Back in blue

(photo by John Lembo)

If you know me, you know my fascination with old-school baseball logos.

I have a closet full of retro baseball hats, from the mustard-and-brown days of the San Diego Padres to the bright colors of the now-defunct Montreal Expos.

Name me commissioner of baseball and my first rule would be for all 30 teams to wear retro unis during spring training.

So imagine how happy I was when I heard the Toronto Blue Jays were going back to the classic bird logo this season. It's a twist on how the Jays looked in the old days, back when Lloyd Mosbey and George Bell were cracking home runs out of Exhibition Field and Bobby Cox was patrolling the dugout.

And it's a whole lot better than what the team wore from 1997-02 and light years head of the vomit-inducing 2003 logo, which looked like a bad Nintendo creation.

And how bland was the 2004-11 design?

Jose Bautista and his back-to-back home run titles deserved better.

I like the new look. I like how they brought back that hip font, which would fit right in on the marquee of a 1970s bowling alley.

So I guess it's time to add another hat or two to the closet.

Welcome back, Blue Jays.