Yuni’s Uni

A lot will be said about what the Mariners should do this off-season. They answered their biggest question marks (Bavasi? McLaren? Yes, for now), but more loom. Will the team keep Jose Guillen? Will anyone take Richie Sexson off their hands? How do you pronounce Wladimir Balentien?

Well, there’s one transaction that I think will unquestionably keep the fans happy:

Bring Back the Trident!

For the past 14 years, the Mariners have had their compass logo (officially called the nautical compass rose), with varying colors. (It’s sad that videos of the M’s magical 1995 season are marred by shiny teal jerseys.) Seattle embraces green in its sports uniform more than any other city, but I think the Mariners should go back to their blue-and-yellow pitchfork roots of 30 years ago. Here are my reasons:
1. The trident has a more powerful tie to the Mariner mascot. Follow my logic:
Trident>Poseidon’s weapon>God of the Sea!
Compass>used by navigators>um… sailors navigate?
The trident does have a devilish pitchfork connection, but that shouldn’t be a problem in Seattle, which has such small church attendance rates.
2. Fans like it. I’m seeing more and more people in Seattle wearing throwback hats, whether the original trident or (inferior) “all star” trident. It’s not the 1994; the compass ain’t hip.
The Mariners test-drove the trident at a “Turn Back the Clock” game this season. Not only did the M’s beat the A’s 14-10 that day (Willie Bloomquist started at short, Yuni had a pinch hit fly out), but almost 42,000 people attended, 10,000 over the season average. It was a Sunday, but that’s still a pretty big crowd.
The team also made a killing by auctioning off the jerseys. If I had a spare $1,100, I could’ve had Yuni’s uni.
3. Kids will like it. Mariners team stores can sell plastic yellow tridents that will be awesome weapons. More importantly, unlike the “S compass” logo, kids will be able to draw the “M trident.”
Here’s proof: I have the drawing skillz of a 7-year-old, and here’s my attempt at both logos:

I was working with pen, so my trident is a bit messy, but it still was much easier to draw. Logos should be easy for kids to draw.

4. There’s no better way to distract the masses from a dull off-season than with changing uniforms.

There are some problems with a uniform switch, of course. Mainly, the team can’t revert back fully to its 1977 jerseys. Take a look at ’em. (Or see people actually wearing them here.) The script on the jerseys is just wretched. It’s neither a standard block script, nor cursive. The best word to describe them is sloppy. And the baby blue away uniforms are a lost relic of the 1970s and 80s.

M’s fan and blogger Conor Glassey lists them among the 10 worst uniforms ever (he also calls the trident juvenile, which I see as an asset). Still, with a minor tweaking (switch to a darker, royal blue and get a better font), I think the team could look a lot nicer on the field next year. It’s almost as much of a no-brainer as starting Adam Jones.