IronPigs debut unique new logos, uniforms
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- The Lehigh Valley IronPigs unveiled a series of bold new looks and designs today at www.SmellTheChange.com to add to their on-field hat and uniform repertoire for the 2014 season and beyond. The IronPigs primary logo and home uniform, which have been among the most popular and best-selling in Minor League Baseball since debuting, remain unchanged.
"Today marks a renewal of Minor League Baseball's most revered and iconic brand," remarked IronPigs President & G.M. Kurt Landes. "We worked tirelessly over the last year to develop new identities that not only embody the rich tradition of the Lehigh Valley but also the spirit of the IronPigs and our fans."
The "Smell The Change" initiative is brought to life in the IronPigs brand-new bacon-themed Saturday ensemble, which includes a bacon strip logo transfixed to the cap, a fresh "Pigs" jersey design emblazoned across the chest as well as the first-of-its-kind bacon-style piping down both legs of the pants. Similar to years past, the Saturday top is Brick Red but now includes the endearing term, "Pigs" across the chest with a wavy bacon underline. The bold new bacon strip logo sits atop a two-tone cap featuring the familiar colors of IronPigs Steel and Furnace Blue. The bacon-enriched pants, the first baseball pants to feature a logo design within the piping, are also IronPigs Steel. In addition to the cap and uniform offerings, innovative "scratch-and-sniff" t-shirts that smell like bacon (they'll literally make your mouth water) are also now available for a limited time at the Majestic Clubhouse Store and www.IronPigs.Milbstore.com.
The IronPigs pay tribute to the Lehigh Valley's rich steelmaking history with a brand-new, all-black Friday uniform emblazoned with a Molten Red IronPigs logo on the cap, a jet-black jersey with steel-plated chrome lettering and all black pants with IronPigs Steel piping. The molten IronPigs cap logo, which appears to be literally dripping with liquid metal due to the white-hot heat necessary to forge pig iron by smelting iron ore with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, embodies the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which is world-renowned for this process. The black jersey's chrome lettering and numerals are meant to pay tribute to Pennsylvania's iconic blast furnaces -- including those of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. -- along with the generations of men and women that poured their heart and soul into the steel manufacturing process. Steel from the Lehigh Valley is a part of this country's most prominent landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building. By introducing black pants to this look, the IronPigs are currently believed to be the only team to wear an all-black uniform combination in professional baseball.
The black uniform with electric highlights was purposely chosen as the new Friday home look so it serve as the ideal compliment to post-game Friday Night Fireworks at Coca-Cola Park. To coincide with this new look, the IronPigs will unveil an official "Black Out" shirt and encourage fans to wear black to all Friday home games at Coca-Cola Park.
The IronPigs will don a new powder blue and burgundy two-tone Sunday cap this season that connects the rich histories of the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia regions with a fresh-take on the world-famous Liberty Bell. In this new design, the Bell is suspended by an I-beam, a symbol of the Lehigh Valley's steelmaking prowess, and features metal rivets to indicate the Bell's iconic crack. Lehigh Valley residents may also be familiar with the fact that in 1777, the Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown so that the British army wouldn't melt it down for munitions. The cap will be worn with the retro mesh IronPigs jersey which was introduced in 2013 to pay homage to the Phillies' tradition-rich teams of the 1970s and 1980s in which the Phillies went to the postseason in six of eight seasons and won their first World Championship in 1980.
Video: IronPigs New Jerseys For 2014
The new mesh batting practice cap features a rebrand of the IronPigs' iconic primary logo by turning the traditional pig head from its typical profile position to a forward-angling design. This Furnace Blue cap provides a refreshed look to one of Minor League Baseball's top-selling logos by adding even more facial features to the pig head badge. The official on-field batting practice cap by New Era has been completely redesigned for 2014 and features high-tech diamond texture fabric that is lightweight with breathability and wicking and even offers 50-plus UPF protection and a performance sweatband. The cap-style debuted in Major League Baseball last year and has been well-received by players and fans alike.
While the road uniform is unchanged, the interlocking 'LV' cap in the riveted IronPigs font has been replaced by the IronPigs primary logo on a Brick Red cap putting a fresh twist on the highly-successful logo.
Fans can check out all of the uniform designs for the 2014 season at www.SmellTheChange.com.
These brand-new on-field IronPigs jerseys and caps, as well other innovative merchandise such as "scratch-and-sniff" bacon logo t-shirts, are now available at www.IronPigs.Milbstore.com or by visiting the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Coca-Cola Park during normal business hours (Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday's, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.). The Majestic Clubhouse Store is open daily and is the official retail store of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.