The look was a new one to Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Jeremy Guthrie, a trio Orioles fans hope will eventually make up the nucleus of a championship-caliber club.
But as Boog Powell, the burly slugger who was an Oriole from 1961 to 1974, pulled on the team's new road batting practice uniform with "Baltimore" stretched across the front, he couldn't help but feel that this is how the jerseys should have looked all along.
"It's a really special moment," Powell told the estimated crowd of 2,500 yesterday at an Orioles fan rally at The Gallery at Harborplace. "Even though I put it on for [all those] years, I get just as much of a thrill putting it on this morning."
The rally was highlighted by the unveiling of the Orioles' new uniforms for the 2009 season. There were several changes to all three of the Orioles' main uniforms - some more subtle than others - but the change that clearly garnered the most attention was the addition of "Baltimore" across the team's road jerseys, replacing the "Orioles" that had been on the jerseys since 1973.
"I hope it works some magic for them, just like it did us," Powell said. "We went to four World Series with these things on. We won ... division championships. If it works, that's terrific. I've always thought that something was remiss just having 'Orioles' on the shirts. On the road, you should be Baltimore. And it felt pretty good to be Baltimore."
Powell and Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer represented the Orioles' past at the rally. Markakis, Jones, Guthrie, Dennis Sarfate, Chris Waters, Melvin Mora, Brian Burres, George Sherrill, manager Dave Trembley and club president Andy MacPhail represented the team's present and future.
The past and present players, who did their best to imitate runway models - though many were unshaven, as the team's ban of most facial hair doesn't apply in the offseason - were ushered down an escalator from the third to the second floor at The Gallery. On their way down, they took their Orioles jackets off and threw them into the crowd as fans got their first look at the team's new uniforms.
The main changes include the addition of a round patch on the left sleeves, featuring the Maryland flag, and orange and black striping on each sleeve and down the pants. And, of course, there is "Baltimore" adorning the front of the road grays.
