The Five Best 'Softball Tops' in MLB

Baseball-uniform purists often dislike the solid-color jerseys that many MLB teams began using in the later 1990s. I know, because I am one of them.

The most conservative teams - the Dodgers, Yanks and Cardinals - have never worn a so-called 'softball top'. This would be damning enough, but there happen to be other age-old franchises - the Giants, Red Sox and Braves come to mind - that do wear softball tops on occasion. Furthermore, solid-color tops in MLB are not new. Teams wore them in the 1970s and 80s, and even in the early 20th century.

So instead of blasting softball tops in a "five worst" slideshow, I shall give examples of the five best. If teams absolutely have to have them ("Moichandising! Moichandising!" as Mel Brooks' character Yogurt once said) it is my duty, as a uni-watcher, to point out the correct designs.

One final thing before we begin: please, for the sake of the Baseball Gods, do NOT wear a softball top on Opening Day, or Weekend, or Week. And for God's sake, do NOT EVER wear these tops in Yankee Stadium. I hate the Yankees, but if there is a stadium that demands uniform respect, it is Yankee Stadium. I saw the Twins wearing their ghastly softball blues in there, and I wanted to throw up. The Twins deserve several more playoff sweeps by the Yanks for that infraction.

That is all. On to the show!

The Atlanta Braves in Navy Blue

The Braves' navy jerseys are nice and muted, and thankfully free of the piping. The Braves' uniform is busy anyway, so any added piping or striping is unwarranted. (Somebody apply this principle to the atrocious "Halloween" redtops, or better yet, get rid of those things altogether.)

I like how the number is also navy blue, with a simple white outline. In short, this is as classy as you can get with a softball top on a major league team.

The Red Socks' Red Tops

It is surprising to me that a tradition-rich team like the Red Sox would adopt a softball top, but whatever. At least they do it right. Simple and red, with no striping.

The Sox also have a navy alternate jersey, but I prefer the red. I like how it goes with the navy hat. For a team called the Red Sox they sure use red sparsely in their uniforms, and need it anywhere they can get it.

The Cubs' Blues

The Cubs' solid blue jerseys are striking. They even inject a bit of tradition by using their under-used (and superior) secondary bear cub logo. And...no striping! They let the logo speak for itself. The back side has red numbers and names outlined by white. An awesome look all around.

The A's Greenies

The Oakland Athletics have used a minimal approach since ditching the kelly green 'n gold unis of the 1980s. Like many other teams, they donned solid-color jerseys in the late 1990s. Instead of getting all fancy-like, they simply traded their unstriped all-whites for unstriped all-hunter greens. Result: magnificent. Now, if they could add a yellow cap to it. Just try it, once. Please!

The A's Goldies

One of the greatest developments of the 2011 MLB season was the return of the A's yellow jersey. Since the Athletics have fairly boring (or classy, depending on your sensibilities) uniforms, striping is permissible, even welcome, in this instance. Extra points for not putting numbers on the right side of the chest. I would pair it with the all-green cap, though.

Addendum: The End of the Mets' Black Tops

The blackening of the Mets' uniforms was a sore point for many Mets fans. I love this year's return to blue as much as a uniform traditionalist can, but I admit the Black Mets were not bad-looking.

As MLB unis went darker during the 2000s, a bevy of teams that shouldn't have chosen black uniforms did so. The Mets, though, have a case for going black. They could merely be incorporating the old NY Giants' black color scheme. This is a flimsy excuse, but a much better one than, say, that of the Oakland Athletics.

In reality, the Mets just wanted to look badass. It worked, though. Their black tops looked good. I liked the drop-shadow on them (and on all of their pre-2012 uniforms). I would just remove the blue piping on the jersey pictured above.

This season will see the last Black Mets sighting. The last holdout of MLB's black top era.