The Los Angeles Dodgers had their home opener Tuesday afternoon as they faced the new-look Arizona Diamondbacks. On top of revamping their roster by signing Zack Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller, among other personnel moves, the Diamondbacks overhauled their uniform options.
In a marketing campaign built around ‘Evolution,’ the Diamondbacks unveiled seven new uniform options for the 2016 season, plus brought back their home uniform worn during their 2001 World Series campaign. Seven new caps also part of the uniform changes.
The organization’s new uniforms were a blend of nine seasons spent wearing purple and teal, and nine wearing red and sand. Reaction to the Diamondbacks’ unveiling this past December was largely on opposite ends of the spectrum.
On Tuesday, the D-Backs wore their dark grey and teal uniforms, altering the masses of their choice with a morning post on their official Twitter account:
#TealTuesday pic.twitter.com/oNNcWraYIZ
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 12, 2016
As was the case during the unveiling, reaction on Twitter was widespread, with Bill Plunkett of the OC Register offering a humorous, but harsh opinion:
Looks like the #Dodgers are playing a prison team today. #DBacks new unis. pic.twitter.com/m4dhhrW8J7
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 12, 2016
Straight to the point, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times also was not a fan:
Those are some ugly #DBacks uniforms. pic.twitter.com/PchHV9M0QX
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) April 12, 2016
After Andy McCullough of the LA Times shared his thoughts, MLB Networks’ MLB Network’s Jon Heyman chimed in:
@McCulloughTimes strong words
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 12, 2016
Ben Badler of Baseball America and Scott White of CBS had similar opinions:
Someone thought this uniform was a good idea. pic.twitter.com/MHCgYws7dp
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) April 12, 2016
These Diamondbacks uniforms look like the kind I used to dream up for my "expansion" teams on the Sega. The 32-year-old me doesn't approve.
— Scott White (@CBSScottWhite) April 12, 2016
But perhaps no one was as comical about it as former Major League pitcher Dan Haren, who played for both the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in his 13-year career:
@McCulloughTimes Dbacks slogan this year is all about "evolution", and this is a bad example of artificial selection. Stupid humans.
— dan haren (@ithrow88) April 12, 2016
While Twitter wasn’t exactly impressed with Arizona’s new uniforms, the Diamondbacks are now 2-0 when wearing the grey and teal uniforms.