We’re heading towards a quiet part of the MLB calendar. The World Series is over. The last few awards are about to be announced. Free agency is going to be a slow grind until the new CBA gets sorted out.
So, the Kansas City Royals chose just about the perfect time to tease the release of new uniforms — just before Thanksgiving.
The Royals have essentially worn the same uniforms since 2007, and aside from the weird early 2000’s black-trim era, they have a history of looking good while losing. The teaser image that the Royals put out on Wednesday did suggest a throwback vibe was coming for next season.
New threads.
11.19.21. pic.twitter.com/L7ANADU9yx
— Kansas City Nice Trys (@Royals) November 17, 2021
The original image teased a uniform release for Friday, and all we could make out was a throwback aesthetic through Whit Merrifield’s sleeves. The obvious assumption was that the Royals were going to bring back the full powder blue road uniforms. We’ve seen teams like Toronto, Milwaukee, Texas and Philadelphia revisit that look in recent years — it only makes sense for the Royals to embrace the style as well.
You just have to hand it to the Royals’ social media team, though.
They were a step ahead of any fan who tried to distort the image to find more clues.
— Corey (@silver5liter) November 17, 2021
well done pic.twitter.com/reNbi0tEqH
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 17, 2021
Fans went into Photoshop (and other image-editing tools) in hopes of adjusting the brightness, shadows and contrast to see more of the uniform. And, well, the Royals were ready for that. Someone with the social team edited a “Nice Try” message on the jersey to throw off any fan who went through the effort.
That’s really good. Seriously. Well done, Royals. Not many teams would think of that.
We’ll all just have to wait until Friday.