Auburn Athletics
It was a busy weekend on the campus of Auburn University. The Baseball program honored one of the greatest players to come through the Plains with the unveiling of a statue and the return of a classic hat design.
But before we get to the celebration details, Auburn made the surprise decision to break out yet another new jersey design for the first game of Friday’s doubleheader against Texas A&M.
Game two against the Aggies saw the Tigers debut new orange jerseys. Much like the other three tops, these jerseys included a script Auburn wordmark across the chest along with the player number underneath. The player’s last name also donned the back of the jersey above the numerals. The sleeves again feature the SEC patch and the USA flag.
Unlike the navy, grey, and cream colorways, the wordmark and player number on the front are rendered in the same color for the orange tops. In fact, all the details on the jersey – script logo, front number, back number, and player NOB – are navy. The only spots of white come on the Under Armour logo, the SEC patch, and the stripes and outline of the US flag patch.
The lack of contrast between the orange and navy creates a slightly muddy look. White outlines would have been ideal, though it would differ more from the remaining jerseys of the set.
Here’s a comparison of the original script orange jersey from 1992 and the modern edition debuting this past weekend:
That makes four new jerseys to be unveiled this season. We still haven’t seen any signs of a white colorway. It’s unclear if the Tigers will get a white jersey later this season or for next year, or simply forgo the white tops altogether.
Prior to the team debuting the new orange tops, the Auburn University Bookstore listed a retail orange jersey for sale on their website. It was similar to the cream retail jersey with the AU logo on the sleeve rather than the flag patch but featured the arching Copperplate wordmark instead of the script.
All signs pointed to this being the new orange jersey design for the team. It’s odd to see the two differ so drastically like this. It’s unclear why the retail jersey is an entirely different design from the game jerseys.
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The AU Bookstore has now added a listing for the orange Auburn Baseball jerseys.
Copperplate wordmark on chest. AU logo on sleeve.
Would imagine the game jerseys (when they’re available) will have the US flag instead.https://t.co/5O804VNrZj pic.twitter.com/dvn7tednvx
— Clint Richardson (@Clintau24) April 6, 2023
Auburn celebrated Frank Thomas this weekend with the unveiling of a new statue outside of Plainsman Park and throwback uniform elements inside.
Frank Thomas arrived on the Plains in 1986 having signed up to play football for Pat Dye. He joined Hal Baird’s baseball squad in the spring of 1987 and soon turned his focus solely to the diamond. Thomas ended his Auburn career with a program-record 49 home runs en route to being the 7th overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox.
A 19-season professional career saw 16 played in Chicago with five All-Star appearances and two MVP titles. Stints with the Oakland As and Toronto Blue Jays would conclude The Big Hurt’s playing days. After retiring, the White Sox retired Thomas’s #35 in 2010 and unveiled a statue in 2011. Thomas was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year on the ballot.
Celebrating the only Hall of Famer to have played in the Southeastern Conference, Auburn erected the new Frank Thomas statue just outside the north entrance of Plainsman Park. It’s the 8th athletics-related statue on campus, following the Heisman Trophy winners, Charles Barkley, and the men honored with their names on Jordan-Hare Stadium and Pat Dye Field.
The statue depicts Thomas swinging a bat while wearing the classic script Auburn uniform that he wore during his time at Auburn, complete with the block-A batting helmet and stirrups underneath his pants legs.
(image via Adam Sparks, OA News)
To continue the Frank Thomas celebration inside the ballpark, the team brought back a classic hat design. Thomas wore a navy ballcap with an orange Block A on the front during his playing days on the Plains. The hat was first introduced in 1975 and was worn until the AU logo was adopted as the hat logo in 1990.
The AU logo was the sole hat design worn from 1990 until the Block A caps were reintroduced in 2009 when the cream uniforms debuted. Though, there was a small twist this time. The new caps featured a thicker A design with a double outline.
Friday afternoon marked the first time the skinnier A caps returned to the diamond since being retired in 1989.
Through 32 games this season, the Auburn Tigers have worn nine different uniform combinations.
With two coming this past weekend, we can expect combination #10 to debut this weekend as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa. The new orange jerseys are bound to be paired with the grey pants for at least one game against Alabama.
Here are how the nine combinations worn thus far have faired on the season:
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