Lotte Unveils New Uniforms

Wow, the one that Watanabe is sporting is wretched. They can't be serious. Graded color? It's like they gave a Photoshop-virgin a copy of Photoshop and paid him to design their unis. Blech.

Looks like die hard Lotte fans are making their opinions heard on players' blogs, specifically Saburo's popular blog. The general consensus by people not blinded with fan-girl delusions is that the uniforms are terrible. You wouldn't know that by looking at the blog comments, though. Comments overnight stating they were "lame" and "uncool" mysteriously disappeared when morning came.

All negative opinions of the new uniforms are being deleted, no matter how rational and level-headed. The airhead opinions posted by fan-girls who love anything Chiba Lotte does? They're untouched, and it's funny to see some of them responding to negative opinions that don't even exist anymore.

Despite people thinking the Internet is global, it's really split into different sections. This is the Japanese totalitarian version of the Internet, which is just a step down from the Chinese version that bans certain Google searches. I've run into this plenty of times in the past. Why even bother having a comment feature when you won't even allow a dissenting opinion? I hope Lotte pays for this blunder by getting some of the lowest merchandise sales in recent times.

Could you please fix the link? I haven't been able to view it.

Here is the link to the new uniforms. Once again, I don't think they're all that bad despite the consensus here.

Good golly. It's as if they tried to outdo Hanshin's inter-league unis in the ugly uniform department.

Not good. But I guess that's what you get if you let Bobby Valentine design your uniforms.

- But I guess that's what you get if you let Bobby Valentine design your uniforms.

I don't think that that's quite a fair comment. It was Valentine-kantoku who introduced the black uniforms in place of the neon pink ones the team had prior to 1995.

I always find these uniform critique threads amusing. There are those who condemn teams for trying something new - usually calling anything that doesn't look like an MLB uniform as belonging in a beer league. Then there's the other group criticizing any uniform that looks remotely like an MLB uniform as being a rip off. There's just no way to win.

Good point westbaystars, I've always found these threads amusing, too. Many here criticize teams for not trying something new, but when these uniforms aren't clones of MLB, the thread is up in arms.

Anyway about the uniforms, I thought they were actually pretty nice and that the color scheme was well thought out, though I guess some people can't be pleased unless they're whining about uniforms and not what the team is doing on the field.

- Many here criticize teams for not trying something new, but when these uniforms aren't clones of MLB, the thread is up in arms. [...] I guess some people can't be pleased unless they're whining about uniforms and not what the team is doing on the field.

To be fair, I don't see too many people in this thread who were demanding MLB shirt clones, simply those who were expressing the fact that they don't like the new Lotte shirt.

You may like them fine, others don't seem to.

A teams uniform plays a pretty big part in a team's overall image. You may call it "whining," I'd call it a valid topic of discussion.

I didn't even catch that ridiculous "whining" insult Jbrooks threw out there. I don't "whine" about what the Marines do on the field because they're pro ball players who know what they're doing, and Bobby usually does a good job of handling all the decisions. I'm not some punk armchair quarterback. I can, however, spot a tacky shirt from a mile away.

- I don't "whine" about what the Marines do on the field because they're pro ball players who know what they're doing.

I never said you did whine about what they do on the field. I said all this talk about uniforms are amusing and the complaining here can be perceived as whining. You're the one throwing out insults directed at people by the tone of your posts.

It's a uniform BigManZam, no one's saying you have to rush out and buy one, but the team had to have a reason, and that enough executive and marketing people thought it had to be appealing enough to unveil a new jersey. I mean, this is the least of a team's worries. No one is going to say, well our team is going to lose because the Marines' jersey is tacky.

I wish if we had to deal with crappy uniforms, it would be inter-league visitors only like the Tigers have. We have to deal with most games being played in this Master's League crap. That's not just my opinion. That is what most people on message boards are comparing the new uniforms to.

For the record, I liked the new Dragons uniforms when they were unveiled a few years ago. Simplicity is best, and when you go overboard like the San Diego Padres' camo uniforms, please only do it once or twice a year.

Horrendous doesn't even begin to describe how bad they are.

Pardon me while I go lose my lunch. The one uniform that Imae is wearing is nice and classy, but what in god's name are Watanabe and Satozaki wearing? I mean, the unis that Lotte wore the last couple years were borderline ugly, but these ones were definitely hit by the ugly stick.

In that last picture down at the bottom of the article, I can easily think what the players are saying:

Imae: "This one isn't bad, but man, I feel sorry for Watanabe and Satozaki."

Satozaki: "What did I do to deserve this?"

Watanabe: "I envy you, Imae."

I was thinking it was more like:

Imae: "Hahahaha I know how to do laundry and you guys don't."

Satozaki: "Actually, I know how to do laundry just fine. This one was pink before I put it in the wash, unlike Mr. Submarine over there..."

Watanabe: "What, like I read labels? How was I supposed to know you can't use bleach on these things and it was going to turn half my jersey white? If I don't use bleach, I can't get the dirt stains off the knees of my uniform pants. It's because I've got such a unique delivery. I'm special. Okay?"

I'm sure we'll all get used to these, but along the lines of "if it doesn't look like MLB it sucks," honestly, there are some pretty bad MLB uniforms, too. Did you see those maroon "Sunday" uniforms the Pittsburgh Pirates had last year? Now those were pretty awful.

The thing is, teams can have non-standard uniforms that don't suck. I'm biased, of course, but I think the Fighters have the best example of such a thing.

You guys are lucky you got teams willing to try something unique, strange, or bizarre. MLB has spent the last decade trying to "out-dark" each other with funereal uniform colors. Baseball should be a colorful, fun game.

Not sure though, might have to sip my double latte a little more before I grasp what Lotte is trying to achieve. But, hey, at least they're trying to do something interesting. An A's uniform might look great with that faded-down look. MAMA!

Wow, those unis look like the dye ran out before the shirt was finished.

Westbay, the Japanese teams can come up with uniforms that are designed well and not a rip off of MLB teams. Japan is famous for its design firms. Clearly Lotte is spending its money elsewhere, like on Bobby's salary.

Sorry to be against everyone, but I really like the one Watanabe is wearing, other than the sleeves. The colors blend nicely and they look kinda cool. The one Satozaki is wearing is just a huge mistake.

Funny that Bobby V. hasn't mentioned anything about the new uniforms. I remember he got rid of the "pink" scripted uniforms that the Marines had in his first year with Chiba Lotte.

Upon further review, I have seen uglier uniforms, and those are SoftBank's alternate jerseys. Those look like somebody puked in a bucket and drew "SoftBank Hawks" with a stick.

Also, the uni that Satozaki is wearing isn't that bad, but Watanabe's uniform is so unique it's just weird and ugly. And correct me if I'm wrong, but is that the old Chiba Lotte Marines' logo on the right side of the uniform? The designer must have splashed a bunch of color on the uniform, then painted blindfolded.

- Also, the uni that Satozaki is wearing isn't that bad, but Watanabe's uniform is so unique it's just weird and ugly.

I agree. Satozaki's is fine, but Watanabe's is the worst pro jersey I've ever seen. Worse than the Chicago White Sox short-pants uni's of the late '70s.

I once saw Lotte play in a white jersey with black pants. Usually it is dark jersey with light pants, but they were wearing the opposite, white jersey with black pants. It did not look like a baseball uniform at all, and that's why I kinda liked it. I wish I had a photo of that uniform. Does anyone know where I can take a look at that special Lotte uniform? Thanks in advance.

I liked Satozaki's uniform. I thought they look alright. But the Watanabe's uniform is not too nice.