Jakki Corrigan said the nickname of the West Coast Baseball League鈥檚 Victoria franchise 鈥� HarbourCats 鈥� was untraditional. So she decided to leaven things with a classic-looking uniform design.
鈥淭he goal was to bring more of a traditional [baseball] look into it,鈥� said Corrigan, the HarbourCats merchandising and partnerships manager, who designed the uniforms that were produced by Nike.
The HarbourCats, who begin their inaugural season Wednesday at Royal Athletic Park, unveiled their uniforms at a press conference Friday night.
There are three uniforms 鈥� white, dark blue and a light-blue third jersey. The home uniform has front-lettering reading 鈥淗arbourCats鈥� and the away jersey and third jersey have lettering reading 鈥淰ictoria.鈥�
One cap features a basic 鈥淰鈥� and the other a more involved-looking configuration utilizing the letters 鈥淗鈥� and 鈥淐.鈥�
鈥淭hese [jerseys] are cool,鈥� said HarbourCats pitcher Ty Provencher from Long Beach State. "And Nike 鈥� you can鈥檛 go wrong with that.鈥�
The WCL features U.S. collegiate NCAA players in summer ball.
There were 54 WCL players selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft and 45 in the 2011 MLB draft.
The idea is to improve in the WCL and get noticed for the MLB draft.
The HarbourCats players will be doing that in style.
鈥淭hese [uniforms] are sharp 鈥� maybe the nicest I鈥檝e played in,鈥� said outfielder Austin Russell from Victoria, who plays for Southern Polytechnic State in Atlanta.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be the best-looking team in the league.鈥�
Infielder Zack Storm, from the University of Kentucky Wildcats, drove 41 hours with his dad Bob to get to Victoria just in time for Friday evening鈥檚 first showing of the jerseys.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing 鈥� better than I expected,鈥� said Zack Storm.
鈥淚t looks like a big-league jersey. When you look good, you feel good and play well.鈥�
But no matter what you play in, the game remains the same, even for a group being thrown together with little time together before opening night Wednesday.
鈥淲e have to communicate out there on the diamond,鈥� said Storm, who will be joined on the HarbourCats by Kentucky Wildcats teammate Greg Fettes, a catcher.
鈥淲e have to have each other鈥檚 backs and support each other.鈥�
The HarbourCats will play a 54-game 2013 regular season in the WCL, with 27 home dates from Wednesday through Aug. 11.
