Mississippi State continued its hot start to the 2019 baseball season with four wins and zero losses in the third week of competition. After a pair of midweek wins over Jackson State and SE Louisiana, the Bulldogs traveled to Frisco, Texas, where they defeated Sam Houston State on Friday and third-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday before Sunday's game with Nebraska was canceled. As had been the case in the first two weeks, two uniforms made their season debut in the third week of the season, bringing the total number of 2019 uniforms (so far) to six.
The first uniforms to make their season debut this week were the white 85s, which were worn in Tuesday's 17-4 thrashing of Jackson State. As detailed in the season preview, the white 85s have undergone a few small changes this season, most noticeably the thinning of sleeve stripes and addition of the M over S logo to the right sleeve. The white 85 design is one of my all-time favorite Mississippi State baseball looks, and this year's version is arguably the best it's ever looked. Hopefully it gets worn in more than just a few midweek games.
The first uniforms to make their season debut this week were the white 85s, which were worn in Tuesday's 17-4 thrashing of Jackson State. As detailed in the season preview, the white 85s have undergone a few small changes this season, most noticeably the thinning of sleeve stripes and addition of the M over S logo to the right sleeve. The white 85 design is one of my all-time favorite Mississippi State baseball looks, and this year's version is arguably the best it's ever looked. Hopefully it gets worn in more than just a few midweek games.
A week after making their debut against UAB, the white "State" pinstripes were worn in Wednesday's 12-0 win over SE Louisiana. The white "State" pins, along with the white 85s and 50s-style "STATE" jerseys, give Mississippi State three incredible white jersey options in 2019.
On Friday in Frisco, the Bulldogs were the home team against Sam Houston State and wore their classic maroon 85 over white Friday look. After a 5-4 win over the Bearkats, the maroon 85 over white look improved to 2-1 on the season, bringing it back over .500 along with all of Bulldogs' other looks.
Saturday against Texas Tech was State's first game as the "away" team in 2019. This meant getting a look at the Bulldogs' 2019 road uniform for the first time. As it turns out, the 2019 road uniform is the exact same as the last three seasons, as the fan-favorite gray pinstripes are back! The only 2018 uniform to be worn without any changes in 2019, the gray pinstripes, which debuted in 2016, are now in their fourth year of use. This makes them State's fourth longest used jersey in the Adidas era, behind the white vest, maroon 85, and black MS jerseys that were all worn 5 seasons from 2010 to 2014. (Click here for a breakdown of Mississippi State baseball uniform history by year)
I said in the season preview that'd I'd be surprised if the gray pins returned in 2019, but I'll gladly be wrong on this one. Back in January, the picture of the 50s-style gray "State" uniforms that Kendall Rogers tweeted out from an Adidas event seemed to signal that the gray pins had been replaced. However, as we've seen, State has worn white 50s-style jerseys and retained the gray pins, so the theory that the gray version was merely a prototype for what eventually became the white version is looking pretty plausible right now. Glad to see the gray pins back for another year, as a staple of the Jake Mangum Era. They're the only Mississippi State baseball uniform ever to be worn under four different head coaches (Cohen, Cannizaro, Henderson, Lemonis) without any tweaks.
So, why didn't the gray pins see any tweaks like all of the Bulldogs' other uniforms? I think it boils down to the fact that Adidas is pushing for their logo to be on the left chest on all of their new uniforms, and that would disrupt the design of the gray pins, which feature the M over S logo on the left chest. The only change that would make sense on the gray pins is to enlarge the state outline patch on the back to match all of the other jerseys, but that isn't really necessary. The gray pins obviously don't need the M over S logo on the right sleeve like the other jerseys, since it features it on the front left chest (and is now the Bulldogs' only jersey to do so).
Overall, the Bulldogs' 2019 uniform set is looking very solid thus far. Three incredible white jersey looks (White 85, White STATE, White Pins), a classic maroon jersey (Maroon 85), a solid road jersey (Gray Pins), and of course the Sunday nickelblacks (Black 85). Through 11 games, the Bulldogs are 10-1 overall; all six uniforms won their debut game and all six currently have a record above .500. It's a good time to be a Mississippi State baseball fan.
On Friday in Frisco, the Bulldogs were the home team against Sam Houston State and wore their classic maroon 85 over white Friday look. After a 5-4 win over the Bearkats, the maroon 85 over white look improved to 2-1 on the season, bringing it back over .500 along with all of Bulldogs' other looks.
Saturday against Texas Tech was State's first game as the "away" team in 2019. This meant getting a look at the Bulldogs' 2019 road uniform for the first time. As it turns out, the 2019 road uniform is the exact same as the last three seasons, as the fan-favorite gray pinstripes are back! The only 2018 uniform to be worn without any changes in 2019, the gray pinstripes, which debuted in 2016, are now in their fourth year of use. This makes them State's fourth longest used jersey in the Adidas era, behind the white vest, maroon 85, and black MS jerseys that were all worn 5 seasons from 2010 to 2014. (Click here for a breakdown of Mississippi State baseball uniform history by year)
I said in the season preview that'd I'd be surprised if the gray pins returned in 2019, but I'll gladly be wrong on this one. Back in January, the picture of the 50s-style gray "State" uniforms that Kendall Rogers tweeted out from an Adidas event seemed to signal that the gray pins had been replaced. However, as we've seen, State has worn white 50s-style jerseys and retained the gray pins, so the theory that the gray version was merely a prototype for what eventually became the white version is looking pretty plausible right now. Glad to see the gray pins back for another year, as a staple of the Jake Mangum Era. They're the only Mississippi State baseball uniform ever to be worn under four different head coaches (Cohen, Cannizaro, Henderson, Lemonis) without any tweaks.
So, why didn't the gray pins see any tweaks like all of the Bulldogs' other uniforms? I think it boils down to the fact that Adidas is pushing for their logo to be on the left chest on all of their new uniforms, and that would disrupt the design of the gray pins, which feature the M over S logo on the left chest. The only change that would make sense on the gray pins is to enlarge the state outline patch on the back to match all of the other jerseys, but that isn't really necessary. The gray pins obviously don't need the M over S logo on the right sleeve like the other jerseys, since it features it on the front left chest (and is now the Bulldogs' only jersey to do so).
Overall, the Bulldogs' 2019 uniform set is looking very solid thus far. Three incredible white jersey looks (White 85, White STATE, White Pins), a classic maroon jersey (Maroon 85), a solid road jersey (Gray Pins), and of course the Sunday nickelblacks (Black 85). Through 11 games, the Bulldogs are 10-1 overall; all six uniforms won their debut game and all six currently have a record above .500. It's a good time to be a Mississippi State baseball fan.
Next week, the Bulldogs host two midweek games as well as a weekend series with Maine as they wrap up the exclusively non-conference portion of the schedule and get ready for SEC play to begin.
Uniform Models for the Third Week of the 2019 Season:
Tuesday vs Jackson State: White 85: #34 Marshall Gilbert
Wednesday vs SE Louisiana: White "State" Pinstripes: #13 Peyton Plumlee
Friday v Sam Houston State: Maroon 85 over White: #17 Justin Foscue
Saturday v Texas Tech: Gray Pinstripes: #3 JT Ginn
Uniform Models for the Third Week of the 2019 Season:
Tuesday vs Jackson State: White 85: #34 Marshall Gilbert
Wednesday vs SE Louisiana: White "State" Pinstripes: #13 Peyton Plumlee
Friday v Sam Houston State: Maroon 85 over White: #17 Justin Foscue
Saturday v Texas Tech: Gray Pinstripes: #3 JT Ginn