To Honor Opening Day, 12 of the Most Stylish Baseball Uniforms

The Cardinals debuted bright blue jerseys in the late 1970s, and in 1982, when the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers to win the World Series, they were nicknamed “Victory Blue” because of their unique road uniforms. The team now wears plain white or gray. (Photo: Getty Images)

There have been many iterations of the Cubs uniform, even in the early years. In 1908 the team wore white-collared dress shirts. The team settled on this minimal gray ensemble in the 1930s (seen here on team manager Charlie Grimm). What’s interesting about this uniform is that it incorporated both the team’s city (on the front of the jersey) and nickname (on the side of sleeve). Only a handful of teams had ever worn both logos in a single ensemble. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Houston Astros (formerly known as the Houston Colt .45s) rebranded themselves when they relocated their games to the indoor Astrodome in 1965 (after three sweltering summers, the team could no longer take the Texas heat). The team ditched its plain white jerseys for ones emblazoned with a trail-blazing star in bright orange, yellow, and red. Sadly, the Astros colors didn’t live long. (Photo: Getty Images)

The New York Mets, founded in 1962, built their uniforms to incorporate elements of New York’s former teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Mets uniforms included the Dodgers royal blue and Giants orange trim. Though the jerseys haven’t changed much over the past few decades, the team notably wore “racing stripe” uniforms in the 1980s and early ’90s, introducing black trim to the team’s color palette. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a long streak of boring uniforms — from 1902 until 1977, the team only had variations of white and gray. But for a brief period in the late 1970s, the team wore combinations of white, gold, and black, with the players’ last names appearing on the back of the jerseys for the first time. But in 1985, the Pirates returned to basic white and gray. (Photo: Getty Images)

The New York Yankees have one of the most distinctive looks in the league, in full-pinstripe ensembles. The interlocking NY insignia, which the team adopted in 1909, was originally designed by Tiffany & Co. in 1877 (for a medal of honor presented to a New York police officer). The linked NY has since become iconic, and is embraced by celebs like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Kim Kardashian (even though she’s from L.A.). (Photo: Getty Images)

The Brooklyn Dodgers boasted an impressive roster of players, including star hitter Jackie Robinson, who became the first African-American to play in the major leagues in the modern era. In 1997, the league retired Robinson’s uniform number, 42 — except on “Jackie Robinson Day,” April 15, when every player on every team wears No. 42. (Photo: Getty Images)

Formerly the Kansas City Athletics (and before that, the team resided in Philly), the A’s moved to Oakland, Calif., in 1968. And with a change in scenery came a change in uniform — a pretty drastic one, at that. Originally white or gray uniforms that spelled out “Athletics” or just “A” on the front of their jerseys, the team introduced gold and green vests during its move to California, which included the player number and an apostrophe “s” in the logo. These colorful iterations stood out in stark contrast to other MLB teams at the time. Even today, the Oakland A’s have kept their gold and green. (Photo: Getty Images)

Considered one of the most recognizable logos in sports, the Milwaukee Brewers yellow and blue mitt logo (made from combining the letters “m” and “b”) was introduced in 1977, and adorned the Brewers caps for the 16 greatest seasons in the club’s history. The logo was designed by an art history student, Tom Meindel at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who won $2,000 for creating it. It was retired in 1993, but the team is bringing it back this season. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox uniforms have been classically the same since the 1940s (although the road uniform lettering was switched from red to blue.) The logo, on the other hand, has transformed throughout the decades — notably in the 1950s, when the team debuted a childlike illustration of a sock with a face holding a bat (it looked a lot like the Kool-Aid man). But since then, the team has opted for clean, classic jerseys when it plays at Boston’s Fenway Park. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shorts on the ball field? For one game in 1976, the White Sox made a groundbreaking fashion statement (and baseball history) by wearing shorts — or “short pants,” as team owner Bill Veeck called them. The players enjoyed them — the heat was scorching that summer — but were back in actual pants the next year. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Kansas City Royals first wore powder blue in 1973, under manager Jack McKeon, as it switched from Municipal Stadium to its current home). The team wore this color only on the road (at home they wore white) — and as it does today, the crown on the sleeve stood out. (Photo: Getty Images)