Boston Red Sox jersey history through the years

Boston Red Sox jersey 2014-present

That brings us to the current Red Sox jersey. After 2013, the Red Sox went back to their 1990-2008 road uniforms, only now with the addition of the “hanging Sox” patch on the left sleeve. The red letters and numbers on the road uniforms were back and the home uniform remained unchanged. Both of the current uniforms the Red Sox wear are classic, timeless, and among the best in the league. These are my favorite home uniforms while these road uniforms are a close second after the 1979-1989 road greys.

As for the alternate “batting practice” jerseys (or “softball tops” as many call them), I’ll touch on them briefly and start by saying that I don’t like them at all. Looking first at the home red alternates: it’s just too much red. I know that sounds silly when discussing a team with the word RED in their name, but part of the beauty of their uniforms has always been that the red is more of an accent color; the gorgeous crimson red pops against navy blue, white, and grey.

The B on the hat, the lettering for RED SOX or BOSTON across the front, the numbers on the back, and of course the socks are the only red things on the uniforms. Those splashes of red look great against the crisp white or grey uniforms and the navy blue of the caps. When the entire jersey is red it’s just garish in my opinion. The RED SOX lettering in blue across the chest also gets swallowed up by all of that red.

The blue road alternates are much better, but still not great. While the deep navy is easier on the eyes and the red BOSTON pops against the blue much better than the blue lettering on the reds, it’s still too much blue. If I had to choose one alternate to keep, it would be this one without a doubt, but I still don’t like solid colored jerseys and it’s always looked a bit funny against the grey pants with red stripe and the red socks.

They don’t clash, but they don’t really go well together either.  What makes me viscerally dislike them even more is that the Red Sox wore these tops for all three road games in Los Angeles during the 2018 World Series. Paired against the Dodgers beautiful and timeless home uniforms, it was a jarring contrast and a real missed opportunity to see two teams with two of the best uniforms in all of baseball of all time go head to head.

So there you have it, a complete history of Boston Red Sox uniforms. To reiterate, the current home uniforms, which have remained essentially unchanged over the last ninety years or so apart from the years 1972-1979, get my vote for best Red Sox home uniforms. As for the road greys which have been changed much more frequently over the years, the 1979-1989 road uniforms get my vote for the best in Red Sox history.