In what was a rough start to the 2018 season for the Mississippi State baseball team, the uniforms were one of the (very) few bright spots. Due to ongoing construction at Dudy Noble Field, the Bulldogs are embarking on a three week road trip to begin the 2018 season; the 12 game road stint began this past weekend at top 25 Southern Miss. The Bulldogs ended the Golden Eagles' 2017 season by beating them twice in one day in Hattiesburg; USM got it's revenge this weekend, sweeping the Bulldogs by dominating in almost every way. (Which isn't ideal- but wouldn't you have rather won the regional than a nearly meaningless opening weekend series? Trying to convince myself here.)
The one way USM didn't dominate? The uniform game. Sure, the Golden Eagles looked fine in pinstripes on Friday, throwbacks on Saturday, and black pullovers on Sunday, but they didn't compare to the Bulldogs' new 1985 throwback jerseys. State wore the maroon 85 v-neck pullovers on Friday and Saturday; the new look was unveiled at Fan Day last Sunday and looked incredible on the field. On Sunday, the Bulldogs pulled a bit of a surprise and debuted the white versions in a road game. The new white 85s also looked stunning- perhaps even better than the maroon versions did.
One somewhat surprising thing about the Bulldogs' opening weekend uniforms is the absence of the maroon MS jerseys, which as noted in the season preview, were slightly updated this offseason. This was the first weekend series without maroon MS jerseys since April 24-26, 2014 against Texas A&M. The MS jerseys, classic but a tad plain, were a staple of the John Cohen era, and were still the most worn jerseys in Andy Cannizaro's first season. The past two seasons, I actually complained a bit that they were over worn: in 2016 they were worn in 27 of 63 games; that number increased to 40 of 67 games in 2017. Introducing a second maroon jersey to create more variety was a clear solution- and that's exactly what appears to have happened this season. I'm perfectly happy with, and actually would prefer, the maroon 85 jerseys being the primary look for the Bulldogs going forward- as long as we still throw in the MS jerseys every once in a while. All that being said, I would be surprised not to see the maroon MS jerseys worn at some point over the next two weeks.
2018 is the seventh consecutive season in which the Bulldogs have worn maroon jerseys with white pants on Opening Day. In 2013, and again in 2015, 2016, and 2017, the maroon MS jerseys were worn with white pants on Opening Day. In 2012, 2014, and now 2018, maroon 85 jerseys were worn with white pants in the first game of the season. The 2011 season, which kicked off with the Bulldogs wearing White MS vests, was the most recent not to follow this trend.
Another interesting omission from this weekend's uniform lineup were any gray elements. Traditionally the color that the road team wears in baseball, gray was nowhere to be found on Mississippi State's uniforms this weekend. In fact, the Bulldogs wore all-white in the Sunday game, something that is nearly unheard of on the road in baseball. This appears to be the third straight season without plain gray pants for the Bulldogs; the last two year's answer to this, gray pinstripes, were nowhere to be seen either. In the season preview, I gave the gray pins only a 50% chance of returning in 2018; their absence this weekend only makes their forecast look bleaker. If they don't show up over the next two weeks, they're almost certainly out of the rotation.
The one way USM didn't dominate? The uniform game. Sure, the Golden Eagles looked fine in pinstripes on Friday, throwbacks on Saturday, and black pullovers on Sunday, but they didn't compare to the Bulldogs' new 1985 throwback jerseys. State wore the maroon 85 v-neck pullovers on Friday and Saturday; the new look was unveiled at Fan Day last Sunday and looked incredible on the field. On Sunday, the Bulldogs pulled a bit of a surprise and debuted the white versions in a road game. The new white 85s also looked stunning- perhaps even better than the maroon versions did.
One somewhat surprising thing about the Bulldogs' opening weekend uniforms is the absence of the maroon MS jerseys, which as noted in the season preview, were slightly updated this offseason. This was the first weekend series without maroon MS jerseys since April 24-26, 2014 against Texas A&M. The MS jerseys, classic but a tad plain, were a staple of the John Cohen era, and were still the most worn jerseys in Andy Cannizaro's first season. The past two seasons, I actually complained a bit that they were over worn: in 2016 they were worn in 27 of 63 games; that number increased to 40 of 67 games in 2017. Introducing a second maroon jersey to create more variety was a clear solution- and that's exactly what appears to have happened this season. I'm perfectly happy with, and actually would prefer, the maroon 85 jerseys being the primary look for the Bulldogs going forward- as long as we still throw in the MS jerseys every once in a while. All that being said, I would be surprised not to see the maroon MS jerseys worn at some point over the next two weeks.
2018 is the seventh consecutive season in which the Bulldogs have worn maroon jerseys with white pants on Opening Day. In 2013, and again in 2015, 2016, and 2017, the maroon MS jerseys were worn with white pants on Opening Day. In 2012, 2014, and now 2018, maroon 85 jerseys were worn with white pants in the first game of the season. The 2011 season, which kicked off with the Bulldogs wearing White MS vests, was the most recent not to follow this trend.
Another interesting omission from this weekend's uniform lineup were any gray elements. Traditionally the color that the road team wears in baseball, gray was nowhere to be found on Mississippi State's uniforms this weekend. In fact, the Bulldogs wore all-white in the Sunday game, something that is nearly unheard of on the road in baseball. This appears to be the third straight season without plain gray pants for the Bulldogs; the last two year's answer to this, gray pinstripes, were nowhere to be seen either. In the season preview, I gave the gray pins only a 50% chance of returning in 2018; their absence this weekend only makes their forecast look bleaker. If they don't show up over the next two weeks, they're almost certainly out of the rotation.
Bottom line: the Bulldogs' new uniforms look incredible; they're just really, really good. Only small complaint I might have about them is the lack of a front number and western-style number font, but I do appreciate that keeping the "Starkville" number font creates a cleaner look and maintains consistency with the maroon MS and pinstripe jerseys. As long as we throw in those other looks every once in a while for variety, we've pretty much nailed it. Best uniforms in college baseball.
Uniform Models for the weekend series at Southern Miss:
Friday vs Southern Miss- Maroon 85 over White- #15 Jake Mangum
Saturday vs Southern Miss- Maroon 85 over White- #10 Josh Hatcher
Sunday vs Southern Miss- White 85- #24 Cole Gordon
Uniform Models for the weekend series at Southern Miss:
Friday vs Southern Miss- Maroon 85 over White- #15 Jake Mangum
Saturday vs Southern Miss- Maroon 85 over White- #10 Josh Hatcher
Sunday vs Southern Miss- White 85- #24 Cole Gordon
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