Braves unveil new uniforms, All-Star vs. Future Star exhibition game plans

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With Super Bowl XLVI in the rear view mirror and temps this week hitting the 60-degree mark, it’s only natural for us to begin thinking of Spring and how our beloved Atlanta Braves will inevitably break our hearts anew in the 2012 season. Just as we were setting up our Chipper Jones DL predictions office pool Monday, we temporarily rallied when the Braves front office sent us scribbler types an email touting “Braves to Make Special Announcement THIS MORNING at Turner Field.” Alas, this monumental announcement did not involve any combination of  the words “successful,” “cloning” and “Hank Aaron.” But the ball club is going back to the future this season. At least style-wise.

The Braves unveiled plans to bring back their inaugural Atlanta season jerseys for the 2012 season, introducing a weekend home game alternate uniform that harkens back to the team’s 1966 model. Or as the Braves reps inform us officially: “The cream colored uniforms feature the traditional Braves script in red across the chest minus the tomahawk, red numbers on the front and back, navy piping, navy player letters and a new logo patch on the left sleeve.  The logo patch has two criss-crossing tomahawks, the year ‘1876’ – the franchise’s first season – and the words ‘Atlanta Braves.'” The ball club is adding a pair of modern touches to the jerseys. The 2012 models will feature players’ names on the back and will be made out of considerably lighter material than the originals. In 1966, Braves players played their first season in the South in uniforms constructed out of ultra comfy wool flannel.

For those of you keeping score, this marks the first significant uniform change since 2005’s red jersey introduction. All this week, fans can purchase replicas of the old school jerseys at the Braves Clubhouse store at CNN Center and at Academy Sports + Outdoors stores across the south. Let’s hope the retro outfits bring better luck than the Braves inaugural Atlanta season back in ’66 when we finished fifth in the division.

And for those of you who can’t wait until the 2012 season opener April 13 against the Brewers at Turner Field, you can catch some of our boys of summer at Coolray Field in Gwinnett April 3 in the first-ever exhibition game against the our triple-A  minor league team, the Gwinnett Braves. We’re told recent Gwinnett Braves alums Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman will participate, Braves catcher Brian McCann will be behind the plate to receive the ceremonial first pitch and Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez, team president John Schuerholz and general manager Frank Wren will be schmoozing with fans in the stadium’s Home Plate Club. For tickets or more info on the Braves All-Stars vs. Future Stars exhibition game, go to the Gwinnett Braves official website.

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