Phillies Will Be Going Red in 2016

The Philadelphia Phillies will feature red uniform jerseys for certain home games during the 2016 season.

The club has announced that the red jerseys are scheduled to be worn a half-dozen times, during mid-week afternoon games. 

The debut of the new red home uniform jersey will take place early in the year, on Thursday, April 14th in a scheduled 1:05pm start against the San Diego Padres.

The other five "Businessperson’s Special" mid-week afternoon games at which the red alternate jersey is scheduled to be worn are: Wednesday, May 18th vs. the Miami Marlins; Wednesday, June 8th vs. the Chicago Cubs; Monday, June 20th vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks; Wednesday, July 6th vs. the Atlanta Braves; and finally on Thursday, August 4th vs. the San Francisco Giants.

Per a press release from the club today, Phillies VP of Marketing and Advertising Sales Dave Buck stated: 

“We’re excited to bring a new, colorful look to Citizens Bank Park this year. We have great respect for the history of our uniform, so by going with a simple, classic design, we feel we’ve been able to balance a new look with our storied tradition.“

The Phillies have worn a red uniform jersey a couple of times in their history.

In 1979, the club wore an all-burgundy uniform during a 10-5 loss on May 19th, 1979 to the Montreal Expos at Veteran’s Stadium.

Those so-called ‘Saturday Night Special’ uniforms were possibly the ugliest in the history of the franchise.

Per a June 1986 article by Karen Heller for the Philadelphia Inquirer, sportswriters of the time described the team as “looking like bellboys at the Bellevue Stratford,” the team itself reportedly complained that the uniform made them feel hot, even though it was a mid-May night game in which the temperature only reached a high of 64 degrees, ten below average for that time of year.

On July 9th, 1992 the Phillies again wore red uniform jerseys during a 3-1 loss in San Diego against the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium.

These new red jerseys should not come with any of the ’79 version discomfort. 

The press release reports that they are part of a new line by Majestic that utilizes a “Flex Base uniform system…developed through insights from Major League players.” 

These uniforms “feature a new, lighter weight twill technology and mesh panels on the sides of the jerseys which reduce the overall weight of jerseys by 10-20 percent and enhance freedom of movement.”

Of course, much of this is about marketing, and the Phillies are making the jerseyavailable for purchase by fans. 

The red alternate jersey will be available at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park beginning this coming Friday, February 5th.

Also, the official cool-base version of the new alternate red jersey is available right now at phillies.com/shop.