Tampa Bay Rays Retro Uniforms: Grading Franchise's Unis

As I scan opinions of the Tampa Bay Rays new "retro" uniforms, I realize I may be the only man in America that actually likes them. My fellow Bleacher Report columnist Gabe Zaldivar, wrote:

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"Apparently, the Rays will put the following powder blue nightmares on their players next weekend when they turn back the clock one painful notch at a time."

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Cork Gaines of the Business Insider wrote this in an article titled "This New Tampa Bay Rays Uniform Reminds Us How Awful Baseball Unis Were In The 1970s."

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"That is a little bit old school San Diego Padres, a lot of blue and a whole lotta 1970s.."

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Well guys, I happen to like them a lot, so there. The uniforms were created for a Turn Back the Clock day on June 30. Their opponents will be the Detroit Tigers, and I think it's a great approach to embrace the spirit of an old sports tradition.

Maybe it's because I actually remember when players wore these kinds of uniforms. I have baseball cards in my collection with players rocking the old, button-less pullovers.

I could very well be partial, and these new unis take me back to being a kid and loving baseball. I also really dig the artistic value of them here. It isn't as if the Rays existed in the 1970s; the team made its debut in 1998.

So the designers (Majestic Athletic, per this Rays press release) had to capture a different era and blend it with this current and relatively new team. It did an awesome job in my opinion. Here is a full shot of these glorious pieces of pseudo nostalgia:

The uniforms are like a mixture of the old-school San Diego Padres uniforms, seen here in this Dave Winfield baseball card that is over-flowing with awesomeness, and the retro Toronto Blue Jays more for the color scheme:

I dig throwbacks, and I've collected a good number of them over the years. Though it's a little early for the Rays to have real throwbacks, the artistry here will force me to add this one to my collection.

Let's not forget how you can swag out a throwback. How many Padres' throwbacks were sold after this video dropped:

I give the Rays jersey a soaring A for nailing the concept.

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