Mets Make Controversial Change to Black Alternate Uniforms

The new design of the black jerseys have generated a largely negative response.

The New York Mets are giving their alternate "black jerseys" an overhaul - and not in a good way.

Back on January 2, it was reported that the Mets were making a small update to their black hats, which removed the white shadow drop behind the team logo. This prompted a divisive response from fans, and made them wonder if the jerseys themselves would receive the same treatment.

The Mets’ black hats will have a small update in 2024, with no white shadow anymore behind the logo.

Could the jerseys have an update as well? 🤔

(h/t @DannyAbriano) pic.twitter.com/LwWybBpGEw

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 2, 2024

On Monday, Paul Lukas of UniWatch confirmed these speculations. He also included a mock-up of the updated black jerseys, as well as a comparison between the 2023 and 2024 iterations. The white background behind the uniform lettering, player name and player number has been removed, on both the back and the front.

EXCLUSIVE: First Look at Mets’ Redesigned Black Jersey https://t.co/px6mqw9nLB

— Uni Watch (@UniWatch) January 22, 2024

Here is the mock-up of the updated jersey:

Image from UniWatch / Paul Lukas-UniWatch

Here are the comparisons of the 2023 jerseys and the updated jerseys, for both the front and the back:

Image from UniWatch / Paul Lukas-UniWatch

Image from UniWatch / Paul Lukas-UniWatch

Although the black jerseys, which are usually worn at Friday home games, have been an acquired taste, the update has been widely disliked by the fanbase. In addition to being deemed unnecessary, many were quick to point out that the removal of the white layers will make the jersey names and numbers harder to read from longer distances. This will be especially problematic for fans who are watching games from the upper deck of Citi Field.

Also worth noting is that the updated black jerseys have been straying farther away from their original iterations. The uniforms, which were worn from 1998 to 2012 before being brought back in 2021, were meant to be fun throwback uniforms. However, with this update, the uniforms effectively lose their throwback status, which was the allure of the black jerseys in the first place. 

Mets have continued to downgrade what once was a beautiful black jersey 😕 pic.twitter.com/MjHaPpGgIw

— Elits21 (@elits02) January 22, 2024

Perhaps these changes may be in response to the City Connect uniforms that the Mets will unveil early in the 2024 season. Nonetheless, the fanbase generally agrees that the changes are not only unnecessary, but make the uniforms less pleasing aesthetically.