Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Red Moon Rising. New Grizzlies Uniforms Include an Unusual Feature
David Website Replacement
By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 6 years ago on
January 30, 2019

Share

The Grizzlies will sport two major changes as they head into their 22nd season in Fresno.
One is a subtle— not so subtle change— as the team becomes the affiliate of the Washington Nationals. I’m not sure how much the fans will actually notice that AJ Reed and Reymin Guduan are no longer around.

Photo of GV Wire's David Taub
Opinion
David Taub
The second change will be a little more obvious: new threads.
The team introduced its new uniforms at the Maya Cinema on Tuesday (Jan. 29) night. It’s the fourth major overhaul since the team first took to the field in 1998.
Now that the parent club no longer wears orange like the previous two (Giants, Astros), that color is gone in favor of red.

A Chance for Red Pants

That includes a red jersey, a red cap, and (gasp) red pants.
Yes, red pants.
The Grizzlies have always been bold in marketing the team. Taco Throwdowns, wild themed jersey nights, Parker!
But those pants, which for now will be the main home uniform paired with a cream-colored top, may be a gimmick too far.
Grizzlies president Derek Franks is a baseball historian. He even cited the 1936 Cincinnati Reds wearing red pants.
“We wanted to do something that no team has ever done,” Franks explained. “It wouldn’t be the Grizzlies to not do something unique.”

Red pants will be part of the new uniform set (GV Wire Photo/Jahz Tello)
There’s probably a reason why no team has ever done it, although it’s not unprecedented.
Cleveland wore red pants in the 1970s. There are color pictures. It’s not pretty.
One comment I heard among the large crowd of season ticket holders and other invited guests at the Maya was that they looked like softball uniforms.
On the plus side, they may match the blush on the players’ face when they wear them on the field for the first time. Especially if the team matches the red pants with the new red jersey.

Four New Uniform Sets

AJ Reed in the old Grizzlies uniform based on the Astros design from 2018 (Photo: Fresno Grizzlies)
The main home uniform will be a cream top, with  Fresno in red across the chest. The bottom part of the jersey will be red as well.
The design incorporates a red star, explained to symbolize California’s independence.
The cap for this set will be red, with a more aggressive, ferocious Grizzly bear, complete with slash marks.
But, the way it is presented, does that mean the grizzly is getting slashed?
The star is also a holdover from the Grizzlies’ previous parent club, Houston.
Unfortunately, those cool alternate blue jersey with the grizzly inside the star, and the ‘F’ on the cap in a star, ala the Astros, are gone.
But, they are replaced with two other alternate jerseys.
A red jersey with “Grizzlies” displayed on the front with the slash mark, is combined with a black cap, with that same aggressive grizzly in front of a pseudo California flag.
A black alternate is similar to the black tops of prior years. Orange is erased in favor of “Chukchansi Gold.”
The combo is the best looking, and a nice nod to the million-dollar sponsor of the stadium name. The color also represents the four World Series titles the team’s parent club won (the Giants in 2010-2012-2014, and Astros in 2017), as well as the Grizzlies own Triple A national title in 2015.
The designated road set is gray, with “Fresno” across the chest, in black-red combination. It is paired with a black cap with the familiar, if not altered, ‘F Slash’ logo. The ‘F’ is wider than prior incarnations.

A New Identity

The Grizzlies started the process for new uniforms back in April of last year. The team paired with a San Diego-based company called Brandiose to develop the new design.
It is also a chance to move away from matching Fresno’s colors with its parent team’s colors. Red is the new color, but not because the Nationals also wear it — after all, there is no blue.
“The only thing we can control is that we will be playing baseball in Fresno,” Franks said.
While he hopes to stick with the National for the long haul, at least for the next two seasons, the red will be here to stay.
The Grizzlies will continue playing Tuesdays as their alter-ego, the Tacos. Franks says new uniforms will debut under that name as well.

Brief Uni History

When the team debuted in 1998, the Grizzlies wore black and purple—popular colors for teams at the time. The switched to green as the dominant color in 2005, opting for a stylized F logo on the jersey and cap.
To closer match its parent club, the Giants, the team adopted orange and black in 2008. When the affiliation started with the Astros in 2015, the mixed in blue as well.
There have been tweaking of the jerseys over the years.
A look at old logos and caps can be found here.
And while red and black, cream and gold are traditional baseball colors, those red pants will take a while for the eyes to adjust.
Photo Gallery

DON'T MISS

Legal Showdown as Justice Department Clashes with Judge Over Deportation Flight Details

DON'T MISS

Where Are Convicted Bitwise CEOs Serving Their Prison Terms?

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Hits Solo HR in Return to Japan as Dodgers Sweep Cubs

DON'T MISS

Violent Attacks on Tesla Dealerships Spike as Musk Joins Trump Administration

DON'T MISS

Judge Says Khalil’s Deportation Case Can Be Heard in New Jersey

DON'T MISS

Zelenskyy Disputes Putin’s Vow Not to Hit Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

DON'T MISS

Canada Bolsters Arctic Defenses as Trump Sets His Sights North

DON'T MISS

A UN Worker Is Killed in a Strike in Gaza as Israel Warns of New Evacuation Orders

DON'T MISS

Vang Appears En Route to Outright Special Fresno Council Election Win

DON'T MISS

Previously Classified Files Related to JFK Assassination Released

UP NEXT

Previously Classified Files Related to JFK Assassination Released

UP NEXT

Fresno EOC Board OKs Audit of Agency’s Troubled Finances

UP NEXT

NASA Astronauts Return to Earth After 9 Months Stuck in Space

UP NEXT

Fresno Woman Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash Identified

UP NEXT

Clovis Council Delays Vote on Islamic School Expansion

UP NEXT

Tracy Morgan Says He’s OK, Food Poisoning Caused Incident at Knicks-Heat Game

UP NEXT

Doncic Just Misses Triple-Double, Reaves Scores 30 Points, in Lakers’ Win Over Spurs

UP NEXT

Steve Kerr Committed to Finding Stephen Curry a Rest Day, Insists Superstar Guard Is Exhausted

UP NEXT

Costly Health Care Expansion Worsens California’s Chronic Budget Deficit

UP NEXT

Madera Community Hospital Reopens. How Does It Fit Into Valley Medical Care?

David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

Violent Attacks on Tesla Dealerships Spike as Musk Joins Trump Administration

18 minutes ago

Judge Says Khalil’s Deportation Case Can Be Heard in New Jersey

54 minutes ago

Zelenskyy Disputes Putin’s Vow Not to Hit Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

57 minutes ago

Canada Bolsters Arctic Defenses as Trump Sets His Sights North

1 hour ago

A UN Worker Is Killed in a Strike in Gaza as Israel Warns of New Evacuation Orders

1 hour ago

Vang Appears En Route to Outright Special Fresno Council Election Win

13 hours ago

Previously Classified Files Related to JFK Assassination Released

17 hours ago

Hollywood Filmmaker Charged with Defrauding Netflix in $11M Scheme

17 hours ago

Fresno EOC Board OKs Audit of Agency’s Troubled Finances

17 hours ago

Two Men Found Guilty in Deadly San Antonio Immigrant Smuggling Case

17 hours ago

Legal Showdown as Justice Department Clashes with Judge Over Deportation Flight Details

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is resisting a federal judge’s demand for more information about flights that took deportees to to...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Legal Showdown as Justice Department Clashes with Judge Over Deportation Flight Details

7 minutes ago

Where Are Convicted Bitwise CEOs Serving Their Prison Terms?

9 minutes ago

Ohtani Hits Solo HR in Return to Japan as Dodgers Sweep Cubs

18 minutes ago

Violent Attacks on Tesla Dealerships Spike as Musk Joins Trump Administration

Mahmoud Khalil speaks during a press conference about students who were arrested and suspended for protesting at Columbia University, near the campus in New York, April 22, 2024. A New York federal judge on Wednesday transferred the case of a Columbia University graduate detained by the Trump administration this month to New Jersey, where his lawyers will continue their efforts to seek his release. (Bing Guan/The New York Times)
54 minutes ago

Judge Says Khalil’s Deportation Case Can Be Heard in New Jersey

57 minutes ago

Zelenskyy Disputes Putin’s Vow Not to Hit Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

The northern lights illuminate the sky above a former Distant Early Warning radar station in the Canadian Arctic, a legacy of the Cold War in Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, Jan. 6, 2016. Canada has made a $4.2 billion deal with Australia to develop a cutting-edge radar for the Arctic that can detect hypersonic missiles and other threats over the curvature of the earth, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday. (Alex Welsh/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Canada Bolsters Arctic Defenses as Trump Sets His Sights North

Palestinians evacuate an injured man after his house was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
1 hour ago

A UN Worker Is Killed in a Strike in Gaza as Israel Warns of New Evacuation Orders

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend