Since the creation of the Mets in 1962, they have gone through many changes when it comes to their uniforms.
Some of these changes were small and others – like the introduction of black as the team color – were big.
There were successes (including the blue alternative shirts) and mistakes (including horrible black eyeshadowwhich we will discuss in detail below).
The shirt/trouser combination has undergone the most changes, although several different hats have also been introduced – especially in the last 25 years.
Let’s rank the 10 best Mets uniforms of all time…
#10: 1987 road uniform with writing on jerseys
The Mets only wore these jerseys in 1987, and the “New York” script was a nice change from the “Mets” the team had on their road jerseys in previous years.
These jerseys were discarded after just one season, with the Mets going to a “New York” block from 1988 to 1992 that closely resembled the Yankees road jersey font.
The team also had road script t-shirts that debuted in 1993, but it was a different font than those used in 1987. and “New York” was underlined – these jerseys were paired with home jerseys where “Mets” was underlined
#9: Snow White’s Home Uniform
These uniforms, which were an alternative that removed the blue stripes from the home shirts and pants, debuted in 1997 along with the now infamous white hat that had a blue bill and a blue “NY” outlined in orange.
These hats were known as the Mets’ “Ice Cream Man” look and were quickly abandoned.
Snow White’s uniforms remained for a while and were a good alternative.
#8: Classic Black Shirt/Cap
The Mets’ black uniform, which returned during the 2021 season, was originally introduced in 1998 when the team unveiled it during an event where some of the players modeled the new uniforms.
Along with the black t-shirts came a black hat with blue “NY” outlined in orange and white. And the Mets soon introduced a black cap with a blue bill that had a blue “NY” outlined in orange.
The introduction of black as the Mets’ color also soon led the team to add black shadow to the striped home jersey, the snow-white jersey, and the gray road jersey (in the “Mets” at home and in the “New York” on the road , and on the front and back, numbers and name on the back), which – for this writer – was a step too far and almost ruined the above uniforms.
To be clear, black shirts are stylish — and so are black hats (which also returned in 2021). But the fact that the color black took over the rest of the uniforms in the rotation in the ’90s and ’00s — and that the Mets all but stopped wearing blue caps on the road at one point — was really, really bad development.
Ahead of the 2024 season, the Mets made a major change to their black uniforms, removing the white shadow from the cap and “Mets” logo and jersey numbers.
With black back in the rotation, we hope the rest of the uniforms stay free of black shadows. Oh, and if they want to bring back the black t-shirts (more on those below), that would be cool.
#7: Classic Black Road shirt/cap
The black jersey with “New York” on the front in the classic Mets font was released in 1999 and was often paired with the black hat with a blue brim.
Some of the Mets’ best moments in 1999 and 2000 came in black jerseys, and they won the NL East title in 2006 while wearing black jerseys and caps at home.
#6: City Connect Uniform
In the brief history of MLB City Connect uniforms, there are far more misses than hits. But the Mets’ City Connect wires, unveiled during the 2024 season, are a success – because of how seriously the team took their creation and how attentive they were to detail.
The goal of City Connect uniforms is for them to represent the city in which the team plays, and the Mets nailed it by featuring a subway symbol as a patch on the sleeve, the Queensboro Bridge on the hat (and sleeves), stripes that are in the diamond-and-circle shape of the city’s subway lines, and the purple flourishes that pay homage to the 7 train that takes fans from Manhattan to Queens (and back).
Then there is the “NYC” on the front of the jersey, which has the same font the Mets have used since 1962 in the “New York” emblazoned on their road jersey.
The pants, which are often monochromatic (and tacky) when styled after City Connect uniforms, are white and have purple and black piping – a nice touch.
Another big win here is that the Mets found a workaround for the new league-wide required minor names that are on the back of all new jerseys. Using the same font that appears on the front of the jersey for the names and numbers on the back, Mets names and numbers more closely resemble classic MLB jerseys introduced before 2024.
There has been some criticism of the uniforms because they say “NYC” instead of “QUEENS” on the front. But although the Mets play in Queens, they represent the entire city and surrounding areas – making “NYC” the clear choice.
#5: 1978-82 Home and Road Uniform
For the first time, the Mets wore pullovers.
These shirts (white at home and gray on the road) featured orange and blue stripes on the collars and sleeve edges. There were also heavier stripes on the edge of the road pants (hat tip to the 1993 Mets yearbook for that nugget).
The Mets teams of the late ’70s and early ’80s weren’t very successful, but at least they were well dressed.
#4: Blue Alternate Shirts
The Mets introduced home (“orange Mets” on the chest) and road (“silver New York” on the chest) jerseys prior to the 2013 season — the year the All-Star Game was played at Citi Field.
As with the black jerseys, it could be argued that the road versions of the blue substitutes (which the team no longer wear) are even more stylish than the home versions. But both are great.
The Mets also added a new alternate hat in 2013 – blue with an orange “NY” with a white outline and orange bill. And in 2015, they released an all-blue alternate road hat with a gray “NY” outlined in orange.
The blue alternates appeared during the 2015 NLCS which presented Daniel Murphythe home run barrage and were used again during the 2015 World Series.
#3: Home Racing Stripe Uniform
These uniforms were released in 1983 and the Mets wore them (in this pullover iteration) during the 1990 season along with matching pants that completed the racing stripes look.
When the jerseys were introduced, the Mets did not have the skyline logo on the sleeve. They he did wear one 25th anniversary patch on sleeve during 1986 seasonhowever.
There are some Mets fans out there who hate racing uniforms, and there’s certainly some added nostalgia since the team won the World Series while wearing them in 1986 (and went to the 1988 NLCS while wearing them).
But regardless of the success the team had with these jerseys, they were totally different and really cool.
They also aged well and looked crisp and clean when worn in 2006 and 2016, when the Mets celebrated anniversaries of the 1986 World Series team.
#2: Road Gray Uniform
Not much has changed since these were the original Mets road uniforms (with the blue hats with the orange “NY”) in 1962, although the first Mets jerseys in 1962 and 1963 (road and home) did not have numbers. ahead. They were added in 1964.
The Mets skyline logo was on the sleeve of these jerseys when they debuted in 1962 and is still on the regular road and home jerseys today.
Prior to the 2012 season, the hideous black shadow on the front and back of the jerseys was removed and restored the road grays (with the blue hat) to their former glory.
#1: Home Pinstripe Uniform
The Mets’ original colors were “Dodger blue” and “Giants orange” for New York’s two departed National League teams. And with those colors front and center along with blue stripes and the blue cap with the orange intertwined “NY,” the classic Mets uniform is as close to perfection as it gets.
Along with the classic road grays, these jerseys were desecrated when black shading was added to the front and back from the late ’90s through 2011, but was removed before the Mets’ 50th anniversary season in 2012.
From the 2012 season through the 2014 season, the home uniforms were actually cream with blue stripes, but reverted to white with blue stripes before the 2015 season — just in time for the Mets’ most recent run to the World Series.
