Italy will be making their third appearance in the World Baseball Classic this year and their uniform set has stayed mostly the same:
This uniform set updated really well to the new BP template design. The White/Blue just goes really well together. However, my complaint is the same as my complaint for a lot of these uniforms. The typeface on the front seems small.
This time on our journey through World Baseball Classic uniforms, we take a look at France. France was eliminated in the qualifying rounds in the same group as South Africa, Israel and Spain (who advanced). You can see the front of their uniforms here and the back of the uniforms here. The navy blue tops look really dark with royal blue shirt underneath and the royal blue hat. I was a big fan though of the numbering on the back. Here’s a close up of the hat:
The only current Met that is playing in the WBC this year is David Wright (although Johan Santana wants to play). The rosters are all currently provisional, so there could be more Mets and exMets added at a later date. I tried to include players who may have been in the Mets farm system at one point in time, but that can be a bit tricky to track. If I forgot anyone please put them in the comments. The following list rounds out former Mets players who we have a chance to root for again:
– Heath Bell (USA)
– RA Dickey (USA)
– Luis Ayala (Mexico)
– Oliver Perez (Mexico)
– Rod Barajas (Mexico)
– Adam Loewen (Canada)
– Francisco Rodriguez (Venezuela)
– Nelson Figueroa (Puerto Rico)
– Carlos Beltran (Puerto Rico)
– Jesus Feliciano (Puerto Rico)
– Angel Pagan (Puerto Rico)
– Jose Reyes (Dominican Republic)
– Carlos Gomez (Dominican Republic)
– Fernando Martinez (Spain)
– Jae Seo (South Korea)
– Kazuo Matsui (Japan)
As the weeks tick closer to the classic more players will be added to the rosters (when you look at the rosters, some teams barely have an OF set up). I expect some additional players to be put on this list and probably some players will have to be removed. Right before the classic, we’ll do an update here.
Earlier this year we looked at the evolution of the Buffalo Bison’s logos, and now they released their new uniform set. The Bisons Mets-ified their uniforms and now its out with the Mets and in with the Blue Jays. Here are some pictures of their home, away and alternate uniforms from their twitter feed:
I am big fan of these uniforms mainly because I have a soft spot for these classic look.
The red uniforms have a nice connection to the Blue Jays with the type face on on the back. The front of the uniform is a little odd, the numbers may have to be larger. The other benefit of these uniforms is if the Blue Jays/Bisons connection doesn’t work out the first two uniforms, the best ones in the set can still stick around.
Cuba comes back to the 2013 Classic after a disappointing showing in 2009 after being the runners up in 2006. Cuba maintains mostly the same the uniform set with a similar, if not identical hat, and a similar, if not identical, “Cuba” script on the new Jersey design:
Anyway, I’ve always been a fan of Cuba’s uniforms. A nice, classic script, that is the right size (unusual in this WBC) and their red/blue combination goes well since its a unique red/blue. This is also one of the few uniforms that I like the home white more than the away colors. The red underarm on the white goes well with the blue writing. If it matched (Red/red or blue/blue) it would not have been nearly as nice.
A new comer that was going to allow Jewish Americans to play for the team, Israel took an early exit to the tournament this year after being upset in the final match of the qualifier by Spain. Israel’s uniform featured a small script on the front, common in the WBC this year, something that I have complained about a lot, but also featured a nice unique typeface that complements the style work we’re used to seeing out of Israel which was nice. There are plenty of pictures of the jersey in action here. The hat, which was also nice due to its uniqueness, is pictured below:
The Netherlands are back for another go in the classic sporting their orange and black look again:
Their hat is fantastic, especially when compared to Germany’s and Great Britain’s. Personally I would make two changes to their uniform set. First, the script should be larger. Second, instead of home whites, maybe an inverse of their way uniforms, orange base with a black accent, like the Oriole’s two BP uniforms. I do enjoy the crown on the name, since they are the “Kingdom of the Netherlands”
The Czech Republic was another team that didn’t make it out of the qualifier round, and no surprise there, I think Canada was in their group. Anyway in the tournament they wore their navy blue tops, which you can see here. I was a fan of their uniforms mainly because unlike a whole list of other teams, the team name was in big letters on the front. Also because their hat design matched their uniform quite well:
Australia returns for another go in this year’s World Baseball Classic and they maintain their Green and Yellow look from the last several seasons:
I was a fan of their look last time around and I’m still a fan of their designs. My only complaint, which is once again a common complaint, is the the typeface for the country name’s seems small. Overall, nice set and glad they kept their “A” which is unique, especially when you look at some of the letters for hats for other countries.
Thailand was eliminated from the 2013 World Baseball Classic during the 2012 Qualifier rounds which forced teams that didn’t win a game in the 2009 Tournament to defend their spot from a group of new comers. In both games that Thailand played, they wore their road uniforms that can be seen in this image gallery. Their hat is below:
Aesthetically speaking, I’m not a fan of the hat or the uniform. The “T” on the hat looks odd with the white outline and the writing “Thailand” appears small and awkward on the Jersey front.