I would have been encouraged by a blue jersey showing up…but this one was clearly never worn by the Mets at that time…the back font is incorrect…and I would have to find a player I liked. I bought a blue t-shirt like that around that time at Modell’s, but I wouldn’t buy a jersey like that. It also calls into question who designs Met apparel? Walking through Modell’s the other day, I was horrified by what I saw as Met merchandise…I felt no desire to own anything I saw.

    Even more important, who designs on-field uniforms? My sense is that the team will call the jersey makers and give them some guidance of something to change and the uniform company comes up with some prototypes. I feel that the team should take more ownership and have their own designer who dictates brand image (I’m available). Someone who knows team history and what a good uniform and apparel looks like that people will buy. It’s important, because what they wear on the field is the best advertising around…if they had worn that jersey you show, it would have sold like hotcakes.

    Here is my tweak on the blue Mets, evoking the 1982 alt, my favorite alt:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/66054817@N04/6014261265/in/photostream/

    I think this should be the alternate jersey. I would also make a NEW YORK road version. For the 50th Anniversary, I would also have a home jersey with no black and a 1986 throwback. I would take back ownership of Met imaging…it would take a lot of business back from those throwback jersey makers, because the current uniform and throwback would satisfy that market…you could customize them to your favorite Mets from the past.

    I’m here Mets…I’ll turn your look into a huge profit center.

  3. MLB jerseys I believe are by some combination of the team/in house, by an outside consultant/agency the team might hire, by MLB Properties, & (least likely) Majestic.

    In the case of the current cream hom jersey, I know for a fact those were designed in house by the Mets. I happened t have a conversation with the guy who does much of the in house graphic work. He told me that he didn’t want to have black drop shadow on them because that obviously defeats the retro look but and he made his point clear with marketing but the head of marketing overruled.

    1. Great info…thanks. As you say, in effect the only thing they did on the cream uniforms was to change from white to cream…why bother? If I own a dropshadow pinstripe, I don’t need a cream one.

      Does naybody really buy a Met jersey for the dropshadow? If you show me numbers that say they love the black jersey, ok…have a black one. Why ruin the pinstripe one too? And I guarantee the right blue design would outsell any black 2 to 1. Black is tired.

  4. Just found this old letter…when I was a kid, I designed a Met uniform and sent it to the Mets new ownership. It was the late 1970s…my jersey wasa a giant Met logo…had the buildings across the front and orange sleeves (wish I still had a copy). It was inspired by the colorful double-knit pullovers of the day. The number on the back was in a big baseball. I actually got a letter back from Fred!…and here it is…I am still waiting for your call Fred.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/66054817@N04/6021645809/

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