New Alternate Uniforms

On Saturday the Phillies debuted their new alternate home uniforms. Wearing alternates has been a big trend in baseball in recent years. That's because the more varieties of a team's uniform are worn, the more replica jerseys the team can sell to each fan. It's good business. However, it usually looks silly. I'd grown pretty tired of looking at diamonds full of players dressed as soda cans, and I was proud that the Phillies were one of the last holdouts, with just one uniform for home, one for road, and a subtle change in the cap for interleague play.

The new alternates, however, to be worn during day games at home, don't look anywhere near as ridiculous as some of what can be seen around the league. They're 1940s-style throwback uniforms, and the current Phillies look pretty classy in them. It actually underscores how traditional their main uniforms are, actually, since the designs are very similar. The main change is that the home uniforms are worn without pinstripes. It takes an inning or two to get used to seeing the "Phillies" script over bright white, but in the end the Phillies have actually got it right where alternate jerseys are concerned.