Less than a day after facing ridicule online over a new sponsorship patch, the Mets announced on Friday their decision to go in a different direction ahead of debuting the rebranded jerseys. Except, the club’s plan may not exactly do it any favors when it comes to avoiding more criticism from MLB fans.
Mets general manager Steve Cohen addressed the commentary (and jokes) that went viral following Thursday’s unveiling of a buzzworthy, red and white uniform patch in partnership with New York-Presbyterian Hospital. With New York poised to debut its new uniforms on Friday against the Marlins, Cohen told reporters the club already plans to change the patch for one key reason: the colors are too similar to those of the longtime-rival Phillies.
“They’re Phillie colors,” Cohen said, per ESPN. “They should be more Met-appropriate.”
Cohen also confirmed the Mets have a plan in place to tweak the new sponsorship patch, the team’s first, after a call with a New York-Presbyterian. As of Friday, it’s unclear when the new patch will debut, though the Mets would go on to play in the uniforms that included the Phillies-esque color scheme for their home opener at Citi Field.
Cohen did not indicate whether the Mets would shrink the patch, which takes up almost an entire sleeve, the aspect that many fans noticed more than the Phillies color scheme.
As expected, the internet was again unkind to the Mets, who have an IL list that includes several notables names including Edwin Díaz, Justin Verlander and José Quintana, after pictures of the new uniforms hit social media. Needless to say, it’s going to take some time before MLB fans get used to the prominent patch, which likely lead to plenty more memes in the meantime.
#4: Francisco Álvarez. pic.twitter.com/8kwiqEQvbJ
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 7, 2023
