Top 30 Logos: 30-21

What I did here is took the best logo from each franchise's history (yes, Montreal counts for Washington) and ranked them.  Not much to it, really.

• Note 1: First and foremost, thanks so much to Chris Creamer's sportslogos.net.  This is one of the best and most fascinating sports websites, and if you've never visited it... you should.  Right now.
• Note 2: There's no real methodology to these.  If I thought the logo was boring, I ranked it low.  If I was particularly taken with it for any reason, I ranked it high.  Cheesy cartoons from the 1970s?  High.  Native Americans?  Low.  "Clever" logos?  High.  Logos that don't really do anything other than say the team's name?  Low.

30. Tampa Bay Rays, primary, 2008-present
Is there anything more boring than this logo?  The two things that are good about this one are the light blue shadow around the diamond and the ray of light in the middle of the "R".  That's still not anything that can rescue this from the bottom of these rankings, however.  The dark blue is very standard, and the lettering is nothing special (is the bottom of the "R" supposed to be like a tail? it's too subtle to be commended, if so).  A very weak effort for a team with such great color/logo potential, though they still have time.

29/28. Cleveland Indians, primary, 1980-present / Atlanta Braves, primary, 1972-1986
I... hrrm.  Okay, so I've never had a huge problem with the Native American logos.  They always seemed more playful than offensive, though that may be because I grew up in the sanitized, post-Chief Knockahoma era.  Anyway, the point is that these are clearly offensive on some level, and that shouldn't be tolerated.  I give the edge to the Braves' logo, if only because it has such close associations to Hank Aaron, but really.  Even if these weren't offensive, they'd still be very boring, and that's quite the logo sin.

27. Chicago White Sox, alternate, 1976-1990
There's really nothing to this logo.  The picture is weird, I suppose, but how is it unique to the White Sox?  (Answer: it isn't.)  This is just a dull logo for what was, by all accounts, a dull team.

26. Arizona Diamondbacks, primary, 1998-2006
I have fond memories of this logo based on the 2001 World Series, but it's clearly problematic.  I give a huge thumbs up to the color scheme, but the gold on purple is very tough to read.  Also, it's just an A.  There's nothing special about it, save for the line running along the left side.  Meh.

25. Kansas City Royals, primary, 2002-present
This is a typical "nice try, but still boring" logo.  On the one hand, the crown over the logo is both obvious and nice.  On the other hand, there's nothing interesting about this.  The "KC" and "Royals" aren't well integrated--they're even in a different typeface, I believe.  I'm not sure how this one can be improved.  Their alternate that eliminates the "Royals" part isn't bad, but at that level it's a bit barebones.  Who knows, I'm not a graphic designer.

24. Oakland Athletics, primary, 1968-1982
On the one hand, I love the colors and the hokiness of this.  On the other hand, it's a bit on the busy side, no?  I mean, why does it say  "The Swingin' A's" but then have a picture of cleats?  For that matter, why have the cleats at all?  I chose this to represent this franchise because I love the green on yellow, but there's just too much going on.

23. Cincinnati Reds, primary, 1972-1992
Who is that man?  Is it Mr. Redlegs?  No, he has a fun moustache.  Is it Mr. Met?  No, that can't be.  No, it's, umm... Mr. Red.  According to Wikipedia, he existed in sleeve patch form in the 1950s, only to then disappear until this logo.  Anyway, much as I love fun cartoons his appearance here is a bit random.  He's not an iconic mascot (heck, he's not even the most well-known mascot on his own team), and just distracts from everything else.  That said, all of the other Reds logos are pretty boring, and this one reminds me of the Big Red Machine.  I do like how this is their only logo to actually spell out Cincinnati though.

22. California Angels, primary, 1986-1992
Again, I like it, but... meh.  There's not that much to like, ya know?  The California in the background is nice, but makes this logo a bit busy.  Three layers might be one too many.  That said, it's a fairly simple logo, and I've always been a fan of the the "A" with the halo.

21. Florida Marlins, primary, 1993-2011
I admire the Marlins' inclusion of an actual Marlin on their logo, though I still have quite a few problems with this.  The lettering is way too small, and is barely able to be seen over the background (teal on light blue creates problems).  Also, the aforementioned marlin is just too big; you can have a fun drawing on your logo, but it shouldn't dwarf and distract from your team name.  The color scheme is too receded, though I just noticed how the baseball is lined with orange.  Anyway, this is a good logo in theory, but I think the execution is just a little bit flawed.  Hopefully they can flesh it out for the team's rebranding next year.  This alternate isn't so bad, though I didn't count it because I've never actually seen it in use (and it also looks a bit amateurish).

2011 Predictions: AL Central

1. Chicago White Sox

Maybe I’m being blinded by the Adam Dunn acquisition, but I really like this team’s chances.  Dunn gives them the big slugging bat they’ve lacked since the decline and departure of Frank Thomas, and he should slot nicely into an already formidable lineup.  Although they seem to have had a bit of a down season last year, the Sox were actually pretty good.  If you give last year’s team more power (Dunn) and better seasons from Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, and Gordon Beckham, they could have won the division.  Surprisingly enough, this is what I think will happen this year.  The pitching should be pretty good too.  I’m a big Mark Buehrle fan, though the big deciding factor here is surely Jake Peavy.  Can he stay healthy?  If so, this rotation is excellent.  If not, it’s still quite good (John Danks makes a quietly great #3 starter).

Bottom line: If everything falls into place, as I (perhaps optimistically) expect it to, the White Sox have a real chance to bring a title to the South Side.

2. Minnesota Twins

Okay, let’s get to the heart of it: this team lives and dies with Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.  If they succeed, they could win the division.  If they are injured, or slump, a long winter could be ahead.  Granted, they managed to skate into the playoffs with Morneau having a down year last season, but the AL Central of 2010 was a lot weaker than 2011’s incarnation.  The peripheral parts of their lineup are good, but not great.  The outfield of Delmon Young-Denard Span-Michael Cuddyer has the potential to surprise, but none of them can pick up the slack from either of the M’s.  Hopefully for them they won’t have to.  The pitching is iffy, with reconstructed ace Francisco Liriano leading the way, backed by Carl Pavano and Scott Baker.  I seem them being good, but not quite as good as the White Sox.

Bottom line: Overall this team is really solid, and is a fair pick for the Wild Card, but I just don’t think this is their year.

3. Detroit Tigers

I don’t know about you, but I was (pleasantly) surprised by the Victor Martinez pick-up.  The Tigers have quite a nice lineup this year, though it’s precariously perched on the aging shoulder of Magglio Ordonez and the troubled shoulder of Miguel Cabrera.  If they can keep it together and have productive seasons, this team will challenge for a playoff spot.  Sophomore Austin Jackson should also be fun to watch, as he looks to build on his great 2010.  The pitching, led by longtime ace Justin Verlander (he still seems young to me, but he’s apparently been in the MLB since 2005), is actually pretty good.  Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are excellent 2+3 starters, and I really like the addition of Brad Penny.

Bottom line: If—and that’s a big if—this team can hold all of its parts together, they could challenge for a spot in the top tier of this division.

4. Cleveland Indians

O for 2007!  This team, once with such promise, has fallen into disrepair (yes yes, it’s very Clevelandish, we get it).  All hope is not lost, however.  The return of a healthy Grady Sizemore is much welcome, and combining him with Shin-Soo Choo and phenom catcher Carlos Santana should give the Indians’ lineup some potency.  Their pitching is really nothing special, though it would be nice to see one-time ace-of-the-future Fausto Carmona regain his ability to pitch well.  Beyond him, however is a mixture of young guys, none of whom are top prospects.

Bottom line: Not this year, Indians fans.  I’d suggest going on a fire sale, but there’s nothing left to sell….

5. Kansas City Royals

Now that they have Jeff Francoeur, how can this team not win this division?  No, umm, they’re bad.  Like, really bad.  But that’s okay because they have a stacked farm system and are going to be cleaning up (especially in this relatively weak division) in about two years.  While the Royals await the impending arrivals of Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Montgomery, they will have to content themselves with a lineup anchored by the likes of Melky Cabrera, the aforementioned Frenchy, and Billy Butler.  Their pitching, I’m sorry to say, isn’t much better, though I like the Jeff Francis signing (even if his health is questionable at this point in time).

Bottom line: If you’re a Royals fan, you should either: go into hibernation until 2013, or move to Omaha and/or Northwest Arkansas, where all the hot prospects will be spending time over the next years.