What is the best Philadelphia Phillies uniform? Phillies Nation set out to answer that question by polling some of the team in an extremely unscientific manner.
For some players, wearing any MLB jersey makes them happy. When asked what his favorite Phillies uniform is, Brandon Marsh said that he “likes them all” and added that he’s “blessed to wear the jersey every day.”
Others don’t concern themselves at all with such matters. “No, I don’t give a shit,” another player bluntly said when asked.
But part of what makes baseball so special is the pageantry. And when given the opportunity, quite a few Phillies were happy to discuss which of the team’s five current uniforms is their favorite.
Connor Brogdon: “I like the pinstripes just because they are classic, clean.”
Dalton Guthrie: “The baby blues are cool. They’re just cool looking uniforms. I think that’s a consensus that everyone likes those uniforms.”
Bryce Harper: “The creams. I think it’s just the cleanest one we’ve got. I know the younger crowd kind of likes the blue a little bit. But yeah, I think a lot of us in here really like the cream uniforms.”
J.T. Realmuto: “The baby blues. I just like the way they look, the old-school [color]way. I just like that colorway a lot, you don’t see it really anywhere else. I like the catcher’s gear. I love the maroon, I like the accessories that go with it. I just think it’s such a unique colorway and a unique uniform. And it’s just, you know, the old Phillies.”
Kody Clemens: “I’m gonna have to say the creams the best. I mean, the baby blues are awesome, but I think the creams are just a step above them.”
Nick Castellanos: “Yeah, I like the white [with the] pinstripes.”
Matt Strahm: “The baby blues. They’re sweet, they’re sweet, I like the baby blues.”
Bailey Falter: “Probably the creams … the creams for sure.”
Rob Thomson: “I like the pinstripes. I mean, I like them all, but I think the pinstripes are really the most traditional.”
As part of Nike’s “4+1 rule,” the Phillies will likely have to eliminate one of their current uniforms in the not-so-distant-future, with the “+1” scheduled to be a City Connect uniform.
The three uniforms mentioned by the Phillies polled — the home pinstripes, home alternate creams and powder blue throwbacks — feel especially unlikely to be touched.
Prior to 2023, the Mariners — who now have a City Connect uniform — ditched their gray road uniforms to comply with Nike’s rule. But the Mariners have two solid alternate tops — navy blue and northwest green — that they can mix and match on the road without a primary gray uniform.
While the Phillies red “getaway day” uniform tops
have their proponents, it generally has more detractors than fans in the uniform aesthetics community. It’s been shelved by the Phillies once already, and the guess here is that’s the one that will be cut when a decision needs to be made.Is Nike’s rule stupid? Perhaps, but does any team really need more than five primary uniforms? The Phillies probably do need a road alternate uniform, and perhaps if red is eliminated, powder blue — which was the primary road look from 1972-1988 — can also be mixed in on the road again. It seems that the players would prefer that anyway.