Royals Review Roundtable: Let’s talk about your baseball jerseys

Last week was Jersey Week at SB Nation, which got us writers thinking of some of our favorite and least favorite baseball jerseys.

What baseball jerseys or shirseys do you have? What is your favorite?

David Lesky: I own an Alex Gordon jersey that I got in, I think, 2012. It’s seen better days, which is at least 30% of the reason I had hoped he’d retire. I love it. It’s easily my favorite jersey or shirsey I own. I haven’t bought a shirsey in awhile, so I’ve got a Billy Butler, Joakim Soria (from his first stint), Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Johnny Giavotella somewhere in the back of my closet.

Matthew LaMar: I’ve only ever had two “shirseys,” a powder blue Zack Greinke and a royal blue Alex Gordon. I also have a home white Gordon jersey (though not a full replica, as those things are expensive). The Greinke one is probably my favorite, though I do like my Gordon jersey. I don’t own many player-specific ones because I hate having an out-of-date player. Most players just change teams relatively often.

Max Rieper: I have a Bo Jackson pullover batting practice jersey that is my go-to for Opening Day. I also have a retro powder blue replica jersey with no number. Buried in my closet are shirseys of David DeJesus and Gil Meche, which tells you how old I am.

Ryan Heffernon: Jerseys: Mike Sweeney, Angel Berroa, David DeJesus, Alex Gordon. Shirseys: Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Mark Teahen, Billy Butler. My favorite is my DeJesus jersey. I got it signed by DeJesus when he visited Springfield with the Royals caravan. It was my first autograph. I wore it to school the next day. Too bad none of my friends knew who David DeJesus was.

sterlingice; There are two main jerseys that I’ll wear to games. I have an Alex Gordon World Champions jersey - the home whites with the gold trim. It just looks sharp. But if it’s a game where I need some “longtime fan street cred”, I have a black and blue Mike Sweeney. I even got it autographed by him back in the days when the players signed in M lot after games. Do they still do that? I also have a black and blue David DeJesus, an autographed John Buck giveaway shirsey, and a Billy Butler powder blue jersey. That Butler was one of the best stadium giveaways, definitely punching above its weight for a giveaway jersey.

Bradford Lee: Unbelievably, despite being a huge baseball fan, I do not own now or have ever owned a jersey. The only jersey I own is my local Junior team’s hockey sweater, which I wear to their games, but no baseball or football jerseys.

Craig Brown: I’m not a big jersey guy… Never bought an authentic jersey. I won an Oakland Athletics jersey in a raffle once. A shirsey? It’s possible I got a shirsey in some sort of promotional giveaway. It’s equally possible that it if that happened, it was included in the next donation to Goodwill. No judgement if jerseys are your thing. To each their own. But I’m not going to own one on purpose.

Shaun Newkirk: I have three (or at least, I think I still have all three - one might be lost): Mike MacDougal, Ryan Shealy, and Gil Meche. Yes...that is how long it has been since I bought a shirsey (though I think the Meche one was a free giveaway at a game?). MacDougal is one of my favorite Royals players when I was younger and I don’t know why I liked Shealy a lot but I did.

Hokius: As far as jerseys I have a John Buck, a Zack Greinke, and a Mike Moustakas. Shirseys include Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Mike Moustakas, and Travis Kelce. The Kelce one is the only that still fits me so I guess it’s my favorite by default.

Josh Keiser: I’m what doctors refer to as “incredibly big boned”; morbidly so. So I only own one baseball jersey/shirsey because it’s the only kind they make for morbidly big boned folks. It’s just your basic Royals white with no name or number on the back. What it lacks in specificity, though, it has in character. There’s a mustard stain on it from the day I shared some brats with The Baseball Brit and some of the guys at Royals Farm Report. There’s a chocolate malt stain from the first game we took my daughter to. And there’s a barbecue stain on it from my first brisket-acho. (Yes these three events are on the same level of importance.)

What is one player or team jersey you don’t have that you would love to have?

David Lesky: I’m not really a jersey guy, but can you really go wrong sporting LA’s favorite weather enthusiast, Mike Trout?

Ryan Heffernon: Old school Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners jersey.

Matthew LaMar: It’d be fun to have an old-school powder blue Bo Jackson, Frank White, or George Brett jersey.

Josh Keiser: Like many of you, the only teams on my TV were the Cubs/White Sox on WGN and the Braves on TBS. I had family in Atlanta so I adopted them as my NL team at that point and those Braves jerseys were awesome. So I’d love to have one of those mid-90s Gray Braves jerseys.

Max Rieper: Old school Kansas City jerseys. And I don’t mean Royals. I’d love to get an old Kansas City A’s jersey and pretty much every Monarchs jersey is outstanding.

Hokius: Not quite a player or jersey but I always wanted a Royals cap in that black and blue scheme they wore during the bad old days. I never quite managed to get one before they retired those uniforms, though. So I exist in a state of perpetual hope that the Royals will bring it back long enough for me to grab one.

sterlingice; I don’t know why I never got a Lorenzo Cain jersey. That was such an oversight on my part.

Shaun Newkirk: If it is just restricted to baseball only (otherwise it would be a Lamar Jackson long sleeve shirsey), I think it would be a black Yoan Moncada shirsey. I don’t know why but I really like him as a player and think he’s really underrated (he just put up an almost 6 win season at the age of 24). He’s one of my favorite players, even if he plays for a division rival.

Craig Brown: As my family will tell you, there is most certainly a void in my wardrobe. However, it cannot be filled by an MLB team jersey.

Bradford Lee: If I were to wear one, it would be a Royals of course. Probably George Brett or Bo Jackson. Unless I could find a vintage Kurt Bevacqua. Second choice would be a vintage KC Monarchs jersey. Preferably Buck O’Neil.

What is your favorite Royals jersey over the years? Least favorite?

Bradford Lee: I’m partial to the sleeveless uni’s they wore in 2002-03 with an elbow length undershirt.

Least favorite? I’ve liked them all, but if I have to pick one, I’d say the 1971 road version. It just looked kind of bland. And looked like they were made of wool, and us old-timers who played in wool remember how uncomfortable those ungodly things were when the temps got into the 90’s.

Matthew LaMar: It’s the all-powder jerseys with the Royals script on the front; no question. I’m also a fan of their current powder blue top home alternate, but the home whites are just so crisp, too. There is only one answer for the worst jersey of all time, and that is the away vests with black sleeves. Vests are usually an abomination right off the bat, but then you add the needless black into the mix and it’s just so, so terrible.

sterlingice; No matter what Matt says, the black and blues are the best. Let me predict Matt’s take: “blah, blah, blah Mets ripoff jerseys. blah, blah, blah everything black was never cool. He’s wrong and the black and blues looked sweet. However, a contemporary of those, the grey jerseys with the black sleeves - those were the worst.

Also, this might be blasphemy, but I think the powder blues are overrated. They are associated with a great time in the franchise’s history, but the powder blue with white writing just looks bland. I think when they brought back the powder blue with the blue writing, that looked more sharp.

Josh Keiser: One of my favorites are those black jerseys and blue writing. They need to bring those back ASAP. But my favorite jerseys are the electric blue jerseys with the big “KC” on the chest that came around in 2015. They were chalk full of nostalgia as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Max Rieper: The best are the old road powder blue uniforms from the 80s. The worst are the powder blues they wear now that aren’t authentically retro, so I don’t understand the point of them.

David Lesky: I love the gold trim Friday night jerseys. I think they’re a little cheesy now since they’re, well, not good, but I still think they’re sharp as hell.

John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

My least favorite over the years would probably be the road vests with the black undershirts. I’m sort of ambivalent on the black in the color scheme, but I hate vest jerseys, and when you add in a color that probably doesn’t belong, I’m out on that. I really hated the whole vest years in general because of that, but the road ones were particularly egregious to me.

Craig Brown; The Royals have flirted with a variety of different jerseys over the years, but always return to the blue script on white because it’s a classic. Crisp, clean and undeniably Kansas City. Although I have to admit I enjoyed the gold outline of the post World Series Friday celebration jerseys. A nice little detail that improved upon the home whites in multiple ways.

On the flip side, I just don’t understand the fixation on the powder blues. They weren’t interesting in the ‘70s and ‘80s and they’re not interesting now. Especially how the Royals wear them for day games... With white pants? Come on. Either fully embrace the powder blue or get all the way outta here.

Shaun Newkirk: These white jerseys with the blue collars and their grey counterparts... my lord they are fantastic and I don’t know why I don’t think they have ever been available (that I can recall seeing).

Some people will probably say they like the powder blues but they’ve never really been my style. They just seem too...retro? I don’t know but I don’t need powder blues; I need the white/greys with blue collars.

Hokius: I absolutely love those powder blues with the gold lettering. Such a smooth marketing move to start wearing those at Friday home games after they won the World Series, but nothing will ever beat the Black and Blues. Unless it’s the futuristic golds.

Ryan Heffernon: The all-blue road alternates that we wore through 2013. Although I also love the new blue alternates that took its place.

Aside from the Royals, what is your favorite team jersey in baseball?

Matthew LaMar: This is a fun question. Generally speaking, I’m a big fan of color, unique and classic looks, and pinstripes. Within the AL Central, my favorite non-Royals jersey is the Twins red alternate home uniform—the bright red with the navy blue secondary color and gold accents is just extraordinary. The Colorado Rockies home alternate pops very nicely and works well with the black and silver. The Houston Astros may be cheaters, but their orange alternates aren’t. However, the uniform I love seeing the most is probably the Arizona Diamondbacks teal-and-purple throwbacks.

sterlingice; It’s the Cardina— HAHAHA, NO. THAT’S NOT HAPPENING. I like some of the more unique color schemes: the A’s green, the Rockies purple, and the Orioles orange, for instance. The Pirates can do some cool stuff with yellow and black. The Astros had a sweet thing going on in the 90s with navy and gold on the hat. Then they ditched it and the Padres picked it up and used “navy and sand” in the 00s. But neither could find a jersey that worked. I’d love to see someone try that again. Brewers?

Hokius: I honestly super dig those black Marlins jerseys. The orange and teal highlighting really pops on them and makes them look more colorful than they actually are. I’ve seriously considered taking on the Marlins as a second favorite team because of them.

Max Rieper: The Athletics have a pretty unique look that is pretty cool. As Matthew LaMar wrote, we need more color in the sport.

Craig Brown: While I dig the classical Royals home whites, you can’t beat the A’s Kelly green with the gold outline on the script. I was really looking forward to seeing the Brewers’ 2020 uniforms in action. It is just a unique set that has it all, including a killer logo. If I need to vote for a pinstripe, it would be for the Mets. And can’t forget the classics... The Dodgers home unis with the blue script and red number are perfect. I’m also partial to the cream of the Giants’ home uniforms.

Bradford Lee: Has to be the Montreal Expos jerseys from 1969-91. Has there ever been a better blend of color and logo than the Expos?

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Josh Keiser: The color combo for the Rockies is great. Whether they’re rocking the purple or the black, they look super sharp.

Shaun Newkirk: I’m a sucker for monochromatic uniforms (like I like the Chiefs all red or Mizzou all black), so the players weekend uniforms in 2019 that were all black were so good. The Pirates also have a new uniform this year with their old script in yellow on a black shirt. If they paired that with black pants it would be amazing.

Ryan Heffernon: The Yankee pinstripes are classic but the Mariners cream uniforms are flawless.

David Lesky: There are some pretty horrible uniforms out there (looking at you, Diamondbacks), but there are also quite a few awesome ones, so this is a tough question to answer. Because of that, I’m going to give you some runners-up too because I think they deserve notoriety. The Padres with their return to the brown look really sharp. I love the Royals jerseys, so the Dodgers home whites have to be in there too since they’re basically the same with the addition of the awesome red on the front. Oh, and the Brewers new navy alternate is really good looking to me. But my favorite jersey outside of the Royals is the cream-colored Mariners home alternates. I just love the older look and everything about them.

What about you? What jerseys do you own? What are your favorite jerseys for the Royals and around baseball?