Instantly Iconic



Brilliant.

Do you see why?

     In 1981, the New Era Cap Company put the official MLB logo on a cap for the first time.

     Well,  I should clarify this.  New Era put the logo on the inside of the cap, where it was sewn onto the sweatband and remained (in different shapes and colors) ever since.



       In 1992, an additional "Batterman" was placed on the back of all the on-field caps worn by MLB players.

      In the beginning of the season, the patch was glued and then sewn on in the later months.

       In 2007,  the on-field caps made by New Era underwent a major change by going from wool to polyester.

     The MLB logo, known as "Batterman", also received an upgrade....he became embroidered.

2007 Phillies Cap

1994 Phillies Cap

                                                      

I had many questions about the logo:

     Who created this logo?  Was it modeled after a certain player?  Did he or she create any other of the MLB Team logos?  Is the batter right or left handed?


     A quick google search provided most of the answers.  "Batterman" was created in 1968 by Jerry Dior while he was working for a New York City marketing firm.

     MLB started using it in 1969. (CBS) It was completed entirely in one afternoon. "Per his instructions, he drew a generic baseball player. (In interviews years later, Mr. Dior stressed that the figure was not modeled after Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew as many people, including Killebrew
 himself, believed.)

    Dior executed the design in Magic Marker, originally making it blue and green before switching to a patriotic palette." (Fox).

     Is the image of a left or right handed batter?

    The answer is both.  "The silhouette was chosen specifically because of its ambiguity: the batter could be right- or left-handed and of any ethnic background".   (Wiki)

    

Jerry Dior passed away on May 10, 2015.

What about Minor League Baseball's logo?  Did Jerry Dior design this logo also?



     When a google search did not yield any results, I reached out to the Office of Minor League Baseball which is located in St. Petersburg, FL. 

     I received a very quick response from Jeff Lantz, Senior Director, Communications:

     "The logo was created in 1992 by Ann Occi who worked for Major League Baseball at the time (we are not sure if there was a model for the image). It first appeared on caps in 1993. 

     The four stars included in the artwork were designed to represent the four classifications of MiLB (Triple A, Double A, Single A, Rookie)."



       It turns out that Anne Occi still works for Major League Baseball and is the VP of Design Service. To my pleasant surprise, she answered the remaining question very quickly: 

      "I did design this logo and it was not modeled after any player."

                                                                                 

Anne Occi

Thank you Anne!



     

Jerry Dior, Designer of Major League Baseball Logo, Dies at 82."CBSSports.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2016. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25200306/jerry-dior-designer-of-mlb-logo-passes-away-at-82.

Fox, Margalit. "Jerry Dior, Designer of Major League Baseball’s Logo, Dies at 82." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/sports/baseball/jerry-dior-designer-of-major-league-baseballs-logo-dies-at-82.html?_r=0.


"Major League Baseball Logo." N.p., n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_logo>