The trend of going retro continues. Please take heed, Jim Crane. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-orioles-uniforms-1115,0,652236.story By Dan Connolly, The Baltimore Sun 9:30 a.m. EST, November 15, 2011 Forced into retirement after the worst season in club history, the goofy, grinning cartoon bird logo has been dusted off, altered slightly and will be returning next season to Orioles’ hats for the first time since 1988. The Orioles officially unveiled their 2012 uniforms and caps on their MLB web site Tuesday morning with two notable changes: A switch in hat logos from the ornithologically correct bird to the cartoon one, and the inclusion of an orange jersey, which will be worn during all Saturday home games next season. It’s the first time the club will wear orange jerseys during games since 1992, the year that Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened. The popular cartoon bird will return on two hats: a black one with an orange bill and a multi-paneled one with a black back, white front and orange bill. The only games in which the Orioles won’t wear the hats will be on Fridays, when they’ll continue to sport the black ‘O’s’ cap. “We’re always looking for ways in which to enhance the strength of our brand. And we feel that a change to the hat, adding a version of the cartoon bird, was a way in which to do that,” said Orioles’ director of communications Greg Bader. “We find it has widespread appeal among many demographics, many age groups. … And it’s a logo, it’s a mark, that has a lot more character and personality than the ornithologically correct bird.” Much of next year’s public relations and marketing campaigns will focus on the stadium’s anniversary and that will also be reflected in the uniforms. All of the jerseys will have a Camden Yards’ patch on the right sleeve and the Maryland flag logo (with a “Baltimore Orioles” inscription) on the left sleeve. The gray road jerseys will maintain the Baltimore script, but the letters now will be flattened slightly and consistent instead of tapered – so the lower-case letters will be the same size throughout. Overall, the Orioles will feature four jersey tops and three caps. The Orioles will have three jersey choices at home: Traditional white, orange (for Saturdays) and black (which will continue to be worn on Fridays). They will use gray jersey with ‘Baltimore’ for most away games, but will continue to wear the black ‘Orioles’ jerseys on Fridays on the road. For caps, the ornithologically correct Oriole – which made its comeback in 1989 – will be retired. The new cartoon bird is plumper than the one used in the 1980s, making it a little more like the 1970 logo. There are a few subtle differences, however. The white trim along the back rim of the bird’s hat isn’t as pronounced as it was in the old logo and the bird’s hat rim is straighter. The most obvious change is that this version of the bird is wearing an ‘O’s’ hat and not the indistinguishable orange or white blotches from the previous logos. Bader said the switch has been in the planning stages for more than a year and was not a direct response to another losing season in Baltimore. “The timing, really, was going to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the ballpark versus trying to deflect attention from the team performance,” Bader said. “Any time you make a change, you have an element of detractors that are cynical as far as why a change is made. But there is nothing behind the change other than a desire to provide fans with a look that we think they like and a look that the ballclub is proud of.” Although the Orioles haven’t officially worn the logo in 23 years, at least one player donned it all of 2011. Catcher Matt Wieters used a throwback helmet with the cartoon bird logo while behind the plate last season. Fans jammed message boards praising Wieters’ choice in helmetwear. And though Bader said that didn’t have any bearing on the decision, the response to Wieters’ choice reinforced the Orioles’ sense that fans would embrace a change. “When we saw Wieters wear that, we thought it was a fun coincidence because there was no planning of that. That this wasn’t like a soft rollout, it was something that Matt wanted to do and we found great because it did kind of give a small preview to what fans could expect,” Bader said. “And the fact that that created as much interest as it did gave us the belief that ultimately the unveiling of the new look was going to be well received.”
