Cartoon Bird is BACK

[DuffMan]

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/fan_forum/wallpaper.jsp

I look forward to a response from JTrea telling us what hidden meaning and direction the team may take based on these new wallpapers.

[JanJaap]

Only in Baltimore the fans have nothing better to look forward to a cartoon bird. Now we look cool losing our 15th season in a row.

[Eddie_Murray33]

For some reason, I don't like the white panel on the home hats. It doesn't look right with the modern home uniforms. Love the black hat though...I will be getting one of those.

I think the white panel hat looks great- but I hear what you're saying. I actually think the "problem" lies with the uniform and not the cap though. It would look a lot better IMHO if they went with the "tricolor" (i.e. orange, white and black) striping from the 70s and 80s on the sleeves and down the legs of the pants (but very skinny and NO big cheesy 70s/80s waist band) instead of just the orange/black striping from recent years.

Other critiques/concerns for me would be: (1) why not bring back the swinging bird logo while we're at it?; (2) why not bring back the orange stirrups? Hardly matters given current MLB fashion trends- but at least we could see 'em when Buck makes his frequent trips to the mound; (3) is it confirmed that we will wear cartoon bird caps with the orange alternate (takes a lot of the fun away from me if it's the O's cap (which looks much better with the black alternate)?; and (4) Will we wear the black cartoon bird batting helmets (assuming as I do that PA won't splurge for O's batting helmets) with the black alternates (hope so).

Plenty of positives here though for me: (1) I think both caps look great; (2) our complete road uniform set is easily one of the best in the league IMHO; (3) the orange alternate is awesome; and (4) I'm loving the Camden Yards patch.

All in all a GREAT day for everybody who loves and appreciates the history of this storied (albeit battered) organization!

[Don Quixote]

I was just about to say, do people really go out and spend $180 on a baseball jersey? That's unbelievable to me.

Did I ever mentioned that for one day I was the honorary batboy for the Washington Senators. I have a genuine, all-flannel Senators jersey from 1970 sitting in my closet to this day. I wonder what that thing is worth?

I agree. The only Orioles jersey I have is the Cal road gray HOF induction jersey, and I didn't even buy it; it was a gift from the missus. She got it for $80, and in my mind I balked a bit even at that. I could never justify spending the money quoted for what they just put out, or most of the gear most of the time. I don't think a cap should be more than $15, or a jersey more than $50.

Very cool about the Senators jersey....

[UMDTerrapins]

[SammyBirdland]

larger logo

We were pretty close, but the hat really threw us for a loop.

[Frobby]

I dunno, the tone of your previous post sounded a little snarky. Apologies if I was wrong.

No, I can see why you took it that way. I am genuinely happy that the team has switched back to the cartoon bird. I also hope that the team eventually lives up to what that bird symbolizes to me -- the winning tradition that I grew up with.

[Don Quixote]

Since the embroidery is done at a much finer scale than in previous eras, I thought it would have been neat to have the actual cartoon bird logo on the hat the cartoon bird is wearing. It seemed to me like at least some of the "amorphous blobs" of previous cartoon birds were trying to depict the previous quasi-realistic bird. If I'm to have a gripe about the design, that would be it.

[Skeletor]

Hard to believe it has been 23 years since they wore the cartoon bird. It's still the first thing I think of when I think O's hats.

[SammyBirdland]

Since the embroidery is done at a much finer scale than in previous eras, I thought it would have been neat to have the actual cartoon bird logo on the hat the cartoon bird is wearing. It seemed to me like at least some of the "amorphous blobs" of previous cartoon birds were trying to depict the previous quasi-realistic bird. If I'm to have a gripe about the design, that would be it.

Then the next iteration would have the cartoon bird wearing cartoon bird wearing a cartoon bird. I wonder if embroidering technology could keep up?

[lint06]

So the new logo is basically the 1970 bird with a different cap. I like the new bill, and though I'm "meh" about the "O's" script, I think it is much better than the nondescript blob on the old hats.

[TonySoprano]

We were pretty close, but the hat really threw us for a loop.

The silhouette doesn't match the brim, but I like the new logo.

[SammyBirdland]

So the new logo is basically the 1970 bird with a different cap. I like the new bill, and though I'm "meh" about the "O's" script, I think it is much better than the nondescript blob on the old hats.

The 1970 version had surgery to correct his lazy eye.

[Austin]

It's funny to think that the ornithologically correct Oriole is now a retro cap. The new hats look great, though.

[Sports Guy]

Still has the orange bill...so its horrible.