June 10-11: Starkville Super Regional- L,L

The Bulldogs' season came to a sudden and disappointing end this weekend as they were swept in their home super regional by Arizona.  The losses ended what was a great season for the 2016 SEC Champions.  In game 1, the Bulldogs wore the Maroon MS jersey with white pants, as they have all year on Fridays.  In game 2, they wore the Gray Pinstripes, and it looked like the pinstripe magic would work again, until a late game breakdown ended the season for the Bulldogs.

Promotional Pictures:

 

  

 

Final Uniform Stats for the 2016 Season:

 

The Maroon MS jerseys were the go-to jerseys on Fridays this year; they were worn exclusively in three weekend series.  In 27 games, the Maroon MS jerseys had a 17-9-1 record.

 

The White MS jerseys wore worn frequently on Saturdays and Thursdays, and were been worn in a few other occasions.  In a total of 11 games, the White MS jerseys had a 9-2 record.

 

The Gray Pinstripes were worn twice in road series at Florida, LSU, Alabama, and Auburn, in the second game of both the regional and super regional, as well as in a midweek game at Troy.  In 11 games, the Gray Pinstripes had an 8-3 record.

 

The White 85 pullovers debuted with a twist in the Governor's Cup  They were worn twice in game 3s late in the season, including the regular season finale in which the Bulldogs clinched the SEC regular season championship.  They were also worn as the Bulldogs won the Starkville Regional.  In 4 games, the White 85 pullovers had a 4-0 record.

 

The Digital Camo pullovers, an Adidas templated design from 2015, were unfortunately returned from last year.  In 4 games, the Digital Camo pullovers had a 3-1 record.

 

The Black 85 pullovers were three times with white pants and maroon hats.  In 3 games, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and maroon hats had a 2-1 record.

The Black 85 pullovers were once with white pants and black hats.  In 1 game, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and black hats had a 1-0 record.

 

The White MS jerseys were worn once with a white front paneled hat.  In a 1 game, the White MS jerseys with the white front paneled hat had an 0-1 record.

 

The Mossy Oak Camo pullovers were introduced in a partnership between Mossy Oak, Adidas, and Mississippi State.  In 1 game, the Mossy Oak Camo pullovers had an 0-1 record.

June 3-5: Starkville Regional- W,W,W

The Bulldogs are hosting a regional for the first time since 2013.  In the game 1 win over SEMO on Friday, they wore the Maroon MS jersey with white pants, just as they have on every single Friday for the entire season.  In the winner's bracket game win over Cal State Fullerton, the Bulldogs were technically the away team, so for the first time this season they wore the gray pinstripes at home.  In the regional championship win over Louisiana Tech, they wore the inverted White 85 jerseys, the same jerseys in which they won the SEC regular season championship two weeks prior.

Also, you may notice that starting in the playoffs, the presentation will feature various uniform models.  The uniform for each game will feature the number of a top-preforming player from that particular game.

Promotional Pictures:

 

May 25-27: SEC Tournament- W,L,L

Unlike the last time the Bulldogs played in the SEC Tournament in 2014, the #1 seeded Bulldogs stuck to the classic uniforms in their three SEC Tournament games in 2016.  They wore the White MS jerseys in their lone win of the tournament.  They wore the Maroon MS jerseys in their losses to LSU and Florida.

Despite their lack of success in the tournament, the regular season SEC champs are still locked as a national seed, and even picked up a potential regional game 1 starter in Zac Houston after his dominating outing vs Alabama.  The Bulldogs were also reminded what it was like to lose after winning 12 straight, hopefully giving them a renewed sense of vigor in regionals and super regionals.

Promotional Pictures:

 

Here's a look at the Bulldogs' 2016 Uniform Stats after the SEC Tournament:

The Maroon MS jerseys have been the go-to jerseys on Fridays this year; they've also been worn exclusively in three weekend series.  In 25 games, the Maroon MS jerseys have a 16-8-1 record.

 

The White MS jerseys have been worn frequently on Saturdays and Thursdays, and have also been worn in a few other occasions.  In a total of 10 games, the White MS jerseys have a 9-2 record.

 

The Gray Pinstripes were worn twice in road series at Florida, LSU, Alabama, and Auburn, as well as in a midweek game at Troy.  In 9 games, the Gray Pinstripes have a 7-2 record.

 

The Digital Camo pullovers, an Adidas templated design from 2015, have unfortunately returned from last year.  In 4 games, the Digital Camo pullovers have a 3-1 record.

 

The White 85 pullovers debuted with a twist in the Governor's Cup  They were worn twice in game 3s late in the season, including the regular season finale in which the Bulldogs clinched the SEC regular season championship.  In 3 games, the White 85 pullovers have a 3-0 record.

 

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn three times with white pants and maroon hats.  In 3 games, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and maroon hats have a 2-1 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn once with white pants and black hats.  In 1 game, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and black hats have a 1-0 record.

 

The White MS jerseys were worn once with a white front paneled hat.  In a 1 game, the White MS jerseys with the white front paneled hat have an 0-1 record.

 

The Mossy Oak Camo pullovers were introduced in a partnership between Mossy Oak, Adidas, and Mississippi State.  In 1 game, the Mossy Oak Camo pullovers have an 0-1 record.

 

2016 Regular Season Uniform Review

The 2016 Mississippi State baseball season was an improvement over 2015, to say the least.  The Bulldogs went from last place in the SEC in 2015 to being the outright SEC Champions in 2016.  Numerous changes were made in order to achieve this improvement; probably the least important of these changes were the uniforms.

In 2015, the Bulldogs wore 10 different jerseys, 5 different hats (only the maroon hat spanned multiple jerseys), and 6 different pairs of pants (3 of which were worn with multiple jerseys), totaling 16 different combinations (17 combinations were advertised before the season- that number never actually came to fruition.)

In 2016, 3 new jerseys were introduced, but 6 jerseys from 2015 were retired.  In total, 7 different jerseys, 4 different hats (3 of which were not worn in 2015), and 2 pair of pants (three if you consider that there were two versions of the white pants- one with a maroon stripe and one without- that were worn interchangeably.)  In total, 9 different combinations were worn in the 2016 regular season.

There were several big surprises uniform wise this season, the biggest of which is the absence of the Maroon 85 jersey.  It had just been updated in 2015, and was still used frequently in off the field marketing in 2016, but never actually saw the field.  The 85 wordmark was still present on three other jerseys in 2016, but the classic maroon version never saw the field.

The second big surprise in 2016 was the elimination of gray pants except for the gray pinstripe pants that were worn only with the gray pinstripe jerseys.  Traditionally, gray pants are worn by the road team in baseball games, often paired with the regular jerseys.  This was the case last year, which accounted for the high number of combinations.  In 2016, however, the Bulldogs never wore solid gray pants, electing to wear the white pants with the Maroon MS jersey in every Friday night game.

A total of SIX jerseys from 2015 were not worn in 2016.  Two special event jerseys- the Wool Throwbacks and the (beautiful) St. Patrick's Day jersey- did not return.  I've already mentioned the Maroon 85 jersey- three other more "classic" jerseys did not see the field in 2016.  The white pinstripes were redesigned in 2015 and were met with an overwhelmingly negative reaction.  It was not a surprise to see them retired after a single season.  The cream uniforms were the only ones that remained unchanged from 2014 to 2015, leaving them as the oldest uniforms.  It wasn't a huge surprised to see them left behind.  Finally, the gray script jerseys were brought back for a single season in 2015.  The gray pinstripes replaced them in 2016.  The gray pins look great, but it was a shame to lose the classic gray script unis in the process.  I think they could've co-existed.

Three jerseys were added in 2016.  Gray Pinstripes were teased before the season and were eventually worn 9 times in road games, mostly towards the end of the season.  The White 85 jersey returned in 2016 after a year off in 2015, but with a twist.  The wordmark and numbers are inverted- white with a maroon outline on a white jersey.  Finally, a second camo jersey was added, featuring an official Mossy Oak pattern.  The Mossy Oak jersey was worn once, probably to fulfill a contract, and promptly never seen again.

Four jerseys from 2015 were retained in 2016.  The Maroon MS and White MS jerseys were the two most worn jerseys in 2016.  The two classic looks kept the Bulldogs easily identifiable for most of the season.  Also kept from 2015 were the Black 85 pullovers, which debuted in 2015 and were a big improvement over the previous black jerseys.  Finally, the digital camo jerseys from 2015 were unfortunately retained in 2016.

As far as hats go, the Bulldogs went from 5 hats in 2015 to 4 hats in 2016, with the standard maroon hat being the only one to be worn in both years.  In 2015, in addition to the maroon hat, a black hat with a white front panel was worn with the Black 85s in several games, a cream hat was worn with the cream unis in several games, a green hat with a white front panel was worn on St. Patrick's hat, and a special hat was worn with the wool throwbacks.  In 2016, no alternate hat was worn in more than one game.  A beautiful maroon hat with a white front panel was worn once with the White MS jersey, a solid black hat (the same as the one was was worn in the past, as recently as 2014) was worn once with the Black 85s, and a Mossy Oak camo hat was worn with the accompanying uniforms.

As a whole, 2016 was a solid uniform season for Mississippi State baseball, but it could have been better.  Some elements that were eliminated from 2015 need to be brought back (cream, gray, pins), and some elements from 2016 need to be left behind (CAMO).  Bringing back non-inverted versions of the White and Maroon 85s would also be a step in the right direction.

It will be interesting to see if Adidas has special uniforms in store for the postseason this year.  The last three years, Adidas has given all of its tournament teams a templated design.  Expect the same this year.  In 2013, we avoided the rainbow unis by only wearing them in BP. They did show up in games in early 2014 though.  In 2014, we wore the template in the SEC Tournament and stuck to our regular unis in regionals.  Last year, we avoided this template by being terrible and not even making the postseason. Smart move.  I would expect a similar approach to 2014 this year. So if Adidas has another templated uniform for us, I expect to see it this week.

May 19-21: SEC Series 10: Arkansas- W,W,W

Wearing the same three uniform combinations they did two weeks previous vs Missouri, the Bulldogs swept Arkansas and claimed outright the 2016 SEC Baseball Regular Season Championship, their first since 1989, after finishing in last place a year ago.

 

Promotional Pictures:

 

With the regular season coming to a close, let's take a look at the Bulldogs' 2016 Uniform Stats:

The Maroon MS jerseys have been the go-to jerseys on Fridays this year; they've also been worn exclusively in three weekend series.  In 23 games, the Maroon MS jerseys have a 16-6-1 record.

The White MS jerseys have been worn frequently on Saturdays and Thursdays, and have also been worn in a few other occasions.  In a total of 10 games, the White MS jerseys have a 8-2 record.

The Gray Pinstripes were worn twice in road series at Florida, LSU, Alabama, and Auburn, as well as in a midweek game at Troy.  In 9 games, the Gray Pinstripes have a 7-2 record.

The Digital Camo pullovers, an Adidas templated design from 2015, have unfortunately returned from last year.  In 4 games, the Digital Camo pullovers have a 3-1 record.

 

The White 85 pullovers debuted with a twist in the Governor's Cup  They were worn twice in game 3s late in the season, including the regular season finale in which the Bulldogs clinched the SEC regular season championship.  In 3 games, the White 85 pullovers have a 3-0 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn three times with white pants and maroon hats.  In 3 games, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and maroon hats have a 2-1 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn once with white pants and black hats.  In 1 game, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and black hats have a 1-0 record.

The White MS jerseys were worn once with a white front paneled hat.  In a 1 game, the White MS jerseys with the white front paneled hat have an 0-1 record.

The Mossy Oak Camo pullovers were introduced in a partnership between Mossy Oak, Adidas, and Mississippi State.  In 1 game, the Mossy Oak Camo pullovers have an 0-1 record.

 

May 13-15: SEC Series 9: at Auburn- W,W,W

The Bulldogs stayed consistent in their road series at Auburn, picking up their second sweep in a row and first sweep on the road utilizing the same uniform rotation as at Florida, LSU, and Alabama.

 

Promotional Pictures:

 

There's no midweek game this week; here's a look at the Bulldogs' uniform stats heading into the last weekend of the season:

The Maroon MS jerseys have been the go-to jerseys on Fridays this year; they've also been worn exclusively in three weekend series.  In 22 games, the Maroon MS jerseys have a 15-6-1 record.

The White MS jerseys have been worn frequently on Saturdays and Thursdays, and have also been worn in a few other occasions.  In a total of 9 games, the White MS jerseys have a 7-2 record.

The Gray Pinstripes were worn twice in road series at Florida, LSU, Alabama, and Auburn, as well as in a midweek game at Troy.  In 9 games, the Gray Pinstripes have a 7-2 record.

The Digital Camo pullovers, an Adidas templated design from 2015, have unfortunately returned from last year.  In 4 games, the Digital Camo pullovers have a 3-1 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn three times with white pants and maroon hats.  In 3 games, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and maroon hats have a 2-1 record.

The White 85 pullovers debuted with a twist in the Governor's Cup.  In 2 games, the White 85 pullovers have a 2-0 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn once with white pants and black hats.  In 1 game, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and black hats have a 1-0 record.

The White MS jerseys were worn once with a white front paneled hat.  In a 1 game, the White MS jerseys with the white front paneled hat have an 0-1 record.

The Mossy Oak Camo pullovers were introduced in a partnership between Mossy Oak, Adidas, and Mississippi State.  In 1 game, the Mossy Oak Camo pullovers have an 0-1 record.

 

May 11: at Troy- W

The Bulldogs won their final mid-week game of the year wearing the gray pinstripe uniforms at Troy.

Uni Stats after 8 Weeks of SEC Play:

The Maroon MS jerseys have been the go-to jerseys on Fridays this year; they've also been worn exclusively in three weekend series.  In 21 games, the Maroon MS jerseys have a 14-6-1 record.

The White MS jerseys have been worn frequently on Saturdays and Thursdays, and have also been worn in a few other occasions.  In a total of 9 games, the White MS jerseys have a 7-2 record.

The Gray Pinstripes were worn twice in road series at Florida, LSU, and Alabama, as well as in a midweek game at Troy.  In 7 games, the Gray Pinstripes have a 5-2 record.

The Digital Camo pullovers, an Adidas templated design from 2015, have unfortunately returned from last year.  In 4 games, the Digital Camo pullovers have a 3-1 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn three times with white pants and maroon hats.  In 3 games, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and maroon hats have a 2-1 record.

The White 85 pullovers debuted with a twist in the Governor's Cup.  In 2 games, the White 85 pullovers have a 2-0 record.

The Black 85 pullovers have been worn once with white pants and black hats.  In 1 game, the Black 85 pullovers with white pants and black hats have a 1-0 record.

The White MS jerseys were worn once with a white front paneled hat.  In a 1 game, the White MS jerseys with the white front paneled hat have an 0-1 record.

The Mossy Oak Camo pullovers were introduced in a partnership between Mossy Oak, Adidas, and Mississippi State.  In 1 game, the Mossy Oak Camo pullovers have an 0-1 record.

Promotional Pictures: