Since the Mets were founded in 1962, they have gone through many changes when it comes to their uniforms.
Some of those changes were small, others – such as the introduction of black as the team color – were major.
There have been hits (including the blue alternate jerseys) and misses (including hideous black drop shadows, which we’ll discuss in detail below).
The sweater/pants combination has seen the most changes, although a number of different hats have also been introduced, especially in the last 25 years.
Let’s rank the 10 best Mets uniforms ever…
No. 10: 1987 road uniform with lettering on jerseys
The Mets only wore these jerseys in 1987, and the “New York” in the script was a nice change from the “Mets” the team had on their road jerseys years before.
These jerseys were scrapped after just one season, with the Mets going to a “New York” block from 1988 to 1992 that looked too similar to the Yankees’ road jersey font.
The team also had roadscript jerseys that debuted in 1993, but it was a different font than the jerseys worn in 1987 and the “New York” was underlined – those jerseys were paired with home jerseys that had “Mets” underlined.
No. 9: Snow White home uniform
These uniforms, which were an alternative that removed the blue pinstripes from the home jerseys and pants, debuted in 1997 along with the now infamous white hat with a blue bill and blue “NY” outlined in orange.
Those hats were known as the Mets’ “Ice Cream Man” look and were quickly abandoned.
However, the Snow White uniforms stuck around for a while and were a nice alternative.
No. 8: Classic black home jersey/hat
The Mets’ black home uniform, which returned for the 2021 season, was originally introduced in 1998 when the team unveiled it at an event where some players modeled the new duds.
Along with the black jerseys came a black hat with blue “NY” outlined in orange and white. And the Mets soon introduced a black cap with a blue bill with a blue “NY” outlined in orange.
The introduction of black as a Mets color soon led the team to add black drop shadow to the home pinstripe jersey, the snow white home jersey, and the gray road jersey (on the “Mets” at home and “New York” on the road, and on the front and back numbers and name on the back), which – for this writer – was a step too far and almost ruined the aforementioned uniforms.
To be clear, the black jerseys are sharp, as are the black hats (which also returned in 2021). But that the color black took over the rest of the uniforms in rotation in the 1990s and into the 2000s — and that the Mets at one point all but stopped wearing the blue caps on the road — was a very, very bad development.
Ahead of the 2024 season, the Mets made a major change to the unisex black, removing the white shadow from the logo on the hat and from the “Mets” and numbers on the jersey.
Now that black is back in the rotation, we hope the rest of the uniforms remain black-drop shadow-free. Oh, and if they want to bring back the black road jerseys (more on that below), that would be cool.
No. 7: Classic black racing shirt/hat
The black road jersey with “New York” on the front in the Mets’ classic font was introduced in 1999 and was often paired with the black hat with the blue beak.
Some of the Mets’ best moments in 1999 and 2000 came with the black jerseys on, and they won the NL East title in 2006 while wearing the black jerseys and hats at home.
No. 6: City Connect uniform
In the short history of MLB City Connect uniforms, there have been far more misses than hits. But the Mets’ City Connect threads, unveiled during the 2024 season, are a hit — because of how seriously the team took their creation and how attentive they were to the details.
The purpose of the City Connect uniforms is for them to represent the city the team plays in, and the Mets have done a good job of that by using a metro marker as a sleeve patch, the Queensboro Bridge on the hat (and sleeves), pinstripes running down the sleeves to sit. shape of the diamonds and circles of the city’s subway lines, and the purple flowers blooming throughout are a nod to the 7 train that takes fans from Manhattan to Queens (and back).
Then there’s the “NYC” on the front of the jersey, in the same font the Mets have used since 1962 on the “New York” emblazoned on their road jersey.
The pants, which are often monochromatic (and tacky) when paired with the City Connect uniforms, are white and have purple and black piping – a nice touch.
Another big win here is that the Mets have found a solution to the new league-mandated smaller names that appear on the back of all new jerseys. By using the same font as on the front of the jersey for the names and numbers on the back, the Mets names and numbers look more like the classic pre-2024 MLB jerseys.
There has been some nitpicking about the uniforms because it says “NYC” on the front instead of “QUEENS.” But while the Mets play in Queens, they represent the entire city and surrounding area, making “NYC” the way to go.
No. 5: Home and away uniform 1978-82
For the first time, the Mets wore jerseys.
These jerseys (white at home and gray on the road) had orange and blue striped trim on the collars and sleeve edges. There were also heavier stripes along the edge of the road pants (hat tip to the 1993 Mets yearbook for that nugget).
The Mets teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s didn’t have much success, but at least they were dressed nicely.
No. 4: Blue alternate jerseys
The Mets introduced home jerseys (orange “Mets” on chest) and road jerseys (silver “New York” on chest) before the 2013 season – the year the All-Star Game was played at Citi Field.
Just like with the black jerseys, it can be said that the road versions of the blue shirts (which the team no longer wears) are even sharper than the home versions. But they’re both great.
The Mets also added a new alternate hat in 2013: blue with an orange “NY” with a white outline and an orange bill. And in 2015, they introduced an alternate road hat that was all blue with a gray “NY” outlined in orange.
The blue alternates appeared during the 2015 NLCS Daniel Murphy‘s home run barrage and were used again during the 2015 World Series.
No. 3: Home Racing Stripe Uniform
These uniforms debuted in 1983 and the Mets wore them (in this jersey iteration) through the 1990 season, along with the matching pants that completed the racing stripe look.
When the jerseys were introduced, the Mets did not have the skyline logo on the sleeve. She did however, wear a 25th anniversary patch on the sleeve during the 1986 season.
There are some Mets fans who hate the racing stripe uniforms, and there’s certainly a little extra nostalgia thrown in since the team won the 1986 World Series wearing them (and went to the 1988 NLCS while they wore them).
But regardless of the success the team had with these jerseys, they were completely different and very cool.
They also aged well and looked fresh and clean when worn in 2006 and 2016 as the Mets celebrated the birthdays of the 1986 World Series team.
No. 2: Road Gray uniform
Not much has changed since the days when these were the original Mets road uniforms (with the blue hats with the orange “NY”) in 1962, although the Mets’ first jerseys in 1962 and 1963 (road and home ) didn’t have that. numbers on the front. These were added in 1964.
The skyline Mets logo was on the sleeve of these jerseys when they debuted in 1962 and still appears on the regular road and home jerseys.
Before the 2012 season, the hideous black drop shadow was removed from the front and back of the jerseys and the road gray colors (with the blue hat) were restored to their former glory.
No. 1: Home pinstripe uniform
The Mets’ original colors were “Dodger blue” and “Giants orange” for the two departed New York National League teams. And with those colors front and center, along with blue pinstripes and the blue cap with the interlocking orange “NY,” the Mets’ classic home uniform is as perfect as it gets.
Along with the classic road gray colors, these jerseys were desecrated when the black drop shadow was added to the front and back from the late 1990s through 2011, but it was removed before the Mets’ 50th anniversary season in 2012.
From the 2012 season through the 2014 season, the home uniforms were actually cream with blue pinstripes, but they returned to white with blue pinstripes before the 2015 season – just in time for the Mets’ most recent appearance in the World Series.
