Texas Rangers: Grading the new Nike uniforms for 2020

As Nike takes over production of the MLB uniforms in 2020, the Texas Rangers got some updates and debuted their new uniform choices on Wednesday.

With Nike taking over production of the MLB uniforms in 2020, each team in baseball is getting an update of sorts even if it’s just the addition of the Nike logo to the jersey. The Texas Rangers debuted their refresh on Wednesday to mostly positive response. Throughout the weeks leading up to the debut we heard generally the same feedback and hints that there would not be anything major changed to the Rangers uniforms. However, in my opinion, having now seen the changes, I would categorize some of the changes as fairly major. Take a look for yourself.

Home Whites get a Needed Update

For awhile now the Rangers have essentially had four different colors of the same jersey. All of them said ‘TEXAS’ across the front in the club’s proprietary font and while they evoked a consistent feel, they were a little bit boring. Additionally, none of the jerseys featured the team name which was frustrating to fans, myself included. That changed Wednesday when Texas debuted their update home white unis that saw a return to the ‘Rangers’ in script font.

The script font is updated slightly from the script they used in the past and while I like it, something about the colors seem a bit off. I think it’s the blue lettering with the red hat and red belt that throws me off. Luckily, the home whites can be worn with blue or red hats/belts and I think I’ll like it much more with the blue. Just a bit more continuity than the red accents.

Grade: B

Road Grays See a Couple of Minor Tweaks

The road grays have actually been my favorite jersey for the Rangers over the past few seasons. The blue letters outlined in white and red looked really good to me and I’m partial to the neutral colors of gray and white more often than not, powder blue aside. This uniform didn’t need much changed and Texas kept it relatively the same with some minor adjustments.

The road grays got the same piping and accent updates all jerseys did with red, white and blue piping down the pants and around the sleeves. This is an old-school looking feature that adds some color to the road grays while keeping a classic look classic. The name and number on the back got the same update that all the jerseys did which opts for a single color outline with the third color as almost a shadow rather than the standard double outline we saw in the old jerseys. They’ll only be worn with blue hats as normal but will all uniforms, Texas has done away with black belts in favor of ones that match the hat. That adds a little color to the whole look.

Grade: B+

Blue Jerseys Stay Flexible for Road and Home Games

Like the road grays, the blues saw minimal updates this offseason which was a good decision. Prior to the introduction of the red jerseys a few years ago, the blue jerseys were the only color jersey Texas wore featuring both alongside the grays on the road and the whites at home. Even with the reds introduced the blue still were used on the road and at home and the plan for them remains the same after the update.

The ‘TEXAS’ word mark still features on the front as usual but the numbers on the back go from white, outlined in blue, outlined in red to white, outlined in blue, with a red shadow. It will also get the piping upgrade with a bolder red, white and blue down the pants but on the sleeves the color trio goes powder blue, white, red to add a little contrast. I’m not sure how I like the different color accents on the sleeves and the pants but I don’t know that there was another option and it’s minor enough that I didn’t even notice it at first glance.

Grade: B

Home Reds See a Big Change

The Rangers red jerseys have quickly become a favorite among fans and Texas ensured they’d be back in 2020. The jerseys look relatively the same as the club opted for the ‘TEXAS’ word mark on the front rather than switch the the ‘Rangers’ script, a decision that was made with intent. They will only be worn at home still, as per usual, but now they have become the jersey choice for Friday games meaning for Friday, Saturday, Sunday home series we’re likely to see Texas wear red, white, powder blue.

The big change for the reds came in the change to the hat which gets a new logo that features only on the red hat and spring training gear. In an ode to the classic ‘TR’ logo from the early 80’s the new red hats feature an outline of the state of Texas with a staggered ‘T’ and ‘X’ in their traditional ‘T’ font. This logo has probably been the most controversial change and while I get the intention, the ‘X’ just doesn’t fit next to the ‘T’. That’s probably because we aren’t used to seeing an X in that font but I wonder if they could’ve just gone with a staggered ‘T’ and ‘R’ instead which would at least communicate the throwback to the classic logo. The red hats also are no longer purely red and instead feature a blue bill which is a change I’m actually a fan of.

Grade: C+

Spring Training Sees Logo Change

The Spring Training uniforms are usually the most unique compared to regular season fits and that trend stayed the same. This feels like a time when the organization tries out new stuff, logos, color combos, etc. because if it bombs, it’s Spring Training and nobody actually cares.

https://twitter.com/Rangers/status/1202307186925428739?s=20

The 2020 Spring Training uniforms feature a blue jersey as usual but get a big change to the aforementioned staggered ‘TX’ logo mentioned above. This logo features not only on the hat as it does with the home reds, but it also is the front logo on the jersey stitched on the left chest. The ‘TX’ logo actually looks better on the jersey than it does on the hats. The ST hats are blue with the ‘TX’ logo and a red bill, inverse of the regular season red jerseys. Once again though I think I’d like the ‘TX’ logo better if it were a ‘TR’ instead. The TX reminds me a little too much of a gas station souvenir you can buy in Tyler that looks almost like a team hat without violating trademark laws.

Grade: C+