Twins Usher in New Era Where Past Becomes Future

[Ted Schwerzler]

On a cold Friday November morning the Minnesota Twins took over the Mall of America rotunda, complete with a baseball-diamond-shaped stage, and ushered in a new era. Changing the marks, branding, and uniforms for 2023 and beyond, the baseball club was ready to turn over a new leaf. With a tagline of, "Inspired by the past, built for the future," the Twins are ready for a change.

 

Image courtesy of Ted Schwerzler, Twins Daily

 

Going away from the baseball-shaped Minnesota Twins Baseball Club logo that has been in use since 2010, the Twins are ushering in their 5th rebrand since becoming a franchise in Minnesota for the 1961 season. Having taken over for the Washington Senators, who existed from 1901-1960, Minnesota has developed a rich history of its own.

Dubbed the Twins as a nod to the state’s largest cities in Minneapolis and St. Paul, a Minnie & Paul shaking hands logo was used from inception through 1986. Just prior to winning their first of two World Series championships, the franchise went with the Minnesota Twins ball-inspired logo and adopted a new script. It was changed slightly when the franchise opened its doors at Target Field, and has remained unchanged since.

The franchise is one rooted in its past, and that is evident with images of the previous logos spread throughout Target Field. Minnie & Paul have been and will remain, a fixture in centerfield at the gorgeous downtown stadium. As a new scoreboard and video boards are installed this offseason, an overhaul of the new insignia and branding will be present.

On Friday, Minnesota unveiled their home, away, and alternate uniforms for the 2023 Major League Baseball season. A fourth uniform, their Nike City Connect offering, will also be worn and unveiled at a different time.

The new uniforms feature a more rich and bold color design. Gone is the vibrant red, and no longer are there hints of the highly-controversial Kasota Gold. The navy blue uniforms feature a block lettering similar to that seen on the downtown neighbor Minnesota Timberwolves uniforms. Slight tweaks to the traditional Twins script have been made, and the interlocking “TC” logo has also been altered ever so slightly. The "Twin Cities" moniker appears on the cream colorway, and is the first time it has been used on a uniform.

It’s hard to define these new uniforms as much more than a minimalist design. It’s a simplistic look that looks very clean in the white, and the blue offers a much more bold take. Piping on the pants is present.

It remains to be seen who these uniforms will appeal to most. They aren’t as progressive as futuristic fans may like, but they also aren’t the throwbacks that a more traditional fan may desire either. It seems like a good middle ground, and a defining word may be little more than “safe.” For the players, pitcher Joe Ryan was a big fan of the red alternates as was Jorge Polanco. Ryan is a fan of the navy tops, while Polanco and Luis Arraez both love the grey pinstripe look. Bryon Buxton was last on the stage, but is a big fan that the club has brought back a cream alternate.

Immediately following the unveiling, the Twins made merchandise exclusively available to purchase at the Mall of America. The team store at Target Field will have the collection available to purchase in the coming days. It will be on both Thad Levine and Derek Falvey to make sure the new digs are stocked with fresh talent for the 2023 season.

If you'd like to watch the unveiling of the uniforms and seeing the uniforms modeled by Jose Miranda, Luis Arraez, Joe Ryan, Jorge Polanco, and Byron Buxton (and some other Twins attire modeled by some Twins employees, Elvis Martinez and even Lindsey Buxton), check out the Twins Daily Instagram Live link below. 

Share your thoughts below. What are your impressions? Do you like the new uniforms?

 

 

 

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[dberthia]

I like these a lot, particularly the home whites. They could have done MUCH worse. Now let's figure out how to field a major league caliber team.

[Andrew Sudbeck]

I’m not a fan at all of the Minnesota ones or the new cap. I feel like they are ugly and don’t represent the Twins brand at all. I do love the Twin cities and the white. Why can’t we just keep the TC logo for all the uniforms that is iconic. Not gonna lie I’m not thrilled

[Vanimal46]

I don’t like the M hats one bit. But the jerseys look slick. I am a big fan of going back to the grey pinstripes for the road jerseys. 

[bighat]

Marlins-inspired "M" hats need to go. It's not "minimalist", it's unimaginative. 

I like the two home jerseys (is the "Twin Cities" a "city connect" jersey only?) and I'm especially digging the all-white letters on those TC hats that compliment that uniform. 

Standard home whites are great. 

No home blues? 

[DJL44]

The M looks like the Washington Senators W turned upside down.

[Original_JB]

Really loathe the home whites and the "M" hats. 

[farmerguychris]

Gotta say.... I'm not really impressed.  The one Buxton is wearing is OK, but others are right - the 'M' looks pretty uninspired.  

I'm not a good dresser because I don't care enough to be.  But do these tops and bottoms even match?

[Vanimal46]

Most positive development of the day. Let’s get a deal done Carlos! 

[Loosey]

20 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The M looks like the Washington Senators W turned upside down.

[HerbieFan]

Let's be honest.  "Rebranding" is just a fancy word for "we want to sell more apparel".  That said, why are we stealing the Marlins "M"?  And...WHERE ARE THE BABY BLUES?!?!  I'm assuming the one Miranda is wearing is some kind of throwback to the Senators days?...which seems unnecessary in 2023.  Blue tops look sharp.

[SF Twins Fan]

I'm bummed there won't be any baby blues going forward but I like all of the tops.  I don't love the stripe down the side of the grey pinstripes and like a lot of people the M hats are terrible.  They look exactly like the Miami M hats.

[ashbury]

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2023 Turn City Turns!

Also, just a guess, we see five players who will not be traded this off-season.

[umterp23]

Not a fan of the M hat at all for reasons already pointed out.  Can live with them, road blue jersey is boring, don't see them wearing that one much.  I do like the font for Minnesota on jersey, the cursive for Twins is pretty awful.  Really Big and Really thin lettering doesn't look good.  

At least this wasn't the softball shorts and sleeveless Sox from years ago.

[Nine of twelve]

39 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

WHERE ARE THE BABY BLUES?!?!

On the scrap heap of history where they belong, I hope.

[ashbury]

51 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

And...WHERE ARE THE BABY BLUES?!?!

In Rocco's eyes, I think.  Can't quite tell.

[Squirrel]

10 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

On the scrap heap of history where they belong, I hope.

They will come back to haunt us I fear ... 

[Brandon27]

Everyone in here can bitch and complain about the new look you all will buying these new jerseys and hats before season starts 

[Original_JB]

Origin of the "M" star? 

[Nine of twelve]

Home whites: satisfactory, a bit of an improvement over the previous home whites. I think using navy for the number on the front to provide contrast with the red script is a good choice. (I still see T u π n s on the script, but it's OK, I'll adjust.)

Home blue jersey: I like the white block MINNESOTA on the front better than the red script of the previous navy jerseys. I like the red number on the front.

Alternate cream home uniform: I think I like this the best of the five uniforms revealed today. It's a good complement to the other two home options and the all-navy trim helps to give it a retro look that doesn't look dated.

Road grays: a definite step up from the previous road grays. I like the understated pinstripes; they add a bit of sharpness without making the uniforms look too busy and it helps to differentiate us from the Guardians' and the Atlantas' road grays.

Road blue jersey: It's the same as the home blue jersey, right? That's fine with me.

Caps: well, I guess I can grudgingly go along with the new M if the team feels it's something they just have to do. I hope it eventually becomes the less-used alternate to the standby navy cap with the white T and the red C. The all-white TC looks right with the alternate home cream.

And I am very happy that the red jerseys, the powder blue uniforms, and the Kasota gold trim are no longer with us. The team never looked like the Twins in red jerseys. It's just not right, sort of like if the Yankees decided to have green jerseys or something like that. I suppose the powder blues could be worn from time to time if there's a 1970's bad fashion theme night or something like that, but only very occasionally at most.

One detail that we didn't see today is the socks for players who wear pants above the ankles. It appears that the socks for the alternate home cream uniform are solid navy with no stirrups. I strongly approve. I hope the socks for the other uniforms are the same. No need for stripes or anything else down there.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Not a huge fan of the minimalistic look.  Look cheap.
M star hats are horrible.
The "Twin CIties" jerseys are ok.
Ambivalent to the rest.

I am a huge fan of the baby blues.  I am extremely disappointed they are not in the mix. 

[mikelink45]

I just have to be the voice of so many of us fans - who cares!  If people want jerseys and caps they will buy whatever is available, but fashion does not matter when I watch or listen to a game.  As a person who gets most of my games on the radio it really is difficult for me to even tell you what they have had on for the last 62 years.  

But it is an off season attention getter so that is fine. 

[chaderic20]

Yay! No more Kasota Gold!

Yay! No more Baby Blues!

I love the cream "Twin Cities" home alternates! I think I like the standard home whites the least, but can't put my finger on what exactly I don't like about them. I wasn't a fan of the "M*" cap until I saw that it's the old Washington Senators "W" turned upside down. I appreciate that nod to the franchise's history. And the star ties them in with other MN sports franchises, as shown in pictures others have posted in previous comments.

[KirbyDome89]

Absolutely love the cream alternate. It's clean, classy, and the all white TC cap fits perfectly. Nice work.

The pinstripes for the road unis are cool. Roads are never that flashy but I like these.

The Navy alternates are ok. I'm not a huge fan of the lettering but whatever.

I didn't realize how large the script on the white tops was when I saw the leaks. Honestly, it's a little much for me. The blue numbering to offset the red script is nice though.

I wish they would've gone back to the original sized TC on the caps, it looks like they kept the enlarged version they introduced alongside Kasota Gold. 

I hate the M caps. The north star (I'm assuming that's what it is) feels so out of place that it ruins any shot at this being a decent cap. 

[JDubs]

Mostly what I take away from this is that the Senators' logo from 57-60 was dope as hell and needs to be on a throwback jersey for the Twins

[mnfireman]

I like the new-look uniforms. I am not a fan of the new "M" hats (not a fan of the old ones either), but the "M" looks like they inverted the "W" from the old Senator's logo, so maybe it pays homage to the team's roots. 

 

[Loosey]

I don't know.  I like them.   I think the M hat would be better without the star, but overall I have no problems.

[mk]

Overall not impressed. I do like the red, white and blue piping on the pants. "M" hats are boring. Hate the Twin Cities jersey. If they wear them on a weekend its a slap to all of Twins Territory outside the metro.

[Andy Brodie]

Overall, pretty uninspired and middle of the road.

The cream home alternates are the sharpest. Always love pinstripes too, though they should not have striping on the pants. It’s superfluous and ruins the clean lines/look. Also would prefer primary blue with red accent on the home whites.

Good: The god-awful gold is gone!

Bad: New generic M logo and the “North Star” should be more of a star shape if they’re gonna go that route, which isn’t really a great idea IMHO. 

Inexcusable: No Minnie & Paul!
 

 

[h2oface]

They actually pay people to do this. And people will buy them. As P. T. Barnum is credited with saying, "There's a sucker born every minute".