Sports & Social, the sports bar across from the SunTrust Park first base gate, was packed with Chop Fest attendees to witness the Braves uniform showcase. First Braves announcer Ben Ingram interviewed the uniform designer, who shared details of the uniform modifications, which had been planned for well over a year.
My son Will and I found a spot on the staircase overlooking the stage. Instead of pictures, I shot a ten minute video of the entire unveiling. Hopefully the speakers can be understood. The players were brought out one at a time, in the following order, and details of each uniform change were discussed.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson was the first to come out, wearing the unchanged home uniform. My thoughts: the team could go back to the dark tomahawk, and wear large red names on the back, trimmed in navy. And add small numbers in the front on all the jerseys, like the cream jersey.
Rookie of the year Ronald Acuna was next out, wearing the road grey uniform. Hard to see, but the script Atlanta was altered to be more like the home Braves script logo. Hopefully it will be a change for the better. I wish the team would return to the pre-1976 practice of wearing the script Braves on the road as well as home, and change the names on back to the thick red letters worn by the team in the early 1960's.
Fan favorite Ozzie Albies sported the alternate cream uniform, previously worn on home weekends. Now they'll be worn only on Sundays. The designer said the change - adding the piping on the sleeve - was to make the jersey more like those worn back in the 1960's. That's why I'd like the team to go back to the red names on back.
The big change was to the navy road jersey, worn by all-star centerfielder Ender Inciarte. The original navy jersey was odd, with white trimmed numbers, tomahawk, and team name. Perhaps it was designed to be different from many old navy batting practice jerseys, which had red number trimmed in white. The new navy jersey was well-liked by most on social media today, with red replacing the navy numbers, tomahawk, and team name. Also simple white piping was added to the shoulders and sleeves.
Almost as an afterthought, Ingram pointed out the navy trimmed grey road pants worn only with the navy jerseys. The Braves switched to these just a couple of years ago. Made sense, as the old navy jerseys had very little red on them. My take: with all the new red trim on the new navy jersey, the team could ditch these pants and instead wear the red-trimmed road pants. Some fans wish they'd wear the red-billed home cap on the road. Now it makes more sense.
Question: are the shades of navy on the jersey and cap the same? Hopefully we won't have a Cleveland Indians situation on our hands. As for me, this new navy jersey will have to grow on me.
By far the most favorable fan reaction of the event came when Freddie Freeman came out wearing the familiar red jersey, making its return after a hiatus. This new edition has navy piping instead of the old white/navy/white, and will be worn on Friday night home games. Fans will be encouraged to wear red. Guess I shouldn't have sold off Will's old red Jeff Francoeur jersey.
I had a hunch the red jerseys would be returning. Thursday the Braves released their 2019 promotional schedule, which included a bobblehead sporting red jersey.
Some thought the red and navy jerseys were too much like the rival Nationals, which is true. While I'm partial to the cream alternates, I'd much rather the Braves wear grey on the road and ditch the red and navy. Below: the huge crowd at Sports & Social.
Before the uniform shin-dig we had a busy hour. Will took a turn in the visitor's batting cage. Braves bench coach Walt Weiss and reliever Jessie Biddle were hanging out in the cage. After Will hit, Weiss was nice enough to ask how much baseball he had played. The former shortstop wasn't going to be in the picture until I waved him in. Last season Biddle was the subject of a video as well.
And before the cage the rain stayed away long enough for us to have a catch on the field. When the gates opened we meandered from the Chop House Gate in right field all the way past home plate to the left field corner, where we borrowed gloves and a ball. We were the second pair out on the field. You could still see the hashmarks and midfield logo from the football game played two months ago.
After hitting we used my company's season ticket passes to go downstairs to the SunTrust Club for a snack. Got to talk to legendary usher Walter Banks. After the uniform event we returned to the SunTrust Club for lunch. One line was served flatbread pizza, but we ended up in the line for wings. I snapped a picture for my wing loving coworker.
The gloomy day didn't stop a large crowd from attending. While we played catch utilityman Charlie Culbertson and manager Brian Snitker appeared in a fashion show with their families.
After Chop Fest I stumbled upon a pair of pink stirrups
at a nearby thrift store.
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