Some people have told me that I should have waited to do my writeup on the Nats’ jerseys until after they unveiled their new duds last night. I don’t think it makes a difference. The new outfits are neither the best nor the worst the Nationals have ever sported. They’re worth discussion, but they don’t change my analysis.
As for that discussion: I like the curly-W on the new home whites well enough. It’s certainly an improvement over the block “Nationals” they’ve been using. It’s being referred to as “an authentic bond with the past,” but the old Senators never put a curly W on the actual jersey. They had block Ws and script “Senators,” but the W’s were always on the caps. I like the look — it’s kind of like the Tigers English D, no? — but I don’t know I can call it my favorite. Give it time, maybe. I was thinking that a script “Nationals” to track the road grays (which I really like) would be the best move, but what do I know? The W is probably less generic than a simple script would be. This could grow on me.
The other changes are the red and blue alternates. You know how I feel about solid alternates — batting practice jerseys, blah — and this is no different. They’ve included a red, white and blue W on the blue alternate which is not my taste, but hey, they’ll probably sell a lot of them. They’re only going to be worn on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Sept. 11th and military appreciation days anyway, so it’s not like we’ll see it often.
Other changes: the road cap gets a red bill. Eh, I liked the solid blues, but this isn’t an atrocity. There’s new piping and things too, but I don’t get too animated by that sort of thing unless it’s distracting, which this isn’t.
Ultimately the Nationals are a team still searching for its identity. As far as uniforms go, I suspect they’ll find it in whatever it they happen to be wearing when they win the division the first time. For now though, I think this looks pretty good. Just wish they’d can the solid alternates.
