BY BLUE KAUFMAN
After years of playing in a multi-purpose stadium, the Marlins are finally getting their own ballpark. No one can deny it’s a long over-due improvement for the Marlins, but the ballpark isn’t the biggest change for the Fish this year. The Marlins have changed their name from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins and are getting a new look. After several disappointing baseball seasons, the Marlins are determined to make the 2012 season bright. However, when they said bright, nobody thought they meant it literally.
For years the Marlins have been seen as an underdog team due to their reputation of acquiring young, underdeveloped players. Nevertheless, with the arrival of shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Heath Bell and Mark Burhle, the Marlins have confirmed that this season they mean business. Which is why it was so important for their logo to represent that. So what colors did the Miami Marlins pick? According to the MLB, the new marlins uniform colors are mandarin red, sundance yellow, and diva blue. Instead of signifying power and winning, the new logo screams tacky and tropical.
It’s evident that the Fish are trying to capture the spirit of Miami in an art-deco style but they missed the ball entirely. The muddle of colors distracts from the geometry in the big M. Even the curvy Marlin swooshing out of it looks like a banana peel rather than an aquatic fish. It would have been so much more rational to make the logo actually look like a marlin rather than a mish mash of diagonal lines and hues. It’s hard to understand the logic behind why they would pick such a vibrant color palette.
On Friday November 11th team owner Jeffery Loria described the colors as the following. “We’re the red-orange of the breathtaking Miami sunsets and the citrus industry; the blue of the sky and the sea; and the yellow of the beautiful Miami sunshine.”
In other words, this decision to change the team’s logo is a marketing ploy by Loria and the rest of the organization. By drastically changing the colors and the logo they’re requiring Marlin fans to purchase new merchandise. While it’s understandable to want change, it would have been nice to meld the old with the new. However despite everything, you can’t find even a hint of teal or a sliver of black in the new logo. In their short 18-year history the Marlins have won two World Series, a record better than most teams. It seems reasonable that this tradition ought to be represented in the logo somehow.
Many teams such as the Mets, Braves, Orioles and Angels have changed their logos in the past to modernize them. However, even these teams have maintained a fairly consistent look, at least when it comes to colors.
In the Miami Herald, former Marlin second baseman Dan Uggla said “I feel bad for those guys if they have to wear that next year, I think it should be officially deleted.” When asked what he thought was wrong with it, Uggla said “Everything.” Marlin Fans couldn’t agree more. In fact, according to a Sun Sentinal poll 74 percent of voters think the new Marlins logo is “God awful”.
Its ok for a team to change things up from time to time, but you should be able to look back on a team’s uniform from different eras and be able to recognize that they belong to the same team. You aren’t able to do that with the new Miami Marlins symbol, not even close. The old teal and black uniforms were unique and stood out from the 23 baseball teams that wore red and /or blue. But now, instead of standing out from the crowd, the Marlins have joined them. Perhaps that’s how they wanted it: to start this season new and different. But in all honesty it’s a complete lack of respect for a team that has won two World Series dressed in teal and black.
Maybe in a few years Marlin fans will all look back on these awful uniforms and laugh. However, that day is clearly not today or this upcoming 2012 baseball season. Despite everything, true Marlin fans will remain fans. After all, a petty thing like a logo doesn’t really matter as long as a team is winning. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing that after months of preparation and millions of dollars spent, the Miami Marlin organization couldn’t pick a better logo to represent our hometown baseball team.
