Top 30 Logos: 1-10

Day 3/3 of our quest to find the best logo!  Unlike the other two days, I'll be counting in ascending order today.  If you haven't already, hop over to sportslogos.net and check out what they have to offer.  It's a great site, and this countdown wouldn't have happened without it.

1. Milwaukee Brewers, primary, 1978-1993
Was there really any other choice?  I mean, c'mon.  The brilliance and awesomeness of this logo is obvious.  In case you hadn't noticed--and I didn't until about a year ago--the glove spells out an M and a B, for Milwaukee Brewers.  I'll give that a minute to set in.  The ball in the middle of the glove, doubling as, well, a baseball and the hole in the lowercase "b," is pretty genius too.  This logo isn't just clever, it also has great colors.  I love the old Brewers color scheme.  I love whenever I'm watching MLB Network classic highlight shows and Paul Molitor or Robin Yount appears in the uniforms from that era.  They just looked so great, and this logo is a primary reason why.  A+'s all around.

2. New York Mets, primary, 1999-present
This says the Mets' current logo started being used in 1999, but it's really been around since the Mets' inception in 1962 (save for a few very subtle changes).  Anyway, maybe I'm just being a homer here, but I think this logo is really great.  The color scheme is classic, simple, and unchanged since 1962.  The way the circle is also a baseball is very smart.  The script is well done.  Perhaps best of all, the skyline and bridge are just wonderful representations of the "metropolitan" aspect of the Mets' real name.  It's not as good as the Brewers' logo, but it's damn fine nonetheless.

3. Baltimore Orioles, primary, 1966-1988
Before I loved the Mets I loved the Orioles.  (1997 was a weird year.)  One of the things I liked the most about this team and its history was the lovable cartoon bird that adorned the uniforms on the 1980s baseball cards I collected.  Let's start with the bird, who's obviously the centerpiece of the whole shebang: he's cute, fun, but he's also a baseball player.  It's hard to describe just how much the bird works here, so I won't even try.  Other things that are good: the colors.  It's very clear that simple = better, as none of the top three teams try to clash their colors or add non-team colors to their logo.  The text is also very large and easy to read, something that's not always a given with these circular, text-wrapped-around logos.  If the Orioles still had this logo during my one season of fandom, perhaps I'd still be rooting for them to this day....

4. Montreal Expos, primary, 1969-1991
Another clever logo, though this one's a bit more... French?  Yes, that's right--the red, white, and blue M spells out eMb, équipe de Montreal baseball (or "Montreal baseball team" for you non-Francophones).  This logo loses a few points for its dull color scheme and the odd integration of "expos" below the M, but those are minor quibbles.  This was a great logo, and it's a shame the Expos were forced to flee to the interesting logo-less Washington, DC.

5. Toronto Blue Jays, primary, 1977-1996
O Canada!  What is it with you and great logos?  This logo just looks... great.  My favorite part of it is the font, which is so distinctive in a good way that few other fonts are.  The eponymous blue jay is remarkably detailed, though not distracting.  Somehow, it just adds to the overall atmosphere of the logo.  The red baseball in the background adds a nice touch of color, though I honestly could have done without the maple leaf, as I feel it just gets in the way a little.  Still, though, I love this logo, and I can't get enough of the Joe Carter WS-winning clip in part because of the great uniform he's wearing.

6. San Diego Padres, primary, 1969-1984
This is another logo where I have to plead guilty to a childlike love of the mascot representation and the colors.  The Swinging Friar looks kind of like a cross between Homer Simpson and Fred Flinstone, but that's part of his charm.  I'm still amazed that anybody ever thought it'd be cool to put a monk on a major league sports team's logo.  The script "Padres" on the bat is a nice touch, as is the yellow ring--again, it's all about having your team's colors in a non-obtrusive and meshable way, and this logo does that perfectly.  This logo screams 1970s, but unlike many other uniform- and logo-related creations from that era I actually give this one a big thumbs up.

7. St. Louis Cardinals, primary, 1922-1948
This one really boils down to the bat doubling as a tree branch, which I for one think is pretty neat.  The "Cardinals" script (well, it's not really script, but you know what I mean) is a familiar but distinct typeface, which is always appreciated.  Even though the logo features a lot going on, it still only has three colors--red, yellow, and brown.  That's tough to pull off, and this one does it quite well.  Also, while the birds sort of look like raccoons, it's always nice to see teams put a well-done visual representation of their team name on their logo.  This one may not have that much to it, but I just love it.  Besides, who wouldn't want to be reminded of Stan Musial every time they look at a logo?

8. San Francisco Giants, primary, 2000-present

What is a giant, anyway?  (The very tall human thing, I guess.  But why?  Anyway...)  This logo sure isn't going to tell us!  No, this logo isn't here because of its visual skill--the team name in front of a baseball, ho hum--but rather because of its elegant color scheme.  The ball is that perfect orangey off-white that is the base of the Giants' home uniforms.  I love that color.  The stitching on the ball is orange, and the black "Giants" is outlined in orange.  This is just a very simple, elegant combination of the Giants' colors, resulting in perhaps the best "basic" logo.

9. Seattle Mariners, primary, 1980-1986
This loses points for not being descriptive in the least, but I still just love something about it.  Maybe it's how the M doubles as a trident?  Yes, that's it.  Also very good is how the M is outlined in the cheesy yellow, spicing up a logo that had great potential to be boring.  Making a star as the background seems unnecessary, but it's not distracting and prevents the logo from looking too barren.  Good job, team.

10. Colorado Rockies, primary, 1993-present
Somebody's taking "purple mountain's majesty" a bit seriously, eh?  This logo suffers from many traditional pitfalls--too many colors, too much going on, a broken up name--but it's in my top ten because of those aforementioned mountains.  I love the way the baseball looks like it's been hit over the mountains, and the light lavender of the letters compliments the purple of the mountains very well.  Also, I'm a big fan of purple, and I think the Rockies' use of it is pretty exceptional.

2011 Predictions: NL Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers

Last year the Brewers were a disappointment, stumbling to a 77-85 record.  This past offseason they majorly shored up their pitching, bringing in Zack Greinke (once he recovers from his injury) and Shaun Marcum.  Those two will combine with Yovani Gallardo to create the NL’s third best rotation.  While all should go to plan there, the offense remains basically unchanged from last year.  Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are two of the best players in the league at their respective positions, but the supporting cast is very weak.  Corey Hart is hurt, and his return timetable is unclear.  Nobody else is very good (you know you’re in trouble when you’re counting on Rickie Weeks) so the pressure will be on the big guys to carry all the weight.

Bottom line: The Brewers should be able to take advantage of a weak division, but they could easily be overtaken.

2. Cincinnati Reds

The Reds can certainly hit and pitch, but they don’t overwhelm in either category.  They’re solid enough in both to be serious contenders, but they don’t have any dominant players outside of reigning NL MVP Joey Votto.  Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce round out the heart of the team’s lineup, however the team is lacking in peripheral players that can elevate them to an elite team.  (Look for them to be pushing the Mets pretty hard for Jose Reyes in July.)  The pitching is also pretty good, but there’s no Joey Votto to provide that solid core.  If Travis Wood can build on his strong half-season in 2010 he will combine with Johnny Cueto to make a decent 1-2 punch.  Beyond that, however, I am skeptical.

Bottom line: The Reds are very good, but are lacking the makeup of a traditionally great team that might prevent them from reaching the playoffs.

3. St. Louis Cardinals

Any team with Albert Pujols automatically has a more than adequate offense.  Luckily for the 2011 Cardinals, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman will be very good complements to Sir Albert.  The other parts are a bit weak (save for Colby Rasmus, assuming he isn’t excommunicated) but they aren’t bad enough to negate the power in the middle of the lineup.  The pitching, however, is not strong.  Without Adam Wainwright, pressure is on Chris Carpenter to carry this rotation.  Jaime Garcia can’t be counted on to replicate his 2010 success, and the other three pitchers have limited upside.

Bottom line: The Cardinals shouldn’t be good enough to contend, though you never know in this division.

4. Chicago Cubs

The good news here is that Carlos Pena can’t be any worse than he was last year.  The bad news is that that doesn’t mean that he, or any of the other Cubs hitters, will be any good.  This is a very old team whose sources of power dried up years ago.  There is some promise in shortstop Starlin Castro, but he needs a supporting cast in order for this team to succeed.  The pitching is up in the air, in that it will either be average or bad.  Ryan Dempster should be fine, but he’s the only one in whom I have a modicum of confidence.  Adding Matt Garza was nice, I guess, but he’s certainly not ace material.  Carlos Zambrano is… well, who knows?  And Randy Wells is a #3 starter at best, and is certainly not the solution to this team’s pitching woes.

Bottom line: How annoyed do you think Jim Hendry will be if the Yankees’ Mark Prior reclamation project is a success?  Also, this team probably can’t contend until at least 2013 due to a lack of good prospects and a preponderance of overpaid veterans.

5. Houston Astros

And now we’re in the dregs of not just the NL Central, but of all the MLB.  The Astros are god-awful, saved only by the Pirates being even worse.  Hunter Pence is the only player who can hit (maybe Carlos Lee).  Seriously, this is a lineup that took a bit hit when Clint Barmes went on the DL.  Aside from Pence and Lee there is absolutely nobody who can even marginally above average.  Michael Bourn as the leadoff hitter has to be a joke, right?  J.R. Towles—he of the 0.1 career WAR—is a nice one too.  Okay, fine, I’ll stop insulting the Astros’ hitters and move on to insulting their pitchers.  Wandy Rodriguez is fairly good, and should battle it out with Pence to be the team’s lone All-Star representative.  Brett Myers is serviceable, and that’s basically where this team’s pitching depth ends.  They have three #5 starters comprising the rest of the rotation, and barely have anybody to step in if any of them go down (oh, sorry, they have Gustavo Chacin; the Astros’ season is saved!).

Bottom line: It’s sad to see this once-great organization in such dire straits, but they should be able to get back on track within a few years.  Maybe even by the end of the decade?

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

Unlike the Astros, the Pirates have some hope for the near future.  Let’s start with the core of that hope: Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez.  These two players will be the heart of the Pirates for years to come, and should put up some nice stats this year.  The rest of the team is basically on hold until prospects arrive (Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie haven’t even played in the minor leagues yet, so this could take a while…).  Speaking of pitchers, let’s look at this team’s rotation!  Oh god, turn away!  It’s not safe!  Paul Maholm is the ace?  They’re counting on James McDonald and Ross Ohlendorf?   Kevin Correia is a key cog in the rotation?  Oy vey.

Bottom line: Wait ‘til 2013 at the earliest, Pirates fans.