The Miami Marlins unveiled a new logo and color scheme Thursday, hoping to energize the slumping franchise into a new era.
Majority owner Bruce Sherman and team CEO Derek Jeter revealed the team’s new look on the same day Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich – a former Marlin before being traded away by the team – was named National League MVP and a day after teasing fans with the upcoming revamp on Twitter.
The team’s new colors include Caliente Red, Miami Blue, Midnight Black and Slate Gray, replacing the team’s previous orange and teal schemes. The new logo depicts an open-mouthed marlin above a baseball and “Miami” in multicolor script.
“The logo and colors aim to capture the rich baseball history, diversity and energy of the area,” the team said in a release. “The pairing of Miami Blue and Caliente Red pop off of the vase color of Midnight Black, energizing the script and giving the logo and electric and vibrant look – emblematic of the Miami energy and nightlife.”
The styling of the “M” in the team’s primary and secondary logos is a “classic approach” that’s influenced by typography common in Latin American culture, according to the team.
“The look has as much to do with the infusion of the local Hispanic culture as it does with the history of baseball in Miami as the font style and accent colors are a throwback to the Miami Marlins and the Havana Sugar Kings of the 1950s,” the release continued.
The restyled Marlin, meanwhile, is meant to evoke a more “athletic and powerful” fish, showcasing its strength, speed and “legendary fighting spirit,” team officials said.
The team released a 33-second video early Friday featuring players in the new duds. The fresh, toned-down look is a far cry from the team’s original teal-dominated color scheme beginning in its inaugural 1993 season.
But the team’s most-recognizable superfan, Laurence Leavy — aka “Marlins Man” — told the Miami Herald that he isn’t sold on the updated scheme just yet. He said he’ll continue to wear the team’s orange jersey and cap for now.
“Then I’ll see how I feel,” Leavy told the newspaper. “I might change next year.”
Instead, Leavy said he was hoping for a return to the days of teal.
“There are a lot of teams that have red, white and blue,” Leavy said. “Baseball is about tradition and history, and the Marlins, for some reason, don’t believe in that.”
