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Attempt to make splash goes splat
By SHARON FINK, Times Staff Writer
Published November 9, 2007
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Pitcher Scott Kazmir shows off the new starburst, but will fans connect with it, or yearn for the rays that swim in the tank?
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[Edmund D. Fountain | Times]
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ST. PETERSBURG - The biggest crime in fashion is being boring.
You can be bad. Misguided. Overly fond of tie-dye. A wearer of holiday ties every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's.
But don't be boring.
Unfortunately, that's what the Rays' new uniforms are.
In their zeal to be fresh, clean and classic - the Ralph Lauren of major-league baseball, if you will - the Rays have created a perfectly serviceable, and perfectly forgettable, collection of white, gray, navy blue and light blue.
The Rays ignored a basic fashion rule with their new uniforms: Fresh, clean and classic work best when they have a twist that makes them modern and stand out from everyone else's attempt to be the same.
The Rays didn't have to look far to find a twist candidate. They could have carried one over from their old uniform schemes: the vest top, green and purple, even the ray. All that was fashion-forward compared with most of what's seen in major-league baseball.
But the Rays bypassed them.
They aren't alone in their design misstep, though. The major leagues are full of teams that have tried the same "fresh, clean and classic" redesign tact and ended up with white home uniforms, dirty dishwater gray road ones and a color scheme used to create a soothing environment in rest homes.
Try distinguishing the Rays' new look from the Mariners, Brewers and Royals from 100 yards away.
The Rays' blue scheme could have a deeper meaning. Blue is considered a soothing color, so if next season starts shaping up as not much better than this one, maybe they hope it will subliminally lull fans into mellowness.
The one risky move the Rays did take was redefining "ray" and ditching the sea-creature logo for a yellow "sunburst" one. Ralph Lauren would never abandon his polo player. He knows how attached people are to it. And longtime Rays fans will always consider their Rays as sea creatures, not sunshine personified by something that looks like the light that dings off teeth at the end of Orbit gum commercials.
New designs and directions are always a hard sell in fashion. They're even harder when, like the Rays' old uniforms, nothing was fundamentally wrong with what was replaced. They're harder yet in sports, where fans cynically eye every new-look jersey as simply another ploy to get more of their money.
The Rays' brain trust wanted a new direction and a new feel. It went forward with an idea of what it wanted the uniforms to represent. It ended up with nothing that grabs the imagination.
Sharon Fink can be reached at fink@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8525.
[Last modified November 8, 2007, 23:25:37]
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Comments on this article
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by Mike
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11/12/07 10:20 AM
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I've seen FAR worse uniforms. Remember those gawky rainbow stripes the Astros wore on the late 1970s and early 1980s? UGH! Besides, it's WHO is in the uniform, and how they perform that counts. It's time to a good TEAM was fielded for Rays fans.
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by Max
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11/10/07 08:23 PM
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With no "TAMPA BAY" on the road jerseys, this is the step one in relocating the team out of the area. The S&S Boys can say all they want about a new waterfront ballpark, but when the tax hike gets voted down, the Rays will be outta here to Portland.
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by Ray
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11/10/07 02:54 PM
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This is about the 20th time in 10 years they switched uniforms so WHO CARES!!
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by Dennis
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11/10/07 11:48 AM
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So our team mascot has gone from a ray (sea creature) to a happy little ray of sunshine???!?!?! Maybe we should change the Bucs into the Bay Breezes and the Lightning into the Orange Blossoms. Who's ridiculous idea was this??
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by Lee
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11/10/07 09:53 AM
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Uniforms are horrible. New logo, give me the old RAY. Want to get people to the park? Design an open park like Jacobs field or Pac Bell park, put it on the bay, ditch the warehouse known as the Trop. Create an experience, maybe then we will come.
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by Sue
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11/09/07 07:44 PM
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BORING!!! We're already the laughing stock of MLB, now with our pretty little sun rays, we hve given everyone more ammo to aim at us. Color's okay, the concept sucks!
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by Susan
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11/09/07 06:51 PM
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That "sunburst" looks like something I'd expect on a hymnal or maybe a memorial pamphlet from a funeral home. The announcement in the "Weekend" section yesterday looked like an ad for a revival meeting.
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by Joan
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11/09/07 06:39 PM
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Sharron why would you write such an article. I love the new uniform and I think we all should be supporting our team. What do you think this makes the players feel like when you write like this. It makes me not want to read anything you write.
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by Tia
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11/09/07 04:10 PM
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It's gonna take more than a sunburst to make this team any good!!
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by Rod
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11/09/07 03:00 PM
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I like the batting practice jerseys ò026 this might get me to the ballpark a few more times next year (or at least earlier to the ballpark to catch BP).
I also like the new hat.
Otherwise, I agee with Ms. Fink's analysis 110%
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by Jean
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11/09/07 11:18 AM
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Not only is the new look boring, it's plain awful. A Sunburst?? How unoriginal. At least the Devil Ray had character. Now we have the little Sunbeams led by Coach Moonbeam.
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by Marc
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11/09/07 11:17 AM
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I can handle losing, but looking ugly AND losing? Doesn't this infringe on San Diego's color scheme? I will pass on the Pad-Rays new look. Hunter green and blue was fresh. Blue on blue is just garbage.
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by Jim
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11/09/07 10:58 AM
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I agree with you. Complete ocular vomit! I think my 4 yr old niece could design something more fun and eye-catching....
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by Oddi
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11/09/07 10:54 AM
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Thank you Sharon for you opinion, so tasteless. One thing is that you don't like the uniformes and another is the Rays uniformes are so horrible or boring as you said.Let support our baseball team instead of criticizing it.
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by john
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11/09/07 10:34 AM
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They should have just put the gay rainbow colors on it.
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by Steve
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11/09/07 10:33 AM
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Are you kidding, what are wanting to look like the Yankees. Bring back the green and change the name to the TARPONS!!!!
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by Tony
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11/09/07 10:20 AM
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I really couldn't wait to see something great! Instead very Boring and Forgettable. I could have done a much better job
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by David
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11/09/07 10:06 AM
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So says the fashion mainstream. You would have loved sweet and pink I suppose but the rest of us like the real world. All my friends like the "new" look and the unveiling was a fun event. Go Rays.
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by Dale
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11/09/07 09:52 AM
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God forbid we have a uniform that distinguishes ourself in a league full of blue and red. Bye bye green, we will miss you and all of the uniqueness you brought to our team.
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by Kenny
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11/09/07 09:48 AM
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A great way to create new revenue streams. Make the fans go out and by new gear. I appreciate everything that the new regime is doing to make baseball better in Tampa. The only thing that will help is winning. Look at USF. Win and they will come!
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by Jay
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11/09/07 09:46 AM
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Ditto. Not only do we have a team to compete the the Royals, now we have a uniform too. The vest uniform was mostly unique in style and freedom of movement. Oh, yea, the new Rays are unique, they are the most perennial of losers, still.
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by sam
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11/09/07 09:17 AM
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regardless of how boring the uniforms are, i have to say that this is the most pointless article i have read in a long time why are we taking fashion advice from a person that works at st. pete times think about that before you write another article
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by A.J. III
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11/09/07 09:01 AM
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They new name and logo are a bust. Changing from Ray meaning a sea creature to a Ray of sun is going to be confusing. The new logo is horrible. I could have done the same with Photoshop. The uniforms are broing. The ray of light is dim for them.
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by Scott
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11/09/07 08:47 AM
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I have been saying this for years about the Major Leagues....what is with the grey away uniforms? I love watching the games of the 70s / 80s with the baby blues, yellows, and all of the distinct uniforms. Now all of the stadiums are the same too!
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by John
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11/09/07 08:44 AM
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Awful!!!!!!
Give the fans something to cheer about.
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by Ed
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11/09/07 08:35 AM
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My favorite team names are associated with something regional and/or living, like Orioles, Dolphins, Yankees, Cubs, etc. and at least we had that, but now that is gone and now the name is boring. A little orange in the trim would spice it up.
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by Phil
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11/09/07 07:14 AM
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And by the way, I think the new uni's are outstanding. They have a crisp, clean and classic look to them. I do hope they add a vest jersey and they absolutelyl MUST put "Tampa Bay" on the road jerseys. That omission is a huge slap in the face.
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by Eric
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11/09/07 07:01 AM
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Could not agree more, Sharon. What a total joke organization.
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by Ed
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11/09/07 01:58 AM
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I disagree- I love the new uni's!
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by Debbie
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11/09/07 01:22 AM
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No one complained about last year's Rays uniforms -- just "TB" (because of the disease) and "Devil." However, only Rays on payroll say good things about the new uniforms. The sunburst exudes a comic strip look - not classic. Marketing midgetry!
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