In November of 2019, downtown San Diego experienced its first brownout of the new decade. Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres unveiled a long-anticipated rebranding, returning the franchise's uniforms back to their beloved brown and gold color scheme.
Unfortunately, given the restrictions of last season's COVID-19 pandemic, fans were unable to see the new look on the field in person. So, as we eagerly await our return to Petco Park for 2021 next week, let's take a look back at the new duds' debut.
"Padres brown" dates back to the franchise's expansion debut in 1969. Its selection as a team color is mostly credited to founding club president Buzzie Bavasie, who wanted to "match the tone and history of San Diego," writes Padres.com's Bill Center.
Over the next fifty years, however, the team's uniform went through ten major changes that included shades of orange, blue, sand, and for seventeen seasons, pinstripes. To Paul Lukas of the blog Uni Watch, former Padres chief marketing officer Wayne Partello said:
"The only consistency in our uniforms over the last 51 years has been our inconsistency... Our fans want a uniform set so that when they turn on the TV, they know it’s the Padres."
In other words, the uniform needed uniformity.
Close to two years and seven figures were invested by the club to find just the perfect combination of distinctive logos, colors, shades, and styles preferred by Padres fans. The resulting look is expected to carry the franchise into a new, winning era of Padres baseball. Prior to the unveil, current Padres vice chairman Ron Fowler was quoted saying as such:
"This is going to be the uniform we win a championship in."
In front of over 5,000 frenzied season ticket holders, sponsors, and members of the media at Petco Park, I introduced the players who modeled the team's new threads.
The first look, a pinstriped road alternate uniform, was debuted by shortstop phenom Fernando Tatis, Jr. This was followed by the solid brown primary road look by first baseman Eric Hosmer, and finally, the home white pinstripes from third baseman Manny Machado.
The crowd, and resulting social media response, spoke for itself. The page was turned, the excitement was real, and the hashtag #BrownIsBack was trending nationwide.
I was proud to be on-hand, not only for the anticipation and fervor, but also to be a part of an exciting new decade of Padres baseball.
My voice. These colors. This ballpark.
And soon, our fans.
I can't wait.
For examples of Alex's hosting work outside of Petco Park, watch his Event Host & VOG Demo. It includes highlights from major events like CES 2020 and JBL Fest, direct from the Las Vegas Strip.
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