Miami Marlins: 6 Alternate Logos That Were Considered by Jeffrey Loria

We are five months, 13 games into the Miami Marlins era, and at this point the vibrant colors that accompany the uniforms, logo and ballpark have all grown on the fans. 

Upon its leak in September of last season, the logo was received with mostly negative reviews.  Some questioned the colors used, which according to owner Jeffrey Loria were symbolic of Miami. As he put it, orange represented the citrus, blue represented the sky, and yellow represented of course the sun. 

However, we are getting a first look at what would have been the Marlins logo had they decided to go in a different route and the decision to stick with the current logo is perhaps the best one they could make. Here is a photo lineup of the six finalist logos alongside the former Florida Marlins logo (far left) and current Miami Marlins logo (far right) that Sports Business Journal released roughly a week ago. 

As you can see, Loria had no intention of not adding flavor to the franchise as every alternate logo has an assortment of colors. The first one (from left) tries to be a Crayola version of the Yankees logo though I do like the pair of Marlins on it, the second one (from left) is one logo I wouldn't have minded but don't even get me started with the third one which looks like someone took a page from the Devil Rays disastrous color scheme of late 90s, early 2000s. 

The fourth logo (from left) practically could pass for Maryland Terps logo to go along with the highly questionable Nike Pro combat uniforms that debuted last season. But even if the colors were adjusted, this looks like a logo for a franchise associated with lightning and thunder.  

The fifth one (from left) feels like Loria had a future Olympic bid in mind, it just doesn't look like an actual logo for a major league franchise. I'm glad this wasn't chosen because it would be have been outrage, especially considering it has no symbolism for an actual marlin. 

The last alternate logo was probably a serious contender just because it's a long lost brother to the current logo. But this logo is one that could pass for a theme park; you have the colors and what all certain is a flag. I'm sorry but in no way would an casual person or fan identify this logo with the Marlins because again it does not have an actual marlin. 

The Sports Business Journal has the rest of the story on the Marlins development of the design, but you will need to have a subscription to read it. 

So, moral of the story is be glad the Marlins chose the current set of uniforms, colors and the logo, because it probably could have been much worse.