O’s Go Back To the Cartoon Bird

Finally! Sweeping change around the Baltimore Orioles!

No, Peter Angelos hasn’t somehow disappeared, to ride out into the sunset as somebody capable or caring takes over the team. Sorry to get your hopes up, Orioles fans. What has happened, however, is a sweeping change in the team’s uniforms: the cartoon bird is back.

Personally, the hat with the realistic oriole that the team has been using since 1989 is one of my favorite caps in the big leagues. But, I know many people, particularly Orioles fans, love this look, one that hearkens back to the days of Brooks Robinson and some other people that probably played for the Orioles or something. And I certainly can’t complain — it’s a good look. Here are a few things I would note:

— The decision to go with the white-panel hat is an interesting one. Until MLB used that style on the trucker hat-esque 2011 patriotic hats, there hadn’t been a white-panel hat used since the old Toronto Blue Jays caps in the 1993 season (no doubt, it is not a coincidence this is the last time the Jays won the World Series).

— Although I loved it with the Jays, I’m not sure I buy it here. For some reason, I think the style goes better with blue than it does with black and orange.

— The orange jersey seen above is a new one and will be used on Saturdays.

— The Orioles will still keep the black jerseys — which I would decry if black wasn’t already a significant part of the color scheme (Marlins, Blue Jays, I’m looking at you), but with Baltimore, I think they look solid.

— Doesn’t Mac from Always Sunny look great in that new getup?

— You can find out a bunch more about this if you go to SportsLogos.net. Chris Creamer knows more about this stuff than, like, anybody. So go there.