April 06, 2016
CINCINNATI – We need to interrupt the latest story of how the bullpen blew a lead late in a game with an important Phillies uniform update.
A what?
@ryanlawrence21 The "Phillies" jersey script is thicker/bolder or something this year, right?
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) April 4, 2016
Yes, there has been an update to the Phillies uniform, one that hasn’t changed much other than the addition of a cream-colored, Sunday alternate in 2007 and the new, red, batting-practice jersey the team will wear in a little more than a handful of games this season.
You see, it’s that very red jersey that has wreaked havoc on the regular home whites and road grays the Phillies have sported since 1992. Wreaked havoc may be going too far.
But, as a few astute observers noticed over the weekend, when the Phillies wore their regular road and home unis in exhibition games in Philadelphia and Reading, the font looked different on the “Phillies” script across the jerseys.
Those astute observers were correct.
A few people have noticed that the Phillies' script looks a bit bolder/wider. Old version on left, new on right. pic.twitter.com/5NyR9sUo2n
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) April 2, 2016
When the new red alternate jerseys arrived, they came with a different, bigger, bolder font. And so, the regular white and gray jerseys were made to fit in with the new jersey on the Phillies uniform block.
“They wanted to get a consistent size with the 'Phillies' because the red alternate was different because it has that border around it,” said Frank Coppenbarger, the Phillies director of team travel and clubhouse services.
Mystery solved.
