Blue Jays unveil new logo, uniforms

Proclaiming that the "blue" is back in Blue Jays, team president and CEO Paul Beeston unveiled a new logo that's sure to bring back memories Friday.

The circular logo is a throwback to the Jays' original one, worn during the team's 1992 and 1993 World Series winning campaigns. It features a blue jay head and red maple leaf in front of a baseball, along with the words "Toronto Blue Jays."

"We are not the Jays; we are the Toronto Blue Jays and we are very proud of that," Beeston told those gathered at a Rogers Centre news conference. "As such the blue is back throughout the logo and you can see the red is back too. We represent Canada and we are proud of it."

Speculation about a new logo and uniform has been rampant for months, peaking in September when a retro-looking logo was posted on an Internet blog.

On Friday Beeston said the process of designing the duds has been ongoing for the last two years and included consultation from practically everyone in the organization, including the Blue Jays themselves.

"This wasn't done without some debate," he said. "It was done with a lot of debate and heated arguments but at the end of the day we all came to where we want to be, which is a logo that reflects our past and takes us to where we want to be in the future."

Seated in front of the home dugout Friday decked in the new uniforms, were Jays Jose Bautista, Adam Lind, Brett Lawrie, Ricky Romero, J.P. Arencebia, Brandon Morrow and Yunel Escobar.

Bautista, who recently received his second straight Hank Aaron Award as the American League MVP in the eyes of fans, said the uniforms are about much more than a fashion statement.

"This is going to mark a change of culture on this organization, one that hopefully moving forward will have us in the playoffs on a yearly basis," he said.

In years past the Jays have worn the maple leaf logo on the sleeve of their jersey. Now it will be on both their hats and their chests.

"I think it is very special and it will really bring something back to the city of Toronto and all of Canada," said Brett Lawrie, the lone Canadian player on the Jays roster. "We want to bring it back to 1992 and 1993 when this place was rocking and all of Canada was rocking."

The new jerseys, white at home and grey on the road, also place an increased emphasis on the color blue with players wearing blue baseball caps and shoes.

A third jersey, also unveiled Friday and modeled by pitcher Ricky Romero, is royal blue.

"It's got to be my favourite," said Romero. "It looks good."

Start the countdown to spring training.

"Seeing all these guys back here, seeing the commitment they have and seeing how excited they are about the uniforms…I think it's going to be great," Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos said of the upcoming season, which won't officialy begin until April.